JP2005260987A - Communication system, base station, terminal station, communications apparatus, communication management method, control program, and computer-readable recording medium with the program stored - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To optimally establishes a beacon signal receiving cycle, according to the application type and/or communication property (e.g. communication pattern or communication condition or the like) in a terminal station. <P>SOLUTION: A wireless communication system (1) determines, based on a beacon signal periodically transmitted from a base station (10), a terminal station (30) from the base station (10), and uses a beacon signal to notify the determined terminal station (30) as to whether there exists data to be transmitted to the terminal station (30) and of the transmission period of the next beacon signal. A terminal side radio communication part (36) of the terminal station (30) transmits to the base station (10) a request of establishing the transmission period of the beacon signal. A communication control part (15) of the base station (10) establishes, based on the request received from the terminal station (30), the transmission period of the beacon signal. In this way, the terminal station (30) can optimize its beacon reception period, so that the power consumption can be suppressed by turning off the power supply from a power supply part (43) to a communication circuit (40), until the timing of receiving the beacon signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system such as a wireless local area network (LAN), a base station, a terminal station, a communication apparatus, a communication management method, a control program, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  In a wireless LAN composed of a base station and a terminal station, there is a demand for minimizing the power consumption of the terminal station.

  In a certain type of wireless LAN, a base station periodically transmits a beacon signal, specifies information for identifying a terminal station, presence / absence of data to be transmitted to the terminal station, and a transmission period of the next beacon signal. Included in the news. Therefore, the terminal station needs to always receive a beacon signal.

  By the way, if the application running on the terminal station is, for example, mail receiving software and the interval between checking the mail reception by accessing the mail server is about 1 minute, the beacon signal of about 100 msec It is useless to turn on the communication circuit. Further, in a wireless LAN, there are not always a plurality of terminal stations, and there are many cases where there is a one-to-one base station and terminal station. In this case, the terminal station receives a beacon signal indicating that there is no data to be transmitted every 100 msec, and power is wasted.

  For such a problem, a technique is known in which the base station lengthens the transmission period of the beacon signal to suppress the power consumption of the terminal station. For example, in Patent Document 1 below, a beacon signal reception timing at which the base station changes the beacon signal transmission interval to the terminal station according to the amount of transmission data to the terminal station and the terminal station shifts to a power-on state. Is disclosed in accordance with a beacon signal interval transmitted by a base station. Further, in Patent Document 2 below, a polling interval time associated with a data amount range is determined according to data received from an external network by the base station, and the polling interval time is increased as the data amount increases. Techniques for shortening are disclosed.

Also in the terminal station, when the beacon signal is examined and there is no data addressed to the terminal station, the power saving mode of IEEE802.11 is realized in the low power consumption mode until the next beacon signal.
JP 9-162798 A (publication date: June 20, 1997) JP 2003-124940 A (publication date: April 25, 2003)

  However, the background art still has the following problems. In the technique described in Patent Document 1, when a terminal station executes an IP (Internet Protocol) telephone application and is in a standby state, since there is no transmission data to the terminal station, the beacon signal transmission interval becomes long, and depending on the timing, Can not notify the terminal station immediately when incoming call data arrives. Similarly, in the technology described in Patent Document 2, since the polling interval is changed after the base station receives from the external network, it cannot cope with the case where quick response is required depending on the timing.

  Conventionally, streaming playback, IP phone calls, and the like have always been executed in a communication state. Therefore, even though there is a period during which communication is not performed, intermittent data reception cannot be performed to reduce power consumption.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to optimally set a period for receiving a beacon signal in a terminal station in accordance with an application communication pattern and communication status. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication system, a base station, a terminal station, a communication device, a communication management method, a control program, and a computer-readable recording medium recording the same.

  In order to solve the above problems, a communication system according to the present invention is a communication system for notifying a terminal station of a transmission cycle of a periodic signal transmitted from a base station, wherein the periodic signal is transmitted to the terminal station. A transmission cycle setting request means for transmitting a transmission cycle setting request to the base station, wherein the base station changes the periodic signal transmission cycle based on the setting request received from the terminal station. It is characterized by comprising setting means.

  Here, the periodic signal is a signal that is periodically transmitted from the base station to the terminal station in order to control communication between the base station and the terminal station, and is referred to as a “beacon signal” in a wireless LAN, for example. The The periodic signal transmission cycle is transmitted at least when there is a request for notification from the terminal station to the base station. This transmission cycle may be transmitted by being included in the periodic signal, or may be transmitted separately by a signal for notification. Note that the periodic signal may include information indicating the presence / absence of data to be transmitted from the base station to the terminal station.

  Thereby, the period of the periodic signal which a base station transmits can be controlled from a terminal station. Therefore, the terminal station can optimize the periodic signal reception period in accordance with its own situation. Therefore, the power supply to the communication circuit can be turned off until the terminal station receives a periodic signal, and the power consumption can be suppressed. In other words, depending on the device that is the terminal station and the application executed by the terminal station, the periodic signal transmission cycle is dynamically changed and set to an optimal value, thereby providing quick response and reducing power consumption. There is an effect that it becomes possible.

  Furthermore, the communication system according to the present invention includes, in the terminal station, an application execution unit that executes an application that communicates with the outside via the base station, and a type and / or type of application that is being executed by the application execution unit. Or a communication interface means for notifying the transmission period setting request means of the periodic signal transmission period according to the communication characteristics, wherein the transmission period setting request means is the periodic period notified from the communication interface means. It is characterized in that a request for setting a transmission cycle of a simple signal is transmitted to the base station.

  Here, `` communication characteristics '' means (a) application communication pattern, (b) application status, (c) type of terminal station, (d) (a) to (c) combination, etc. It is decided according to. The “communication characteristics” and “application type” are used as information (transmission cycle determination information) for determining the periodic signal transmission cycle. For example, if the application type is mail, the automatic mail reception check interval set by the user is an element that determines communication characteristics. If the application type is streaming, the data rate of streaming playback and the buffer size of the base station are factors that determine communication characteristics. If the application type is an IP phone, the reception check interval in the standby state and the packet transmission interval in the call state determine the communication characteristics.

  According to the communication system, a terminal station can optimize its periodic signal reception cycle according to the communication pattern and state of its application. Therefore, there is an effect that the power consumption of the terminal station can be suppressed for each application.

  For example, when the application is mail, the terminal station requests the base station to change to a transmission cycle that matches the automatic mail reception check interval set in the application. As a result, the terminal station can perform intermittent reception with a minimum period necessary for the mail reception check. Therefore, the terminal station can reduce the power consumption by optimizing the period of receiving the periodic signal, thereby turning off the power supply to the communication circuit until the timing of receiving the periodic signal.

  Also, streaming and IP phone applications have always been executed in a communication state, but according to the communication system, a periodic signal transmission cycle is set so as not to be affected by data corruption or delay. It is possible to receive data intermittently by providing a period of no communication. Therefore, power consumption can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, in the communication system according to the present invention, the communication interface means acquires the state of the application being executed by the application execution means, and determines the periodic signal transmission cycle according to the state. It is characterized by being.

  Thereby, the terminal station can optimize the period for receiving a periodic signal according to the state of the application. Therefore, the power consumption can be suppressed according to the application state.

  For example, when the application is an IP phone, the terminal station sets, for example, a transmission cycle of 1 sec during standby, and sets a value (for example, 20 msec) that does not affect the delay according to the packet transmission interval during a call. . As a result, the terminal station can perform intermittent reception in accordance with the packet transmission interval. Therefore, by optimizing the period for receiving periodic signals, the terminal station can turn off the power supply to the communication circuit until the timing for receiving periodic signals, thereby reducing power consumption during a call. it can. It can be detected that the user is in a call state by detecting an on-hook operation by the user.

  Furthermore, the communication system according to the present invention is characterized in that the communication interface means determines the periodic signal transmission cycle based on a buffer size of the base station.

  Accordingly, the terminal station can optimize the period for receiving a periodic signal even in the case of an application that uses the buffer of the base station during data transmission, such as streaming playback. Therefore, the power consumption can be suppressed according to the buffer size of the base station.

  For example, when the application is streaming, the terminal station obtains the buffer size of the base station, calculates the longest transmission cycle in which data reproduction does not fail from the data rate and buffer size of streaming reproduction, and the obtained transmission cycle Request the base station to change to As a result, the terminal station can perform intermittent reception at a period that does not cause data corruption. Therefore, the terminal station optimizes the period for receiving the periodic signal, thereby turning off the power supply to the communication circuit until the timing for receiving the periodic signal, thereby suppressing the power consumption during streaming playback. Can do.

  Furthermore, in the communication system according to the present invention, when the communication interface means executes a plurality of applications at one terminal station, the communication signal means determines the periodic signal transmission cycle according to the application that requires the shortest cycle. It is characterized by being.

  As a result, even when a plurality of applications are executed in one terminal station, the terminal station optimizes the period for receiving a periodic signal, and thereby transmits the signal to the communication circuit until the timing for receiving the periodic signal. There is an effect that the power supply can be turned off to reduce power consumption.

  Furthermore, in the communication system according to the present invention, the transmission cycle setting means determines the periodic signal transmission cycle according to the terminal station that requires the shortest cycle when there are a plurality of terminal stations. It is characterized by.

  As a result, even when one base station is used by a plurality of terminal stations, by optimizing the period for receiving periodic signals, power can be supplied to the communication circuit until the timing for receiving periodic signals. There is an effect that the power consumption can be suppressed by turning it off.

  Furthermore, the communication system according to the present invention includes communication interface means for notifying the transmission period setting request means for transmission period determination information for the base station to determine the periodic signal transmission period in the terminal station. The transmission cycle setting request means includes the transmission cycle determination information notified from the communication interface means, and transmits the periodic signal transmission cycle setting request to the base station. It is characterized by that.

  Thereby, the transmission cycle determination information can be further transmitted from the terminal station, and the periodic signal transmission cycle can be determined based on the transmission cycle determination information in the base station. Therefore, there is no need to determine a periodic signal transmission period at the terminal station, and the terminal station configuration is simplified.

  As the transmission cycle determination information, “application type” and / or “communication characteristics” executed at the terminal station can be used. Here, `` communication characteristics '' means (a) application communication pattern, (b) application status, (c) type of terminal station, (d) (a) to (c) combination, etc. It is decided according to.

  Furthermore, the communication system according to the present invention includes application execution means for executing an application in which the terminal station communicates with the outside via the base station, and the transmission cycle determination information is stored in the application execution means. Including the type of application being executed and / or the communication characteristics.

  As a result, the base station can determine the periodic signal transmission cycle according to the type of application and / or communication characteristics being executed in the terminal station.

  The base station according to the present invention is a base station in a communication system that notifies a terminal station of a periodic signal transmission period transmitted from the base station, and transmits the periodic signal received from the terminal station. It is characterized by comprising transmission period setting means for changing the periodic signal transmission period based on a period setting request.

  A terminal station according to the present invention is a terminal station in a communication system that notifies a terminal station of a transmission cycle of a periodic signal transmitted from a base station, and sends a request for setting the periodic signal transmission cycle. A transmission cycle setting requesting means for transmitting to the base station is provided.

  Furthermore, the terminal station according to the present invention further comprises communication interface means for notifying the transmission period setting request means of transmission period determination information for the base station to determine the transmission period of the periodic signal. The period setting request means includes a transmission request for setting the periodic signal transmission period including the transmission period determination information notified from the communication interface means to the base station. .

  Furthermore, the terminal station according to the present invention is responsive to an application execution unit that executes an application that communicates with the outside via the base station, and a type and / or communication characteristic of the application that is being executed by the application execution unit. A communication interface means for notifying the transmission period setting request means of the periodic signal transmission period, wherein the transmission period setting request means transmits the periodic signal notified from the communication interface means. It is characterized in that a cycle setting request is transmitted to the base station.

  Furthermore, the terminal station according to the present invention turns on the power supply of the communication circuit at the timing of receiving the periodic signal, and turns off the power supply of the communication circuit when the signal transmitted from the base station is received. It is characterized by doing.

  As a result, the terminal station can turn on the power supply of the communication circuit only during the period in which communication with the base station is performed, thereby achieving an effect of realizing low power consumption.

  The communication management method according to the present invention is a communication management method by a communication system for notifying a terminal station of a transmission period of a periodic signal transmitted from a base station. A transmission cycle setting request step for transmitting a transmission cycle setting request to the base station, and a transmission cycle setting step for changing the periodic signal transmission cycle based on the setting request received from the terminal station in the base station. It is characterized by including.

  Furthermore, in the communication management method according to the present invention, in the transmission cycle setting request step, the terminal station transmits the transmission cycle determination information for the base station to determine the transmission cycle of the periodic signal. In the transmission cycle setting step, the base station determines the periodic signal transmission cycle based on the transmission cycle determination information.

  Furthermore, in the communication management method according to the present invention, in the terminal station, the periodic signal transmission period corresponding to the type of application being executed and / or communication characteristics communicating with the outside via the base station is set. A transmission cycle determining step for determining is included.

  The terminal station according to the present invention is a terminal station in a communication system in which a periodic signal is transmitted from the base station to the terminal station, and the base station determines the reception cycle for receiving the periodic signal. A reception period setting means for setting a multiple of a transmission period for transmitting a typical signal.

  Accordingly, the terminal station can control the reception cycle in which the terminal station receives the periodic signal without changing the periodic signal transmission period of the base station. Therefore, it is possible to optimize the period at which the terminal station receives a periodic signal in accordance with its own situation. Therefore, the power supply to the communication circuit can be turned off until the terminal station receives a periodic signal, and the power consumption can be suppressed. In other words, depending on the device that is the terminal station and the application executed by the terminal station, the periodic signal transmission cycle is dynamically changed and set to an optimal value, thereby providing quick response and reducing power consumption. There is an effect that it becomes possible.

  Note that the base station may transmit the same periodic signal until a reception confirmation signal (ACK) is received from the terminal station. In this case, the base station transmits a periodic signal having the same content a plurality of times during the reception cycle of the terminal station.

  Furthermore, the terminal station according to the present invention is responsive to an application execution unit that executes an application that communicates with the outside via the base station, and a type and / or communication characteristic of the application that is being executed by the application execution unit. And a communication interface means for notifying the reception period setting means of the periodic signal reception period.

  Here, `` communication characteristics '' means (a) application communication pattern, (b) application status, (c) type of terminal station, (d) (a) to (c) combination, etc. It is decided according to. The “communication characteristics” and “application type” are used as information (transmission cycle determination information) for determining the periodic signal transmission cycle. For example, if the application type is mail, the automatic mail reception check interval set by the user is an element that determines communication characteristics. If the application type is streaming, the data rate of streaming playback and the buffer size of the base station are factors that determine communication characteristics. If the application type is an IP phone, the reception check interval in the standby state and the packet transmission interval in the call state determine the communication characteristics.

  According to the communication system, the terminal station can optimize its reception cycle according to the communication pattern and state of its application. Therefore, there is an effect that the power consumption of the terminal station can be suppressed for each application.

  For example, when the application is mail, the terminal station requests the base station to change to a reception cycle that matches the automatic mail reception check interval set in the application. As a result, the terminal station can perform intermittent reception with a minimum period necessary for the mail reception check. Therefore, the terminal station can reduce power consumption by optimizing its own reception cycle to turn off the power supply to the communication circuit until the timing for receiving a periodic signal.

  Also, in streaming and IP phone applications, which are conventionally executed in a communication state, according to the communication system, a period at which a terminal station receives a periodic signal so as not to be affected by data corruption or delay. Can be set, and intermittent data reception can be performed by providing a period of no communication. Therefore, power consumption can be suppressed.

  Further, in the terminal station according to the present invention, the communication interface means acquires the state of the application being executed by the application execution means, and determines the periodic signal reception cycle according to the state. It is characterized by being.

  Thereby, the terminal station can optimize its own reception cycle according to the state of the application. Therefore, the power consumption can be suppressed according to the application state.

  For example, when the application is an IP phone, the terminal station sets, for example, a reception cycle of 1 sec during standby, and sets a value that does not affect delay (for example, 20 msec) according to the packet transmission interval during a call. . As a result, the terminal station can perform intermittent reception in accordance with the packet transmission interval. Therefore, the terminal station can reduce power consumption during a call by optimizing its own reception cycle to turn off the power supply to the communication circuit until the timing of receiving a periodic signal. It can be detected that the user is in a call state by detecting an on-hook operation by the user.

  Furthermore, the terminal station according to the present invention is characterized in that the communication interface means determines the periodic signal reception period based on a buffer size of the base station.

  As a result, the terminal station can optimize its own reception cycle even in the case of an application that uses the buffer of the base station during data transmission, such as streaming playback. Therefore, the power consumption can be suppressed according to the buffer size of the base station.

  For example, when the application is streaming, the terminal station obtains the buffer size of the base station, calculates the longest reception period in which data reproduction does not fail from the data rate and buffer size of streaming reproduction, and the obtained reception period Request the base station to change to As a result, the terminal station can perform intermittent reception at a period that does not cause data corruption. Therefore, the terminal station can reduce power consumption during streaming reproduction by optimizing its own reception cycle to turn off the power supply to the communication circuit until the timing of receiving a periodic signal.

  Further, in the terminal station according to the present invention, when the communication interface means executes a plurality of applications in one terminal station, the terminal unit determines the periodic signal reception period according to the application that requires the shortest period. It is characterized by being.

  As a result, even when multiple applications are executed by a single terminal station, the terminal station optimizes its own reception cycle to turn off the power supply to the communication circuit until the timing for receiving a periodic signal. As a result, the power consumption can be reduced.

  Furthermore, the terminal station according to the present invention is a terminal station in a communication system in which a periodic signal is transmitted from the base station to the terminal station, and the base station has a reception cycle for receiving the periodic signal. A reception period setting means for setting a multiple of a transmission period for transmitting a typical signal.

  As a result, the terminal station can turn on the power supply of the communication circuit only during the period in which communication with the base station is performed, thereby achieving an effect of realizing low power consumption.

  The communication management method according to the present invention is a communication management method by a communication system in which a periodic signal is transmitted from a base station to a terminal station, and the terminal station has a reception cycle for receiving the periodic signal. And a reception cycle setting step in which the base station sets a multiple of the transmission cycle for transmitting the periodic signal.

  Furthermore, in the communication management method according to the present invention, in the terminal station, the periodic signal reception cycle corresponding to the type of application being executed and / or communication characteristics communicating with the outside via the base station is set. It is characterized by including a receiving period determining step for determining.

  The communication system according to the present invention includes a base station and at least two terminal stations, and is a communication system that notifies a terminal station of a periodic signal transmission cycle transmitted from the base station. A transmission cycle setting request means for transmitting the periodic signal transmission cycle setting request to the base station, and the base station receives the periodic signal based on the setting request received from the terminal station. A transmission cycle setting means for changing a transmission cycle, and further, in the terminal station, the transmission cycle at which the base station transmits the periodic signal is an appropriate reception at which the terminal station should receive the periodic signal. If the period is shorter than the period, the apparatus includes a reception period setting means for setting a reception period for receiving the periodic signal to a multiple of a transmission period for the base station to transmit the periodic signal. There.

  As a result, when a certain terminal station issues a request to the base station to set the transmission cycle to be shorter than the present, and the base station changes the periodic signal transmission cycle to be shorter than the present based on the setting request received from the terminal station. Even so, the other terminal station sets the reception period for receiving the periodic signal to a multiple of the transmission period for the base station to transmit the periodic signal, and sends the periodic signal at its own station. There is an effect that the reception timing can be adjusted appropriately.

  Further, in the communication system according to the present invention, when the transmission request of the base station is such that the setting request received from the terminal station changes the periodic signal transmission period longer than the present time, It is determined whether the terminal station that issued the setting request to change to the current transmission cycle is the same terminal station, and if it is the same terminal station, the periodic signal transmission cycle is changed. It is characterized by being.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent the communication of the terminal station that is being executed in a short transmission cycle from being disturbed by a transmission cycle setting request from another terminal station.

  Further, in the communication system according to the present invention, the transmission cycle setting means of the base station changes to the current transmission cycle and the terminal station that has transmitted the setting request for changing the periodic signal transmission cycle to be longer than the present time. When the terminal station that issued the setting request is the same terminal station, the terminal station is changed to the shortest transmission cycle received from the communicating terminal station.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent the communication of the terminal station that is being executed in a short transmission cycle from being disturbed by a transmission cycle setting request from another terminal station.

  A communication apparatus according to the present invention is a communication apparatus that transmits a periodic signal, and is characterized by changing the periodic signal transmission period based on a transmission period setting request.

  The communication apparatus according to the present invention is a communication apparatus that receives a periodic signal, and transmits a request for setting the periodic signal transmission cycle.

  The communication apparatus according to the present invention is a communication apparatus that receives a periodic signal, wherein the reception period for receiving the periodic signal is set to a multiple of the period of the periodic signal. It is said.

  The base station, the terminal station, and the communication device may be realized by a computer. In this case, each of the above devices that realizes each of the above devices by a computer by operating the computer as each of the above means. The control program (communication management program) and a computer-readable recording medium on which the control program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the communication system according to the present invention includes transmission cycle setting request means for transmitting a periodic signal transmission cycle setting request to the base station in the terminal station. This is a configuration provided with transmission cycle setting means for changing the periodic signal transmission cycle based on the received setting request.

  Therefore, the period of the periodic signal transmitted from the base station can be controlled from the terminal station. Therefore, the terminal station can optimize the periodic signal reception period in accordance with its own situation. Therefore, the power supply to the communication circuit can be turned off until the terminal station receives a periodic signal, and the power consumption can be suppressed. In other words, depending on the device that is the terminal station and the application executed by the terminal station, the periodic signal transmission cycle is dynamically changed and set to an optimal value, thereby providing quick response and reducing power consumption. There is an effect that it becomes possible.

  The communication system, base station, terminal station, communication apparatus, and communication management method according to the present invention can be applied to wireless communication and / or wired communication.

  The embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 34 as follows. Note that although the embodiment describes a wireless communication configuration, the present invention may include a communication device, a communication system, a base station, and a terminal station that perform communication by wired connection in a network.

[Embodiment 1]
3 and 4 are schematic diagrams showing an outline of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the wireless communication system 1 is a system in which a base station 10 performs wireless communication with one or more terminal stations 30 (30A, 30B, 30C...). The base station 10 relays communication between the external network 2 and the terminal station 30. That is, the wireless communication system 1 includes a base station 10 and a terminal station 30, and identifies the terminal station 30 from the base station 10 based on a beacon signal (periodic signal) periodically transmitted from the base station 10. Then, the presence / absence of data to be transmitted to the identified terminal station 30 and the transmission period of the next beacon signal are notified by the beacon signal.

  1 and 2 are functional block diagrams showing a detailed configuration of the wireless communication system 1. FIG. 1 shows a case where one application is executed in the terminal station 30. FIG. 2 shows a case where there are a plurality of applications executed in the terminal station 30.

  The base station 10 includes at least an external interface unit 11, a base-side radio communication unit 12, and an antenna 19. The external interface unit 11 is connected to the external network 2 from a dedicated line, a telephone line, or the like by a wired LAN or modem, and performs data transfer with a server on a network such as the Internet. The antenna 19 transmits and receives radio signals that are exchanged with the terminal station 30.

  The base-side wireless communication unit 12 includes a control unit 13, a transmission unit 17, and a reception unit 18. The transmission unit 17 transmits a signal to the terminal station 30 via the antenna 19 under the control of the communication control unit 15. The receiving unit 18 receives a signal from the terminal station 30 via the antenna 19 under the control of the communication control unit 15.

  The control unit 13 includes a storage unit (buffer) 14, a communication control unit (transmission cycle setting means) 15, and a timer unit 16. The storage unit 14 temporarily buffers data received from the external network 2. The timer unit 16 takes a timing for transmitting a beacon signal to the terminal station 30.

  The communication control unit 15 performs control for wireless communication. In particular, the communication control unit 15 changes the cycle for transmitting a beacon signal in response to a beacon cycle change request from the terminal station 30. That is, the communication control unit 15 sets the transmission cycle of the beacon signal based on the setting request received from the terminal station 30. In addition, when there are a plurality of terminal stations 30 (FIG. 4), the communication control unit 15 determines the transmission cycle of the beacon signal according to the terminal station 30 that requires the shortest cycle. When a request for an empty buffer size is received from the terminal station 30, the empty buffer size in the storage unit 14 is acquired and transmitted to the terminal station 30. This empty buffer size may be transmitted by being included in a beacon signal, or may be separately transmitted by a signal for notification.

  The terminal station 30 includes at least an input unit 31, an output unit 32, an application unit 33, a terminal-side wireless communication unit (transmission cycle setting request unit) 36, a power supply unit 43, and an antenna 44.

  The input unit 31 and the output unit 32 are user interfaces for the user of the terminal station 30 to operate the terminal station 30. Specifically, the input unit 31 is an input device such as a button, a key, a mouse, or a tablet. The output unit 32 is an output device such as a display or a speaker. A user of the terminal station 30 can use an application that operates in the application unit 33 using the input unit 31 and the output unit 32.

  The antenna 44 transmits and receives a radio signal exchanged with the base station 10.

  The power supply unit 43 is a power supply that supplies power to the communication circuit 40 of the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36.

  The application unit 33 includes an application execution unit (application execution unit) 34 and a communication interface unit (communication interface unit) 35.

  The application execution unit 34 executes an application that communicates with the outside via the base station 10. That is, the application execution unit 34 executes applications such as mail, streaming, and IP phone. The application executed by the application execution unit 34 can be appropriately selected according to the use of the terminal station 30.

  In the communication interface unit 35, the user operates the input unit 31 to execute the application in the application execution unit 34, and issues a control instruction to the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 depending on the status of the application being executed. That is, the communication interface unit 35 notifies the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 of the transmission period of the beacon signal corresponding to the type of application being executed by the application execution unit 34 and / or the communication characteristics.

  Here, in this specification, “communication characteristics” refers to (a) application communication pattern, (b) application state, (c) type of device serving as a terminal station, and (d) (a) to (c ) And the like. The “communication characteristics” and “application type” are used as information for determining the beacon period (beacon period determination information (transmission period determination information)).

  For example, if the application type is mail, the automatic mail reception check interval set by the user is an element that determines communication characteristics. If the application type is streaming, the data rate of streaming playback and the buffer size of the base station 10 are factors that determine communication characteristics. If the application type is an IP phone, the reception check interval in the standby state and the packet transmission interval in the call state determine the communication characteristics.

  For example, the communication interface unit 35 acquires the state of the application being executed by the application execution unit 34, and determines the transmission period of the beacon signal according to the state. Further, the communication interface unit 35 determines the transmission cycle of the beacon signal based on the buffer size of the base station 10. Further, when a plurality of applications are executed by one terminal station 30, the communication interface unit 35 determines the transmission cycle of the beacon signal according to the application that requires the shortest cycle.

  Therefore, the communication interface unit 35 may hold a table (not shown) in which conditions such as an automatic mail reception check interval and a reproduction data rate are associated with each application. Note that the recording in this table can be performed when the application is installed in the terminal station 30 or when the execution is terminated.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the application unit 33 can operate a plurality of applications (application execution units 34A, 34B, 34C,...). At this time, the communication interface unit 35 may be provided for each application execution unit 34, or a plurality of application execution units 34 may share one communication interface unit 35 as shown in FIG.

  The terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 includes a transmission control unit 37, a timer unit 38, a reception control unit 39, a transmission unit 41, and a reception unit 42. In particular, the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 transmits to the base station 10 a request for setting the transmission cycle of the beacon signal notified from the communication interface unit 35.

  The transmission control unit 37 controls the transmission unit 41 according to an instruction from the communication interface unit 35 and transmits a signal to the base station 10 via the antenna 44.

  The reception control unit 39 controls the reception unit 42 in accordance with an instruction from the communication interface unit 35 and receives a signal from the base station 10 via the antenna 44.

  The timer unit 38 takes a timing for receiving a beacon signal transmitted from the base station 10.

  A communication circuit 40 is configured by the transmission unit 41 and the reception unit 42. Power supply from the power supply unit 43 to the communication circuit 40 is controlled by the reception control unit 39. That is, the reception control unit 39 turns on the power supply from the power supply unit 43 to the communication circuit 40 only when a beacon signal is received and turns off the power supply during other periods.

  Hereinafter, control of the beacon period in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described by taking the cases (1) to (3) as examples.

  (1) When one base station 10 is used by one terminal station 30 and one application is executed by the terminal station 30, a beacon period optimum for the application executed by the terminal station 30 is set. Also, an optimal beacon period is set according to the communication pattern and state of the application being executed.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the application unit 33 when there is one application. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 when there is one application. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the base station 10 when there is one application. 5, 6, and 7 summarize the cases where the applications are mail, streaming, and IP phone.

〔Email〕
First, control when the application execution unit 34 executes a mail application will be described. It is assumed that the beacon period is initially set to a default value (T0 = 100 msec).

  FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of changing the beacon period when the application is mail, and FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram in which an operation of receiving mail data is added thereto.

  When the application is mail, the terminal station 30 requests the base station 10 to change to a beacon period that matches the automatic mail reception check interval set in the application. As a result, the terminal station 30 can perform intermittent reception with a minimum period necessary for the mail reception check. Therefore, the terminal station 30 can reduce power consumption by optimizing the reception period of its own beacon to turn off the power supply from the power supply unit 43 to the communication circuit 40 until the timing of receiving the beacon signal. it can.

  Specifically, first, when the application execution unit 34 activates a mail application (S11), the communication interface unit 35 notifies the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 of the mail application activation, and is set for the mail application. A request is made to set the beacon period of the base station 10 at the automatic mail reception check interval (for example, 60 sec) (S13, S23).

  Note that the beacon period may be set in advance in the communication interface unit 35 for each application, or may be notified from the application execution unit 34 to the communication interface unit 35 every time setting is required.

  When the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 receives the mail application activation notification from the application unit 33 together with the beacon cycle designation (S32), it transmits a beacon cycle change request to the base station 10 including the beacon cycle requested in the beacon signal. .

  In the base station 10, when the beacon cycle change request is received from the terminal station 30 (S68), the communication control unit 15 changes to the designated beacon cycle (S69). Note that the base station 10 transmits the beacon signal addressed to the terminal station 30 to the terminal station 30 with the next beacon period added to the beacon signal before the change.

  On the other hand, at the terminal station 30, when the beacon reception time (before the change) is reached, the communication circuit 40 is turned on, and after receiving the beacon signal from the base station 10 (S33 to S35), the communication circuit 40 is turned on. Turn off (S43). At this time, the reception control unit 39 confirms that the setting of the beacon period included in the beacon signal is the requested one, and sets the beacon signal reception period (S44). That is, the beacon reception cycle is 60 seconds from the next time. If the beacon signal contains information indicating that there is data addressed to the own station, the data is received and passed to the application unit 33 (S40 to S42).

  Thereafter, when the application unit 33 receives data from the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 (S15), the application execution unit 34 causes the output unit 32 to output the data (S16). When the user ends the mail (S24), the communication interface unit 35 sends an application end notification to the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36, and requests the base station 10 to return the beacon period to the original state (before starting the mail) ( S25, S47, S50).

  When the application is mail, when the user changes the time setting of the automatic mail reception check interval, a situation occurs in which the beacon period is changed.

  Further, FIG. 9 is a diagram in which the timing at which a signal for data communication is sent in a sequence for changing the beacon period is added. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when there is mail data in the base station 10 (in the case of “notification of presence of new mail from the mail server”), the mail data is sent as a signal for data communication following the beacon signal. . In this way, the presence or absence of mail data to be transmitted from the base station 10 to the terminal station 30 can be notified by the beacon signal.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9 as a power ON section (shaded area), the terminal station 30 transmits a beacon cycle change request and then turns off the communication circuit 40. When the beacon reception time before the change is reached, the communication circuit 40 is turned on, a beacon signal is received from the base station 10, a new mail is inquired to the mail server, and if there is a new mail, the mail data is received. After receiving, the power supply of the communication circuit 40 is turned off. After that, when the beacon reception time after the change is reached, the communication circuit 40 is turned on, a beacon signal is received from the base station 10, a new mail is inquired to the mail server, and if there is a new mail, its mail data Is received, the operation of turning off the power of the communication circuit 40 is repeated. As described above, when the terminal station 30 has received the signal transmitted from the base station 10, the terminal station 30 turns off the power supply of the communication circuit 40 until the next beacon signal is received. That is, the terminal station 30 turns off the communication circuit 40 when no signal is received.

[Streaming]
Second, control when the application execution unit 34 executes a streaming application will be described. It is assumed that the beacon period is initially set to a default value (T0 = 100 msec).

  FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of changing the beacon period when the application is streaming, and FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram in which an operation of receiving streaming data is added thereto.

  When the application is streaming, the terminal station 30 checks the buffer (storage unit 14) size of the base station 10 and calculates the longest beacon period at which data reproduction does not fail from the data rate and buffer size of streaming reproduction. The base station 10 is requested to change the beacon period. As a result, the terminal station 30 can perform intermittent reception in a cycle that does not cause data corruption. Therefore, the terminal station 30 optimizes the reception period of its own beacon, thereby turning off the power supply from the power supply unit 43 to the communication circuit 40 until the timing of receiving the beacon signal, and the power consumption during streaming playback Can be suppressed.

  Specifically, first, when the application execution unit 34 activates a streaming application (S11), the communication interface unit 35 acquires a reproduction data rate (for example, 480 Kbps) set for the streaming application. At the same time (S14), the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 is notified of the activation of the streaming application, and the base station 10 is requested to notify the free buffer size (S19).

  The reproduction data rate may be set in advance for each application in the communication interface unit 35, or may be notified from the application execution unit 34 to the communication interface unit 35 every time setting is required.

  When receiving the streaming application activation notification from the application unit 33 together with the buffer size notification request of the base station 10 (S32), the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 transmits the beacon signal including the buffer size notification request to the base station 10. .

  In the base station 10, when a buffer size notification request is received from the terminal station 30 (S66), the communication control unit 15 acquires an empty buffer size (for example, 30 KBytes) in the storage unit 14 and includes it in the beacon signal. To the terminal station 30 (S67).

  Next, when the terminal station 30 receives an empty buffer size from the base station 10 (S37 to S39, S20), the communication interface unit 35 performs a streaming playback data rate (eg, 480 Kbps) and an empty buffer size (eg, 30 KBytes). ), The longest beacon period at which data reproduction does not fail is calculated (S21). In this example, from 30 KByte = 240 Kbit, 240/480 = 500 msec. Then, the communication interface unit 35 requests the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 to set the beacon cycle of the base station 10 to the obtained beacon cycle (for example, Tr = 500 msec) (S22).

  The subsequent processing is the same as the processing for changing the beacon period in the case of a mail application, and therefore description thereof is omitted.

  When the application is streaming, when the user selects different streaming data, a situation occurs in which the beacon period Tr is changed.

  In this example, the terminal station 30 receives the empty buffer size of the base station 10 and calculates the optimum beacon period. However, the base station 10 may perform this beacon period calculation process. In this case, the terminal station 30 notifies the base station 10 of the data rate of streaming playback.

  Further, FIG. 11 is a diagram in which the timing at which a signal for data communication is sent in a sequence for changing the beacon period is added. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, when there is streaming data in the base station 10 (when “storage data is stored”), the streaming data is sent as a signal for data communication following the beacon signal. Thus, the presence or absence of streaming data to be transmitted from the base station 10 to the terminal station 30 can be notified by the beacon signal.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 11 as a power ON section (shaded portion), the terminal station 30 transmits an empty buffer size notification request while turning ON / OFF the power of the communication circuit 40 at the beacon reception time before the change. Sends an empty buffer size reception and beacon cycle change request. After the change of the beacon period, when the beacon reception time comes, the power of the communication circuit 40 is turned on, and after receiving the beacon signal and streaming data from the base station 10, the operation of turning off the power of the communication circuit 40 is repeated. As described above, when the terminal station 30 has received the signal transmitted from the base station 10, the terminal station 30 turns off the power supply of the communication circuit 40 until the next beacon signal is received. That is, the terminal station 30 turns off the communication circuit 40 when no signal is received.

[IP phone]
Third, control when the application execution unit 34 executes an IP telephone application will be described. It is assumed that the beacon period is initially set to a default value (T0 = 100 msec).

  FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of changing the beacon period when the application is an IP phone, and FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram in which an incoming operation is added thereto.

  When the application is an IP phone, the terminal station 30 sets a beacon period of, for example, 1 sec during standby, and sets a value (for example, 20 msec) that does not affect the delay according to the packet transmission interval during a call. As a result, the terminal station 30 can perform intermittent reception in accordance with the packet transmission interval. Therefore, the terminal station 30 optimizes the reception period of its own beacon, thereby turning off the power supply from the power supply unit 43 to the communication circuit 40 until the timing of receiving the beacon signal, thereby reducing the power consumption during the call. Can be suppressed.

  Specifically, first, when the application execution unit 34 activates the IP phone application (S11), the communication interface unit 35 notifies the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 of the IP phone application activation, to the IP phone application. The beacon cycle of the base station 10 is requested to be set at the reception check interval (for example, Ta = 1 sec) set in standby (S13, S23).

  Note that the beacon period during standby and during a call may be set in advance for each application in the communication interface unit 35, or is notified from the application execution unit 34 to the communication interface unit 35 each time a change in the beacon period is requested. May be.

  When the terminal side wireless communication unit 36 receives the IP phone activation notification from the application unit 33 together with the specification of the beacon period at the time of standby (S32), the beacon signal includes the requested beacon period (eg, T = 1 sec). A beacon cycle change request is transmitted to the base station 10.

  In the base station 10, when the beacon cycle change request is received from the terminal station 30 (S68), the communication control unit 15 changes to the designated beacon cycle (S69). At this time, after transmitting the beacon signal notifying the changed beacon cycle at the timing of the beacon cycle before the change, the communication control unit 15 starts transmitting the beacon signal at the timing of the changed beacon cycle.

  On the other hand, at the terminal station 30, when the beacon reception time (before the change) is reached, the communication circuit 40 is turned on, and after receiving the beacon signal from the base station 10 (S33 to S35), the communication circuit 40 is turned on. Turn off. At this time, the reception control unit 39 confirms that the setting of the beacon period included in the beacon signal is the requested one, and sets the beacon signal reception period (S44). That is, from the next time, the beacon reception cycle is 1 sec during standby. If the beacon signal contains information indicating that there is data addressed to the own station, the data is received and passed to the application unit 33 (S40 to S42).

  Thereafter, when the application unit 33 receives data from the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 (S15), the application execution unit 34 notifies the incoming call by sound or display at the output unit 32 (S16). When the user goes on-hook and enters a call state, the terminal station 30 changes the beacon period Ta (for example, 20 msec) at the time of the call in the same manner as the beacon period change process at the time of standby described above. Further, when the user goes off-hook and enters the standby state again, the beacon period Ta (eg, 1 sec) at the time of standby is changed. Thus, when the application is an IP phone, the terminal station 30 changes the beacon period according to the standby / call state.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram in which the timing at which a signal for data communication is sent in a sequence for changing the beacon period is added. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, when there is IP telephone voice data in the base station 10 (“data transmission”), the voice data is sent as a signal for data communication following the beacon signal. Thus, the presence or absence of audio data to be transmitted from the base station 10 to the terminal station 30 can be notified by the beacon signal.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13 as a power ON section (shaded portion), the terminal station 30 turns on the communication circuit 40 and turns on the beacon from the base station 10 when the beacon reception time at the standby time comes. In addition to receiving the signal, if there is an incoming call, after receiving the incoming call signal, the operation of turning off the power of the communication circuit 40 is repeated. Also, during a call, when the beacon reception time during the call comes, the communication circuit 40 is turned on to receive a beacon signal from the base station 10, and after receiving voice data, the communication circuit 40 is turned off. Repeat the operation. As described above, when the terminal station 30 has received the signal transmitted from the base station 10, the terminal station 30 turns off the power supply of the communication circuit 40 until the next beacon signal is received. That is, the terminal station 30 turns off the communication circuit 40 when no signal is received.

  (2) When one base station 10 is used by one terminal station 30 and a plurality of applications are executed by the terminal station 30, the beacon period is set to a beacon period suitable for an application that requires a shorter beacon period. When the application is terminated, the beacon period is set to the application that requires the shortest beacon period among other running applications.

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of changing the beacon period when an IP phone is executed while an e-mail is being executed as an application and the IP phone is terminated first. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 when there are a plurality of applications. FIG. 15 shows a case where the applications are mail, streaming, and IP phone.

  Here, in the wireless communication system 1 shown in FIG. 2, a case will be described as an example where the application execution unit 34 </ b> B executes the IP phone while the application execution unit 34 </ b> A is executing mail, and the IP phone is terminated first.

  Specifically, first, the terminal station 30 sets the beacon period (eg, 60 sec) of the base station 10 according to the automatic mail reception check interval of the mail of the application execution unit 34A by the process described in (1) [Mail]. Set. Thereafter, the terminal station 30 performs the process described in (1) [IP phone], and the beacon cycle of the base station 10 at the reception check interval (eg, Ta = 1 sec) when the application execution unit 34B is in the IP phone standby state. Request to set

  At this time, when the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 receives the IP phone activation notification from the application unit 33 together with the specification of the beacon cycle at the time of standby (S72), the requested beacon cycle (eg, Ta = 1 sec) is present. It is determined whether or not it is shorter than the beacon period (example: T = 60 sec) (S89). A cycle change request is transmitted (S90).

  Since the beacon period (for example, 20 msec) in the IP telephone call state is shorter than the beacon period for the mail (for example, 60 sec), the terminal station 30 executes the application by the process described in (1) [IP telephone]. The communication of the application execution unit 34A and the IP phone of the application execution unit 34B are performed while changing the beacon cycle according to the beacon cycle corresponding to the standby / call state of the IP phone of the unit 34B.

  Thereafter, when the user ends the IP phone application, the communication interface unit 35 determines whether or not another application is being executed (S91). If the other application is being executed (YES), the application The terminal side wireless communication unit 36 is requested to the base station 10 to change to the beacon period (in this example, T = 60 sec in the mail) (S92). On the other hand, if another application is not being executed (NO), the terminal side wireless communication unit 36 is requested to make a request to the base station 10 to change to the default beacon period (eg, T0 = 100 msec) (S93).

  As described above, according to the wireless communication system 1, even when one base station 10 is used by one terminal station 30 and a plurality of applications are executed by the terminal station 30, the terminal station 30 does not use its own beacon. By optimizing the reception cycle, power supply from the power supply unit 43 to the communication circuit 40 can be turned off until the beacon signal is received, thereby reducing power consumption.

  In this example, the case where there are two applications has been described. When there are three or more applications, it is determined whether another application is activated when one application is terminated. For this purpose, the communication interface unit 35 may maintain, for example, a table (not shown) that manages the correspondence between the running application and the beacon period requested by the application. Thereby, the communication interface part 35 can know the application which requires the shortest beacon period, and can set the beacon period according to it. In this example, the terminal station 30 determines the shortest beacon period, but this determination may be performed by the base station 10. In this case, the base station 10 is notified of the beacon period requested by each application running on the terminal station 30.

  (3) When one base station 10 is used by a plurality of terminal stations 30..., The beacon period is set to the terminal station 30 that requires a shorter beacon period. When the application is terminated, the beacon period is set to the terminal station 30 that requires the shortest beacon period among the other terminal stations 30 that are executing the application.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 when there are a plurality of terminal stations 30. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation of the base station 10 when there are a plurality of terminal stations 30. Note that FIGS. 16 and 17 summarize the cases where the applications are mail, streaming, and IP telephone.

  Here, a case will be described as an example where the terminal station 30B (FIG. 4) executes an IP phone call while the terminal station 30A (FIG. 4) is executing a mail, and the terminal station 30B IP phone is terminated first.

  Specifically, first, when the terminal station 30A executes the mail, the beacon period (for example, 60 sec) of the base station 10 according to the automatic mail reception check interval of the mail by the process described in (1) [Mail]. Set. After that, when the terminal station 30B executes the IP phone, the reception check interval when the application execution unit 34B of the terminal station 30B is in the standby state of the IP phone (for example: It is requested to set the beacon period of the base station 10 at (Ta = 1 sec) (S119).

  At this time, in the base station 10, the communication control unit 15 compares the beacon cycle requested by the terminal station 30B (S139) with the beacon cycle at that time (S140), and selects a shorter beacon cycle. (S141). In this example, since the beacon period in the standby state of the IP phone is shorter than the beacon period of the mail, the beacon cycle in the standby state of the IP phone is changed. At this time, the communication control unit 15 transmits a beacon signal notifying the changed beacon cycle to the terminal stations 30A and 30B at the timing of the beacon cycle before the change, and then transmits the beacon signal at the timing of the changed beacon cycle. To start.

  Thereafter, when the IP telephone application of the terminal station 30B is terminated first, the communication interface unit 35 of the terminal station 30B causes the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 to transmit the termination of the IP telephone application to the base station 10 (S120).

  At this time, in the base station 10, the communication control unit 15 determines whether an application is operating in addition to the IP phone application terminated at the terminal station 30B (S142). If there is another application as a result of the determination (YES), the beacon period is changed to the shortest beacon period among the communicating terminal stations 30 (S143). In this example, it is changed to the beacon period (Tb = 60 sec) of the mail operating at the terminal station 30A.

  As described above, according to the wireless communication system 1, even when one base station 10 is used by a plurality of terminal stations 30..., By optimizing the beacon reception period, the power is supplied until the beacon signal is received. The power consumption from the unit 43 to the communication circuit 40 can be turned off to reduce power consumption.

  In this example, the case where there are two terminal stations 30 has been described. When there are three or more terminal stations, when the base station 10 receives an end notification from one terminal station 30, is it communicating with other terminal stations 30? Judging. For this purpose, the communication control unit 15 may maintain, for example, a table (not shown) that manages the correspondence between the terminal station 30 in communication and the beacon period requested by the terminal station 30. Thereby, the communication control part 15 can know the terminal station 30 which requires the shortest beacon period, and can set the beacon period according to it.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 when a plurality of terminal stations 30 execute a plurality of applications. In this case, the communication interface unit 35 transmits the shortest beacon period to the base station 10 if there is an active application in the own station, and transmits an end notification to the base station 10 if there is no active application. The flowchart showing the operation of the base station 10 in this case is the same as FIG.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 22 to FIG. 25, the terminal station 30 sends information to the base station 10 for determining the beacon period instead of the beacon period (beacon period determination information (transmission period determination). A case of transmitting information) will be described.

  Here, as described above, “communication characteristics” refers to (a) application communication pattern, (b) application state, (c) type of terminal device, and (d) (a) to (c ) And the like. In the wireless communication system 1, “communication characteristics” and “application type” are used as information for determining the beacon period (beacon period determination information).

  FIG. 22 is an example of a management table in which application types are associated with beacon transmission cycles. The communication control unit 15 of the base station 10 stores a management table as shown in FIG. And the terminal station 30 transmits the information which shows the kind (mail, browser, etc.) of the application which the application execution part 34 performs to the base station 10 as beacon period determination information. In the base station 10, the communication control unit 15 determines and sets the beacon transmission cycle with reference to the management table based on the information indicating the type of application received as the beacon cycle determination information. In the example of FIG. 22, the beacon transmission cycle is set such that 60 sec when the application type is mail and 1 sec when the application is browser.

  FIG. 23 is an example of a management table in which application types and communication patterns are associated with beacon transmission cycles. The communication control unit 15 of the base station 10 stores a management table as shown in FIG. Then, the terminal station 30 uses information indicating the type of application (streaming or the like) executed by the application execution unit 34 and information indicating the communication pattern (streaming reproduction data rate is 300 Kbps or the like) as beacon cycle determination information. To the base station 10. In the base station 10, the communication control unit 15 determines and sets the beacon transmission cycle with reference to the management table based on the information indicating the type of application and the communication pattern received as the beacon cycle determination information. In the example of FIG. 23, when the application type is streaming and the data rate of streaming playback is 300 Kbps, the beacon transmission cycle is set to 40 msec.

  FIG. 24 is an example of a management table in which application types and states are associated with beacon transmission cycles. A management table as shown in FIG. 24 is stored in advance in the communication control unit 15 of the base station 10. Then, the terminal station 30 transmits information indicating the type of application (IP telephone or the like) executed by the application execution unit 34 and information indicating the state (standby, telephone call, or the like) to the base station 10 as beacon period determination information. To do. In the base station 10, the communication control unit 15 determines and sets the beacon transmission cycle with reference to the management table based on the information indicating the type and state of the application received as the beacon cycle determination information. In the example of FIG. 24, the application type is an IP phone, and the beacon transmission cycle is set such that 1 sec when the application status is standby and 20 msec when the application is in a call.

  FIG. 25 is an example of a management table in which application types and terminal station 30 device types are associated with each other. The communication control unit 15 of the base station 10 stores a management table as shown in FIG. Then, the terminal station 30 receives information indicating the type of application (email or the like) executed by the application execution unit 34 and information indicating the type of device of the terminal station 30 (such as a mobile phone, a portable information terminal, or a laptop computer). It transmits to the base station 10 as beacon period determination information. In the base station 10, the communication control unit 15 determines and sets the beacon transmission cycle by referring to the management table based on the information indicating the type of application and the type of device received as the beacon cycle determination information. In the example of FIG. 25, the beacon transmission cycle is set such that the application type is e-mail and the device type is a mobile phone, 10 sec, and the device type is a mobile information terminal or a notebook computer, 60 sec. become.

  As described above, the terminal station 30 can transmit a beacon cycle change request to the base station 10 including information for beacon cycle determination (beacon cycle determination information) instead of the beacon cycle. As the beacon period determination information, only “application type” may be used, only “communication characteristics” may be used, or both may be used. Of course, it goes without saying that a person with more information can set the beacon period more precisely.

  Note that the terminal station according to the present invention provides communication interface means (communication interface) for notifying the transmission period setting request means (terminal-side wireless communication unit 36) of information for determining the transmission period of a periodic signal (beacon signal). 35), and the transmission cycle setting request means may be configured to transmit a periodic signal transmission cycle setting request notified from the communication interface means to the base station. Further, in the terminal station, the information for determining the periodic signal transmission cycle may be the type of application executed in the terminal station. The information for determining the periodic signal transmission cycle of the terminal station may be communication characteristics. Also, the information for determining the periodic signal transmission period of the terminal station may be a combination of the type of application executed in the terminal station and the communication characteristics.

[Embodiment 2]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 and FIGS. 19 to 21. FIG. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and explanation thereof is omitted.

  In the radio communication system 1 according to the present embodiment, its own beacon reception cycle is dynamically changed according to the type of application executed by the terminal station 30 and / or communication characteristics (communication pattern and state of the application). That is, the point which does not change the beacon period of the base station 10 is different from the first embodiment. The outline and detailed configuration of the wireless communication system 1 are the same as those shown in FIGS.

  Specifically, in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment, the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 (reception cycle setting means) transmits a reception cycle in which a beacon signal is received, and the base station 10 transmits a beacon signal. Set to a multiple of the period. Further, the communication interface unit 35 (communication interface unit) notifies the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 of the reception cycle of the beacon signal corresponding to the type of application being executed by the application execution unit 34 and / or the communication characteristics. For example, the communication interface unit 35 acquires the state of the application being executed by the application execution unit 34 and determines the reception period of the beacon signal according to the state. Further, the communication interface unit 35 determines the beacon signal reception cycle based on the size of the buffer of the base station 10. In addition, when a plurality of applications are executed by one terminal station 30, the communication interface unit 35 determines the beacon signal reception cycle according to the application that requires the shortest cycle.

  Hereinafter, the control of the beacon period in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described using the cases (1) to (2) as examples.

  (1) The beacon reception cycle is changed only by the terminal station 30. The beacon reception period is a multiple of the beacon period of the base station 10.

  Note that the base station 10 may transmit the same beacon signal until a reception confirmation signal (ACK) is received from the terminal station 30. In this case, the base station 10 transmits a beacon signal having the same content a plurality of times during the beacon reception period of the terminal station 30. However, the base station 10 may set an upper limit on a multiple of the beacon period set by the terminal station 30 in order to limit the number of times to retransmit a beacon signal having the same content.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the application unit 33. FIG. 19 shows a case where the applications are mail, streaming, and IP phone.

  Here, in the network configuration of FIG. 4, a case where mail is executed at the terminal station 30A and streaming is executed at the terminal station 30B will be described as an example. In the terminal station 30A, the communication interface unit 35 sets the beacon reception period to 60 seconds, which is an integral multiple of the beacon transmission period 100 msec of the base station 10. In the terminal station 30B, the communication interface unit 35 sets the beacon reception period to 500 msec, which is an integral multiple of the beacon transmission period 100 msec of the base station 10. The beacon reception cycle of each terminal station 30 is not informed to the base station 10 or other terminal stations 30.

  Specifically, first, in the terminal station 30A, when the application execution unit 34 activates the mail application, the communication interface unit 35 notifies the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 of the mail application activation, and the mail application is activated. A request is made to set a beacon reception cycle at a set automatic mail reception check interval (eg, 60 sec).

  At this time, if the automatic mail reception check interval of the mail is different from the current beacon reception period (S197), the communication interface unit 35 determines the beacon reception period for requesting the change as follows. That is, it is determined whether or not the beacon reception cycle suitable for the application is equal to or greater than the default beacon cycle T0 of the base station 10 and an integral multiple (S198, S200). (S201). For example, if the default beacon period T0 is 100 msec and the beacon reception period is Tr = 60 sec, the request is changed as required. On the other hand, if the beacon reception cycle suitable for the application is shorter than the default, no change is made (NO in S198). If the beacon reception cycle suitable for the application is not an integer multiple of the default (for example, 60.01 sec) (NO in S200), the beacon reception cycle is set to a value closest to the default integer multiple and not exceeding the requested value. (S202).

  Then, the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 sets the beacon reception cycle in accordance with a request from the communication interface unit 35. Thereafter, when the beacon reception time is reached, the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 turns on the power of the communication circuit 40, receives a beacon signal from the base station 10, and then turns off the power of the communication circuit 40. At this time, if the beacon signal includes information indicating that there is data addressed to itself, the data is received and passed to the application unit 33 (S190 to S192).

  When the user ends the mail (S196), the communication interface unit 35 sends an application end notification to the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36, and returns the beacon reception cycle to the default (before starting the mail) (S199). When the application is mail, if the user changes the time setting of the automatic mail reception check interval, a situation occurs in which the beacon period Tr is changed.

  Next, in the terminal station 30B, when the application execution unit 34 starts the streaming application, the communication interface unit 35 acquires the reproduction data rate (for example, 480 Kbps) set for the streaming application, and The terminal side wireless communication unit 36 is notified of the activation of the streaming application, and the base station 10 is requested to notify the free buffer size (S195). When the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 receives an empty buffer size from the base station 10 (S188), the communication interface unit 35 receives data from the streaming playback data rate (eg, 480 Kbps) and the empty buffer size (eg, 30 KBytes). The longest beacon reception period at which reproduction does not fail is calculated. In this example, from 30 KByte = 240 Kbit, 240/480 = 500 msec. Then, the communication interface unit 35 requests the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 to set the beacon reception cycle to the obtained value (example: Tr = 500 msec) (S197).

  At this time, in the communication interface unit 35, if the calculated beacon reception cycle is different from the current beacon reception cycle (S197), as described above, it is closest to the default integer multiple and exceeds the calculated beacon reception cycle. A non-existing value is set (S198, S200, S201, S202). For example, if the calculated beacon reception cycle is shorter than the default, no change is made. If the calculated beacon reception cycle is not a default integer multiple such as 512 msec, the beacon reception cycle is set to 500 msec, which is the closest value among the default integer multiples and does not exceed 512 msec.

  Then, the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 sets the beacon reception cycle in accordance with a request from the communication interface unit 35. Thereafter, when the beacon reception time is reached, the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 turns on the power of the communication circuit 40, receives a beacon signal from the base station 10, and then turns off the power of the communication circuit 40. At this time, if the beacon signal includes information indicating that there is data addressed to itself, the data is received and passed to the application unit 33 (S190 to S192).

  When the user ends the streaming (S196), the communication interface unit 35 sends an application end notification to the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36, and returns the beacon reception cycle to the default (before starting the streaming) (S199).

  When the application is streaming, when the user selects different streaming data, a situation occurs in which the beacon period Tr is changed.

  (2) When one base station 10 is used by a plurality of terminal stations 30..., Only the beacon reception period of the terminal stations 30. The beacon reception cycle of the terminal stations 30 is a multiple of the beacon cycle of the base station 10. The difference from (1) is that the base station 10 determines and notifies the beacon reception period of each terminal station 30. In addition, since the transmission cycle of the beacon signal of the base station 10 is constant, the other terminal stations 30 are not affected.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the operation of the application unit 33. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the operation of the base station 10. 20 and 21 collectively show the cases where the applications are mail, streaming, and IP phone.

  Here, in the network configuration of FIG. 4, a case where mail is executed at the terminal station 30A and streaming is executed at the terminal station 30B will be described as an example. In the terminal station 30A, the communication interface unit 35 sets the beacon reception period to 60 seconds, which is an integral multiple of the beacon transmission period 100 msec of the base station 10. In the terminal station 30B, the communication interface unit 35 sets the beacon reception period to 500 msec, which is an integral multiple of the beacon transmission period 100 msec of the base station 10.

  Specifically, first, in the terminal station 30A, when the application execution unit 34 activates the mail application, the communication interface unit 35 notifies the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 of the mail application activation, and the mail application is activated. The base-side radio communication unit 12 is requested to set the beacon reception cycle at the set automatic mail reception check interval (for example, 60 sec) (S228, S229).

  When the base station 10 receives the beacon reception cycle change request from the terminal station 30A (S249), the communication control unit 15 is closest to the default integer multiple as described in (1), and A value not exceeding the automatic mail reception check interval is set (S250). For example, when the communication control unit 15 receives a change request from the terminal station 30A to the beacon period T = 60 sec, the requested beacon period is equal to or greater than the default beacon period 100 msec and is an integer multiple, so the beacon period T = 60 sec. Is sent to the terminal station 30A. The change request is not changed when the beacon period is shorter than the default beacon period. If the beacon period of the change request is not an integer multiple of the default beacon period, such as 60.01 sec, it is set to 60 sec, which is the closest of the integer multiples of the default beacon period and does not exceed 60.01 sec. To do.

  Next, the base station 10 transmits the next beacon period Tt = 60 sec to the beacon signal addressed to the terminal station 30A and transmits it to the terminal station 30A at the beacon transmission time before the change.

  On the other hand, at the terminal station 30A, when the beacon reception time (before the change) is reached, the communication circuit 40 is turned on, and after receiving the beacon signal from the base station 10 (S213 to S216), the communication circuit 40 is turned on. It is turned off (S223). At this time, the reception control unit 39 confirms that the setting of the beacon period included in the beacon signal is the requested one, and sets the beacon signal reception period (S224). That is, the beacon reception cycle is 60 seconds from the next time. Further, when information indicating that there is data addressed to the own station is included in the beacon signal, the data is received and passed to the application unit 33 (S220 to S222). When receiving data from the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36, the application unit 33 outputs the data to the output unit 32.

  Thereafter, when the user ends the mail (S227), the communication interface unit 35 sends an application end notification to the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36, and requests the base station 10 to return the beacon period to the original (before starting the mail). (S230). As a result, the beacon reception cycle of the terminal station 30A returns to 100 msec.

  When the application is mail, when the user changes the time setting of the automatic mail reception check interval, a situation occurs in which the beacon period is changed.

  The streaming application in the terminal station 30B is the same and will not be described.

  When a plurality of applications are executed in a plurality of terminal stations 30..., For example, application ap1 that requires a beacon period of 1 sec, application ap2 that requires a beacon period of 512 msec, and a beacon period of 50 msec are required. Assuming that the application ap3 is running, 512 msec satisfying the shortest beacon period at 100 msec or more is selected, but since it is not an integer multiple of 100 msec, it is the closest among the integer multiples of 100 msec and does not exceed 512 msec. The beacon reception cycle of the terminal station A is set to 500 msec.

  Moreover, it can also be set as the structure which transmits the beacon receiving period determined by several terminal station 30 ... to the base station 10, and confirms the beacon receiving period after a change with the beacon signal received from the base station 10. FIG. Thus, when a plurality of applications are executed by the plurality of terminal stations 30..., The optimum beacon reception period can be set by the plurality of terminal stations 30.

  As described above, in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present invention, the terminal station 30 suppresses the power consumption of the terminal station 30 by optimizing the reception period of its own beacon according to the communication pattern and state of its own application. Can do. In addition, the terminal station 30 notifies the base station 10 of the communication pattern and state of its own application, and the power consumption of the terminal station 30 can be suppressed by optimizing the beacon transmission cycle. Further, in applications such as streaming playback and IP telephone calls, the power consumption of the terminal station 30 can be suppressed by intermittently receiving data without being affected by data loss or delay. In addition, when a plurality of applications are executed or when a plurality of terminal stations 30 communicate, the power consumption of the terminal station 30 can be suppressed by optimizing the beacon reception period.

  Furthermore, in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present invention, the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 can be freely controlled in power saving in the terminal station 30 such as a mobile device. Thereby, optimal low power consumption control according to the usage of the mobile device is possible.

  Next, a process when there are a plurality of terminal stations 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 26 to 34. Briefly, (1) when the base station 10 changes the beacon transmission cycle to a short time by a request from a certain terminal station 30A, the other terminal station 30B sets its own beacon signal reception cycle to a multiple of the transmission cycle. To change to the optimal length. (2) In the case of a request to change the beacon transmission cycle to be shorter, the base station 10 accepts requests from all terminal stations, but in the case of a request to change the beacon transmission cycle to be longer, the terminal that has received the request to shorten it immediately before Only requests from stations are accepted. Thereby, the communication of the terminal station 30 that is executed in a short beacon transmission cycle is not affected by the other terminal stations 30. Note that the setting of the beacon transmission cycle of the base station 10 is the same as that described in [Embodiment 1] and the setting of the beacon receiving cycle of the terminal station 10 is the same as that described above in this [Embodiment 2]. The detailed explanation is omitted.

  When there are a plurality of terminal stations 30 and the base station 10 changes the beacon transmission cycle to a short time by a request from a certain terminal station 30A, the other terminal station 30B sets its own beacon reception cycle to the beacon transmission cycle of the base station 10. Change to the optimal length among multiples. Thereby, even if the beacon transmission cycle of the base station 10 is changed short by a certain terminal station 30A, the other terminal stations 30B can maintain the optimum beacon reception cycle and suppress power consumption.

  The operation of the terminal station 30B at this time will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the terminal station 30 when the beacon transmission cycle of the base station 10 is changed to be short.

  First, it is detected that the beacon transmission cycle Tb of the base station 10 has been changed short (YES in S261). Next, when the application is being executed (YES in S262) and the beacon transmission cycle Tb is not optimal for the application (NO in S263), the beacon reception cycle Tr of the own station is an integral multiple of the beacon transmission cycle Tb. Is set to a value that is closest and does not exceed (S264).

  In addition, when the base station 10 changes the beacon transmission cycle longer due to a request from a certain terminal station 30A, the other terminal station 30B issues a request to change the beacon transmission cycle of the base station 10 to an optimum length for the own station. You may do it. Thereby, even if the beacon transmission cycle of the base station 10 is changed by a certain terminal station 30A, the other terminal stations 30B can maintain the optimum beacon reception cycle and suppress power consumption. At this time, the terminal station 30A having a long beacon reception cycle changes the beacon reception cycle to an optimum length among multiples of the beacon transmission cycle of the base station 10 by the above-described processing (FIG. 26). The beacon reception cycle can be maintained and power consumption can be suppressed.

  The operation of the terminal station 30 at this time will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal station 30 when the beacon transmission cycle of the base station 10 is changed for a long time.

  First, it is detected that the beacon transmission cycle Tb of the base station 10 has been changed for a long time (YES in S271). Next, when the application is being executed (YES in S272) and the beacon transmission cycle Tb is not optimal for the application (NO in S273), a request for changing the beacon transmission cycle Tb is transmitted to the base station 10 (S274). .

  In addition, when changing the beacon transmission cycle to be short, the base station 10 accepts requests from all the terminal stations 30 and changes the beacon transmission cycle, and the terminal stations 30B other than the terminal station 30A that issued the request change the beacon reception cycle. You may make it change into the optimal length in the multiple of a beacon transmission period. In addition, when changing the beacon transmission cycle longer, except for a change from the default, the base station 10 accepts only a request from the terminal station 30A that issued a request to set the current beacon transmission cycle, and other terminals. The request from the station 30B may not be accepted. In this case, the terminal station 30B that has not received a request to change the beacon transmission cycle longer may change the beacon reception cycle of the local station to an optimum length among multiples of the current beacon transmission cycle.

  The operation of the base station 10 at this time will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the operation of the base station 10 when it receives a beacon transmission cycle change request from the terminal station 30.

  First, it is detected that there has been a request for changing the beacon transmission cycle Tb from the terminal station 30 (YES in S281). Next, in the case of a change request for shortening the beacon transmission cycle Tb (“short” in S282), or when a change request for lengthening is received from the terminal station 30 that has set the current beacon transmission cycle Tb (YES in S285). Then, the terminal station 30 is responded that the change request is valid (S283), and the beacon transmission cycle Tb is changed (S284).

  On the other hand, when a change request for increasing the beacon transmission cycle Tb is received from a terminal station 30 other than the terminal station 30 that has set the current beacon transmission cycle Tb (NO in S285), the change request is sent to the terminal station 30. In response to invalidity (S286). In this case, the beacon transmission cycle Tb is not changed.

  Next, the operation of the terminal station 30 when the terminal station 30 issues a request to change the beacon transmission cycle to be shorter will be described with reference to FIG.

  A change request for shortening the beacon transmission cycle Tb is transmitted to the base station 10 (S291), and then a response from the base station 10 is received (S292).

  Next, the operation of the terminal station 30 when the terminal station 30 issues a request to change the beacon transmission cycle longer will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, a request for changing the beacon transmission cycle Tb to be longer is transmitted to the base station 10 (S301), and then a response is received from the base station 10 (S302). Next, if the response is invalid (“invalid” in S303), the beacon reception cycle Tr is set to a value closest to and not exceeding the value requested to the base station 10 within an integer multiple of the current beacon transmission cycle Tb. (S304).

  FIG. 31 is a sequence diagram showing operations of the terminal station 30 and the base station 10 at this time.

  In a state where the beacon transmission cycle of the base station 10 is 100 ms (default), the terminal station 30A requests a beacon transmission cycle of 20 ms, and the base station 10 receives it (t11). Next, the terminal station 30A receives a response indicating that the request is valid from the base station 10 (t12). At this time, the base station 10 changes the beacon transmission cycle to 20 ms, and broadcasts it to all the terminal stations 30.

  Next, in this state, the other terminal station 30B requests a beacon transmission period of 1000 ms, and the base station 10 receives it (t13). In response to this request, the base station 10 is a request for making the request longer than the current beacon transmission cycle, and is not a change request from the terminal station 30A that has requested a change to the current beacon transmission cycle. , To that effect is transmitted to the terminal station 30B (t14). When the terminal station 30B receives a response in which the change request is invalidated from the base station 10, the terminal station 30B sets the beacon reception period 1000 ms, which is an integer multiple of the current beacon transmission period 20 ms.

  Next, in this state, the terminal station 30A requests a beacon transmission period of 1000 ms, and the base station 10 receives it (t15). In response to this request, the base station 10 is a request for making the request longer than the current beacon transmission cycle. However, since it is a change request from the terminal station 30A that has requested a change to the current beacon transmission cycle, the request is validated. , To that effect is transmitted to the terminal station 30A (t15). At this time, the base station 10 changes the beacon transmission cycle to 1000 ms, and broadcasts this fact to all the terminal stations 30.

  Here, if the value requested by the terminal station 30A that issued the request to set the current beacon transmission period when the beacon transmission period is changed to be longer is longer than the value requested by the other terminal station 30B, the base station 10 After changing the beacon transmission cycle longer, the other terminal station 30B issues a request to change the beacon transmission cycle shorter. In this case, until the base station 10 changes the beacon transmission cycle to be short, there is a possibility that the other terminal station 30B is not optimal.

  The above problem will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 32 is a sequence diagram showing operations of the terminal station 30 and the base station 10.

  FIG. 32 shows a case where another terminal station 30B requests a beacon transmission period 500 ms instead of a beacon transmission period 1000 ms at t13 in FIG. 31 (t13 ′). In response to this request, the base station 10 is a request for making the request longer than the current beacon transmission cycle, and is not a change request from the terminal station 30A that has requested a change to the current beacon transmission cycle. , To that effect is transmitted to the terminal station 30B (t14). When the terminal station 30B receives a response in which the change request is invalidated from the base station 10 (t14), the terminal station 30B sets the beacon reception cycle to 500 ms, which is an integer multiple of the current beacon transmission cycle of 20 ms.

  Thereafter, as in FIG. 31, the terminal station 30A requests a beacon transmission period of 1000 ms, and the base station 10 receives it (t15). In response to this request, the base station 10 is a request for making the request longer than the current beacon transmission cycle. However, since it is a change request from the terminal station 30A that has requested a change to the current beacon transmission cycle, the request is validated. , To that effect is transmitted to the terminal station 30A (t15). At this time, the base station 10 changes the beacon transmission cycle to 1000 ms, and broadcasts this fact to all the terminal stations 30.

  At this time, the terminal station 30B requests the beacon transmission cycle 500 ms from the base station 10 since the beacon transmission cycle is 1000 ms with respect to the beacon reception cycle 500 ms (t17). In response to this request, the base station 10 changes the beacon transmission cycle to 500 ms (t18). However, a state where the beacon transmission cycle is not optimal for the terminal station 30B after the beacon transmission cycle is changed to 1000 ms by the request of the terminal station 30A until the beacon transmission cycle is changed to 500 ms by the request of the terminal station 30B. It becomes.

  Therefore, when there is a request to change the beacon transmission cycle longer from the terminal station 30A that has issued a request for setting the current beacon transmission cycle, the base station 10 determines whether or not the communication is performed with the other terminal station 30B. If the beacon transmission period requested by the other terminal station 30B is compared with the beacon transmission period requested by the terminal station 30A that has issued the request for setting the current beacon transmission period, the beacon transmission period is set to the shorter value. On the other hand, when the transmission cycle is changed and communication is not performed, the beacon transmission cycle may be changed to a value requested by the terminal station 30A that has issued a request for setting the current beacon transmission cycle. Thereby, all the terminal stations 30 can set an optimal beacon reception interval for the own station, and can suppress power consumption.

  Here, in the base station 10, the communication control unit 15 performs the process of selecting the shortest beacon transmission cycle among the terminal stations 30 in communication as described above. Specifically, when the communication control unit 15 receives a request to change the beacon transmission cycle to be longer than the current time, the communication control unit 15 determines whether the request is from the terminal station 30 that has issued a request to change to the current beacon transmission cycle. to decide. If the communication control unit 15 determines that the request is from a terminal station that has issued a request to change to the current transmission cycle, the communication control unit 15 changes the beacon transmission cycle according to the request. Further, the communication control unit 15 holds a beacon transmission cycle requested by all the terminal stations 30 in communication. And the communication control part 15 selects the shortest value in the beacon transmission period requested | required from all the terminal stations 30 in communication.

  The operation of the base station 10 at this time will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the operation of the base station 10 when it receives a beacon transmission cycle change request from the terminal station 30. The flowchart of the terminal station 30 is the same as that shown in FIGS.

  First, it is detected that there has been a request for changing the beacon transmission cycle Tb from the terminal station 30 (YES in S281). Next, in the case of a change request for shortening the beacon transmission cycle Tb (“short” in S282), the terminal station 30 is responded that the change request is valid (S283), and the beacon transmission cycle Tb is changed (S284). ).

  In addition, when a change request for lengthening is received from the terminal station 30 that has set the current beacon transmission cycle Tb (YES in S285), there is another terminal station 30 in communication and the other terminal station 30 It is determined whether or not there is a beacon transmission cycle Tb 'requested by the requester that is shorter than the newly received beacon transmission cycle Tb (S311, S312). If there is no shorter beacon transmission cycle Tb newly received in the beacon transmission cycle Tb ′ requested by such other terminal stations 30 in communication (NO in S311 or S312). YES), it responds to the terminal station 30 that the change request is valid (S283), and changes the beacon transmission cycle Tb (S284).

  On the other hand, when there is a shorter beacon transmission cycle Tb newly received in the beacon transmission cycle Tb ′ requested by another terminal station 30 in communication (YES in S311 and NO in S312), It responds to the terminal station 30 that the change request is invalid (S286), and changes the value to the value of the beacon transmission cycle Tb '(S313). Thereby, it is possible to change to the shortest beacon transmission cycle Tb among the terminal stations 30 in communication.

  FIG. 34 is a sequence diagram showing operations of the terminal station 30 and the base station 10 at this time.

  In a state where the beacon transmission cycle of the base station 10 is 100 ms (default), the terminal station 30A requests a beacon transmission cycle of 20 ms, and the base station 10 receives it (t21). Next, the terminal station 30A receives a response indicating that the request is valid from the base station 10 (t22). At this time, the base station 10 changes the beacon transmission cycle to 20 ms, and broadcasts it to all the terminal stations 30.

  Next, in this state, the other terminal station 30B requests a beacon transmission period of 500 ms, and the base station 10 receives it (t23). In response to this request, the base station 10 is a request for making the request longer than the current beacon transmission cycle and is not a change request from the terminal station 30A that has requested a change to the current beacon transmission cycle. , To that effect is transmitted to the terminal station 30B (t24). When the terminal station 30B receives a response in which the change request is invalidated from the base station 10, the terminal station 30B sets the beacon reception cycle 500 ms, which is an integer multiple of the current beacon transmission cycle 20 ms.

  Next, in this state, the terminal station 30A requests a beacon transmission period of 1000 ms, and the base station 10 receives it (t25). In response to this request, the base station 10 is a request for making it longer than the current beacon transmission cycle, and is a change request from the terminal station 30A that has requested a change to the current beacon transmission cycle. Since there is another terminal station 30B and the beacon transmission cycle 500 ms requested from the terminal station 30B is shorter, the change request from the terminal station 30A is invalidated and a message to that effect is transmitted to the terminal station 30A (t26). ). At this time, the base station 10 changes to the shortest beacon transmission cycle of 500 ms among the terminal stations 30 in communication, and broadcasts this fact to all the terminal stations 30 by broadcast. Further, the terminal station 30A sets the beacon reception cycle 1000 ms, which is an integer multiple of the current beacon transmission cycle 500 ms.

  The terminal station according to the present invention is a communication system that includes a base station and at least two terminal stations, and notifies the terminal station of a transmission cycle of a periodic signal (beacon signal) transmitted from the base station. Then, in the terminal station A, a transmission cycle setting request means (terminal-side wireless communication unit 36) issues a request to the base station to set the transmission cycle to be shorter than the current time, and the base station is based on the setting request received from the terminal station A. If the periodic signal transmission cycle is changed to be shorter than the current one, the terminal station other than the terminal station A receives the periodic signal reception cycle by a multiple of the transmission cycle at which the base station transmits the periodic signal. The reception cycle setting means (terminal-side wireless communication unit 36) may be configured to be set to

  In addition, in the base station according to the present invention, if the setting request is a request for changing the periodic signal transmission cycle to be longer than the present time, is the request from the terminal station that has issued a request to change to the current transmission cycle? Terminal station determination means (communication control unit 15) for determining whether or not may be provided. The base station according to the present invention changes the periodic signal transmission cycle when the terminal station determination means determines that the request is from the terminal station that has issued a request to change to the current transmission cycle. May be. Further, when the base station according to the present invention determines by the terminal station determination means that the request is from a terminal station that has issued a request to change to the current transmission cycle, a terminal other than the terminal station that has issued the request If it has communication judging means (communication control unit 15) for judging whether or not it is communicating with a station, and the communication judging means judges that it is communicating with another terminal station, You may change to the transmission cycle which requested | required the shortest value in the terminal station.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims, and technical means disclosed in different embodiments are appropriately combined. The obtained embodiment is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  In addition, the wireless communication system according to the present invention changes the beacon period according to the communication pattern and state of the application, as well as the type of device serving as a terminal station (mobile phone, portable information terminal, notebook computer, portable TV, etc. ), Or according to a combination of a device type and an application type.

  In addition, when executing a streaming application or an IP phone application, the size necessary for stable transmission out of the free buffer size of the base station is secured, and other applications and other terminal stations When using a buffer, the remaining free buffer may be used.

  Further, as described above, the communication interface unit 35 in the terminal station 30 is located between the application unit 33 and the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36 and functions as middleware. And the communication interface part 35 may be comprised so that it may be provided for every application, and may be comprised so that it may be shared by several applications (FIG. 2).

  When the communication interface unit 35 is provided for each application, the communication interface unit 35 can be configured integrally with the application. When configured in this way, in addition to the normal function as a mail application or streaming application, the application functions as the communication interface unit 35 to acquire the communication pattern and state of the application, and changes the beacon period based on them. Thus, it becomes a so-called dedicated application having a function of controlling the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36.

  On the other hand, when the communication interface unit 35 is configured to be shared by a plurality of applications, the application only needs to have a normal function as a mail application or a streaming application, which is a general-purpose application. In this case, the communication interface unit 35 can be provided in the terminal-side wireless communication unit 36.

  In the terminal station 30 according to the present invention, regardless of whether the application is dedicated or general-purpose, the middleware (communication interface unit 35) acquires the communication pattern and state of the application and changes the beacon period.

  In addition, the application that operates in the terminal station 30 is not limited to that realized by software, but may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by a combination of hardware and software. There may be.

  A wireless communication system according to the present invention includes a base station and a terminal station, specifies a terminal station from the base station based on a beacon signal periodically transmitted from the base station, and determines the terminal station identified above. A wireless communication system for notifying the presence / absence of data to be transmitted and the transmission period of the next beacon signal, wherein the terminal station transmits a request for setting the transmission period of the beacon signal to the base station (terminal side) The base station may include means (communication control unit 15) for setting the transmission period of the beacon signal based on the setting request. Further, in the wireless communication system, the beacon signal transmission cycle setting request may be determined according to a communication pattern of an application executed by the terminal station. In the wireless communication system, the beacon signal transmission cycle setting request may be determined according to the type of application executed by the terminal station. Moreover, the said radio | wireless communications system may be determined according to the state of the application which the setting request | requirement of the transmission period of the said beacon signal performs in a terminal station. In the wireless communication system, the beacon signal transmission cycle setting request may be determined according to the type of device serving as a terminal station. In the wireless communication system, the beacon signal transmission cycle setting request may be determined according to the type of device serving as the terminal station and the combination of applications to be executed. The wireless communication system may further include means (communication control unit 15) for checking the size of the buffer of the base station. Moreover, when the said radio | wireless communications system performs a some application, you may match the transmission period of a beacon signal with the application which requires the shortest period. Moreover, the said radio | wireless communications system may match | combine the transmission period of a beacon signal with the terminal station which needs the shortest period, when there are two or more terminal stations. Moreover, the said radio | wireless communications system may change the beacon reception period of each terminal station, with the transmission cycle of the beacon signal of a base station as it is, when there are two or more terminal stations. In the wireless communication system, the beacon reception cycle of the terminal station may be a multiple of the transmission cycle of the beacon signal of the base station.

  A communication management method in a wireless communication system according to the present invention includes a base station and a terminal station, specifies a terminal station from a base station based on a beacon signal periodically transmitted from the base station, and is specified above. A communication management method in a wireless communication system for notifying the presence / absence of data to be transmitted to a terminal station and the transmission cycle of the next beacon signal, wherein the terminal station sends a request for setting the transmission cycle of the beacon signal to the base station. The base station may include a step of setting a transmission period of the beacon signal based on the setting request in the base station. Further, the communication management method may be determined according to a communication pattern of an application executed by the terminal station for setting a transmission cycle of the beacon signal. In addition, the communication management method may be determined according to the type of application executed by the terminal station for the request for setting the transmission period of the beacon signal. In addition, the communication management method may be determined according to a state of an application executed by the terminal station for a request for setting the transmission period of the beacon signal. In addition, the communication management method may be determined according to the type of device that is a terminal station request for setting the transmission period of the beacon signal. In addition, the communication management method may be determined according to a combination of a type of device serving as a terminal station and an application to be executed, as a setting request for the transmission period of the beacon signal. In the communication management method, the size of the buffer of the base station may be checked, and the beacon signal transmission cycle setting request may be determined according to the size of the buffer. Moreover, when the said communication management method performs a some application, you may match the transmission period of a beacon signal with the application which requires the shortest period. Moreover, the said communication management method may match | combine the transmission cycle of a beacon signal with the terminal station which needs the shortest period, when there are two or more terminal stations. In the communication management method, when there are a plurality of terminal stations, the beacon reception period of each terminal station may be changed while the beacon signal transmission period of the base station remains unchanged. In the communication management method, the beacon reception cycle of the terminal station may be a multiple of the transmission cycle of the beacon signal of the base station.

  The terminal station according to the present invention includes a base station and a terminal station, specifies each terminal station from the base station based on a beacon signal periodically transmitted from the base station, and specifies the above-described terminal station. A terminal station in a wireless communication system for notifying the presence / absence of data to be transmitted and the transmission period of the next beacon signal, wherein the terminal transmits a request for setting the transmission period of the beacon signal to the base station (terminal-side wireless communication) Part 36) may be provided.

  A base station according to the present invention includes a base station and a terminal station, specifies a terminal station from the base station based on a beacon signal periodically transmitted from the base station, and transmits the terminal station to the specified terminal station A base station in a wireless communication system that notifies the presence / absence of data to be transmitted and the transmission cycle of the next beacon signal, comprising means (communication control unit 15) for setting the transmission cycle of the beacon signal based on the setting request It may be.

  A terminal station according to the present invention includes a base station and a terminal station, and is a terminal station in a wireless communication system that performs communication between the base station and the terminal station, and a communication control unit (terminal for controlling communication) Control instruction means (communication interface unit 35) for issuing a control instruction to the side wireless communication unit 36). Further, the terminal station may be determined in accordance with a communication pattern of an application executed by the terminal station as instructed by the control instruction means. In addition, the terminal station may be determined according to the type of application executed by the terminal station instructed by the control instruction means. Further, the terminal station may be determined according to the state of an application executed by the terminal station according to the instruction from the control instruction unit. In addition, the terminal station may be determined according to the type of equipment that is to be instructed by the control instruction means. In addition, the terminal station may be determined according to a combination of the type of device to be the terminal station and the application to be executed, as instructed by the control instruction means.

  A radio communication system according to the present invention is composed of a base station and a terminal station, and performs communication between the base station and the terminal station. In the terminal station, control for communicating with the base station Terminal station communication control means (terminal-side wireless communication unit 36) and control instruction means (communication interface unit 35) for issuing a control instruction to the terminal station communication control means. A base station communication control means (control section 13) for performing control for communication with the terminal, and a means (communication control section 15) for controlling the base station communication control means based on an instruction from the control instruction means of the terminal station. You may have. Further, in the wireless communication system, an instruction from the control instruction unit may be determined according to a communication pattern of an application executed by the terminal station. In the wireless communication system, the instruction from the control instruction unit may be determined according to the type of application executed in the terminal station. In the wireless communication system, the instruction from the control instruction unit may be determined according to the state of the application executed in the terminal station. Further, in the wireless communication system, the instruction from the control instruction unit may be determined according to the type of device serving as a terminal station. In the wireless communication system, the instruction from the control instruction unit may be determined according to the combination of the type of device serving as the terminal station and the application to be executed. The wireless communication system may further include means (communication control unit 15) for checking the size of the buffer of the base station.

  In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide program codes (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of a communication management program (control program for the base station 10 and control program for the terminal station 30), which is software that implements the functions described above Is supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, DSP) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program code recorded on the recording medium. Is achievable. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the above-described function, and the recording medium recording the program code constitutes the present invention.

  Specifically, the communication control unit 15 of the base station 10 is realized by a predetermined program stored in a memory (not shown) of the base station 10 being executed by a microprocessor or the like of the base station 10. . Further, the communication interface unit 35, the transmission control unit 37, and the reception control unit 39 of the terminal station 30 store predetermined programs stored in a memory (not shown) of the terminal station 30 by a microprocessor of the terminal station 30 or the like. It is realized by executing.

  The recording medium for supplying the program code can be configured to be separable from the system or apparatus. The recording medium may be a medium that is fixedly supported so that the program code can be supplied. Even if the recording medium is attached to the system or apparatus so that the recorded program code can be directly read by the computer, the recording medium can be connected via the program reading apparatus connected to the system or apparatus as an external storage device. It may be mounted so that it can be read.

  For example, as the recording medium, a disk including a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. Card system such as IC card, IC card (including memory card) / optical card, or semiconductor memory system such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

  The program code may be recorded so that the computer can read out from the recording medium and directly execute it, or after being transferred from the recording medium to the program storage area of the main memory, the computer can read out from the main memory and execute it. It may be recorded as follows.

  Furthermore, the system or apparatus may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited. Specifically, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication A network, a satellite communication network, etc. can be used. In addition, the transmission medium constituting the communication network is not particularly limited, and specifically, it is an infrared ray such as IrDA or a remote control even in a wired manner such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL line or the like. , Bluetooth (registered trademark), 802.11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, and the like. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a carrier wave or a data signal sequence in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The program for reading the program code from the recording medium and storing it in the main memory, and the program for downloading the program code from the communication network are stored in advance in a system or apparatus so as to be executable by a computer. To do.

  The functions described above are not only realized by executing the program code read out by the computer, but based on an instruction of the program code, an OS or the like operating on the computer partially or entirely in actual processing. It is also realized by performing.

  Furthermore, the function described above is obtained by writing the program code read from the recording medium into a memory provided in a function expansion board attached to the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, and then the program code. Based on the instruction, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit also implements part or all of the actual processing.

  According to the communication system of the present invention, the period for receiving a beacon signal can be optimally set according to the type of application and / or communication characteristics (communication pattern, communication status, etc.) in the terminal station. It can be suitably used for a wireless communication system such as a wireless LAN using a portable information terminal, a notebook personal computer, a portable TV, or the like. The communication system of the present invention can also be applied to a wired communication system.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the radio | wireless communications system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the radio | wireless communications system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline of the radio | wireless communications system shown to FIG. 1, FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline of the radio | wireless communications system shown to FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of an application unit of a terminal station of the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of a terminal side wireless communication unit of a terminal station of the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of a base station of the wireless communication system shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: The case where an application is a mail is shown. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: The case where an application is a mail is shown. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: The case where an application is streaming is shown. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: The case where an application is streaming is shown. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: The case where an application is an IP telephone is shown. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. 1, Comprising: The case where an application is an IP telephone is shown. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the terminal side radio | wireless communication part of the terminal station of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the terminal side radio | wireless communication part of a terminal station in case there are a plurality of terminal stations as shown in FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a base station when there are a plurality of terminal stations as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of a terminal-side wireless communication unit of a terminal station when there are a plurality of terminal stations as shown in FIG. 4 and a plurality of applications are executed. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the application part of the terminal station of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of an application unit when there are a plurality of terminal stations as shown in FIG. 4. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a base station when there are a plurality of terminal stations as shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the management table which matched the kind of application and beacon transmission period which are stored in the communication control part of the base station of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. 1, FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the management table which matched the kind of application, the communication pattern, and beacon transmission period which are stored in the communication control part of the base station of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the management table which matched the kind and state of an application, and the beacon transmission period which are stored in the communication control part of the base station of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. 1, FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the management table which matched the kind of application and the kind of apparatus of the terminal station stored in the communication control part of the base station of the radio | wireless communications system shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a terminal station when a beacon transmission cycle of a base station is changed to be short in the wireless communication system illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal station when the beacon transmission cycle of the base station is changed long in the wireless communication system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of a base station when receiving a request for changing a beacon transmission cycle from a terminal station in the wireless communication system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of a terminal station when the terminal station issues a request to change the beacon transmission cycle to be shorter in the wireless communication system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of a terminal station when the terminal station issues a request to change the beacon transmission cycle longer in the wireless communication system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence when there are a plurality of terminal stations in the wireless communication system illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence when there are a plurality of terminal stations in the wireless communication system illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of a base station when receiving a request for changing a beacon transmission cycle from a terminal station in the wireless communication system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence when there are a plurality of terminal stations in the wireless communication system illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Explanation of symbols

1 Wireless communication system (communication system)
10 Base station (communication equipment)
14 Storage unit (buffer)
15 Communication control unit (transmission cycle setting means)
30 Terminal station (communication equipment)
34 Application execution unit (application execution means)
35 Communication interface section (communication interface means)
36 Terminal side wireless communication unit (transmission cycle setting request means, reception cycle setting means)
40 communication circuits S49, S90, S92, S119, S170, S172, S229, S274
Beacon cycle setting request step (Transmission cycle setting request step)
S69, S141, S250, S251, S284, S313
Beacon transmission cycle setting step (transmission cycle setting step)
S19 to S22, S23 Beacon cycle determining step (Transmission cycle determining step)
S201, S202, S304
Beacon reception cycle setting step (Reception cycle setting step)

Claims (32)

A communication system for notifying a terminal station of a periodic signal transmission cycle transmitted from a base station,
At the terminal station,
Comprising a transmission cycle setting request means for transmitting the periodic signal transmission cycle setting request to the base station,
In the base station
A communication system comprising: a transmission cycle setting means for changing a transmission cycle of the periodic signal based on the setting request received from a terminal station. In the above terminal station,
Application execution means for executing an application that communicates with the outside via the base station;
Communication interface means for notifying the transmission period setting request means of the periodic signal transmission period according to the type of application being executed by the application execution means and / or communication characteristics;
2. The communication according to claim 1, wherein the transmission cycle setting requesting unit transmits a request for setting the periodic signal transmission cycle notified from the communication interface unit to a base station. system.   3. The communication interface means acquires the status of an application being executed by the application execution means, and determines the periodic signal transmission cycle according to the status. The communication system according to 1.   4. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the communication interface means determines the periodic signal transmission cycle based on a buffer size of a base station.   The communication interface means, when executing a plurality of applications in one terminal station, determines the periodic signal transmission cycle in accordance with an application requiring the shortest cycle. 2. The communication system according to 2.   The transmission cycle setting means, when there are a plurality of terminal stations, determines the periodic signal transmission cycle in accordance with the terminal station that requires the shortest cycle. The communication system described. In the above terminal station,
A communication interface means for notifying the transmission period setting request means of transmission period determination information for the base station to determine the transmission period of the periodic signal;
The transmission cycle setting request means transmits a request for setting the periodic signal transmission cycle to the base station, including the transmission cycle determination information notified from the communication interface means. The communication system according to claim 1. The terminal station comprises an application execution means for executing an application that communicates with the outside via the base station; and
The communication system according to claim 7, wherein the transmission cycle determination information includes a type and / or communication characteristic of an application executed by the application execution unit. A base station in a communication system that notifies a terminal station of a periodic signal transmission period transmitted from a base station,
A base station comprising transmission period setting means for changing the periodic signal transmission period based on a request for setting the periodic signal transmission period received from a terminal station. A terminal station in a communication system that notifies a terminal station of a periodic signal transmission cycle transmitted from a base station,
A terminal station comprising transmission period setting request means for transmitting the periodic signal transmission period setting request to a base station. The base station further comprises communication interface means for notifying the transmission period setting request means of transmission period determination information for determining the periodic signal transmission period,
The transmission cycle setting request means includes a transmission request for setting the periodic signal transmission cycle, including the transmission cycle determination information notified from the communication interface means, to the base station. The terminal station according to claim 10. Application execution means for executing an application that communicates with the outside via the base station;
Communication interface means for notifying the transmission period setting request means of the periodic signal transmission period according to the type of application being executed by the application execution means and / or communication characteristics;
11. The terminal according to claim 10, wherein the transmission cycle setting request means transmits a request for setting the periodic signal transmission cycle notified from the communication interface means to a base station. Bureau.   The power supply of the communication circuit is turned on at the timing of receiving the periodic signal, and the power supply of the communication circuit is turned off when the signal transmitted from the base station is received. The listed terminal station. A communication management method by a communication system for notifying a terminal station of a periodic signal transmission cycle transmitted from a base station,
At the terminal station,
A transmission cycle setting request step for transmitting the periodic signal transmission cycle setting request to the base station;
In the base station
And a transmission cycle setting step of changing a transmission cycle of the periodic signal based on the setting request received from the terminal station. In the transmission cycle setting request step, the terminal station includes transmission cycle determination information for the base station to determine the periodic signal transmission cycle in the periodic signal transmission cycle setting request. And
The communication management method according to claim 14, wherein, in the transmission cycle setting step, the base station determines a transmission cycle of the periodic signal based on the transmission cycle determination information. In the above terminal station,
The method further comprises a transmission cycle determining step of determining a transmission cycle of the periodic signal in accordance with a type and / or communication characteristic of an application being executed that communicates with the outside via the base station. 14. The communication management method according to 14. A terminal station in a communication system in which a periodic signal is transmitted from a base station to a terminal station,
A terminal station, comprising: a reception cycle setting means for setting a reception cycle for receiving the periodic signal to a multiple of a transmission cycle for the base station to transmit the periodic signal. Application execution means for executing an application that communicates with the outside via the base station;
Communication interface means for notifying the reception period setting means of the periodic signal reception period corresponding to the type of application executed by the application execution means and / or communication characteristics; The terminal station according to claim 17.   19. The communication interface means acquires the state of an application being executed by the application execution means, and determines the periodic signal reception cycle according to the state. The terminal station described in.   The terminal station according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the communication interface means determines the periodic signal reception cycle based on a buffer size of a base station.   The communication interface means, when executing a plurality of applications in one terminal station, determines the periodic signal reception cycle in accordance with an application requiring the shortest cycle. The terminal station according to 18.   18. The power supply of the communication circuit is turned on at the timing of receiving the periodic signal, and the power supply of the communication circuit is turned off when the signal transmitted from the base station is received. The listed terminal station. A communication management method by a communication system in which a periodic signal is transmitted from a base station to a terminal station,
At the terminal station,
A communication management method comprising: a reception cycle setting step of setting a reception cycle for receiving the periodic signal to a multiple of a transmission cycle in which a base station transmits the periodic signal. In the above terminal station,
The method further comprises a reception cycle determining step of determining a reception cycle of the periodic signal according to a type and / or communication characteristics of an application being executed that communicates with the outside via the base station. 24. The communication management method according to 23. A communication system that includes a base station and at least two terminal stations, and notifies a terminal station of a periodic signal transmission cycle transmitted from the base station,
At the terminal station,
Comprising a transmission cycle setting request means for transmitting the periodic signal transmission cycle setting request to the base station,
In the base station
A transmission cycle setting means for changing the transmission cycle of the periodic signal based on the setting request received from the terminal station,
Furthermore, in the terminal station
When the transmission cycle at which the base station transmits the periodic signal is shorter than an appropriate reception cycle at which the terminal station should receive the periodic signal, the reception cycle for receiving the periodic signal is: A communication system, comprising: a reception cycle setting means for setting the base station to a multiple of a transmission cycle for transmitting the periodic signal.   The transmission cycle setting means of the base station, when the setting request received from the terminal station is to change the transmission cycle of the periodic signal longer than the present, the setting to change to the current transmission cycle with the terminal station 26. The method according to claim 25, wherein it is determined whether the requesting terminal station is the same terminal station, and if it is the same terminal station, the periodic signal transmission cycle is changed. The communication system described.   The transmission cycle setting means of the base station includes a terminal station that has transmitted a setting request for changing the periodic signal transmission cycle to be longer than a current time, and a terminal station that has issued a setting request for changing to the current transmission cycle. 27. The communication system according to claim 26, wherein when the same terminal station is used, the transmission period is changed to the shortest transmission cycle received from the terminal station in communication. A communication device that transmits a periodic signal,
A communication apparatus, wherein the periodic signal transmission cycle is changed based on a transmission cycle setting request. A communication device that receives a periodic signal,
A communication apparatus that transmits a request for setting the periodic signal transmission cycle. A communication device that receives a periodic signal,
A communication apparatus, wherein a reception cycle for receiving the periodic signal is set to a multiple of the periodic signal cycle.   A base station according to claim 9, a terminal station according to any one of claims 10 to 13, 17 to 22, and at least one of the communication devices according to any one of claims 28 to 30. A control program for causing the computer to function as each of the above-described means.   32. A computer-readable recording medium on which the control program according to claim 31 is recorded.

Images