JP2008092129A - Proxy processing device, wireless LAN terminal, wireless communication system, and proxy processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption in a wireless LAN terminal and appropriately cope with multicast packets and broadcast packets that can be received by the wireless LAN terminal.
A proxy processing device 10 corresponds to information identifying a process performed as a proxy of a wireless LAN terminal 20 for a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted in the network, and information identifying the wireless LAN terminal 20. A storage unit 11 for storing information, a packet receiving unit 12 for receiving packets transmitted in the network, and referring to information stored in the storage unit 11 for the received packets, The process determination part 13 which determines the process performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal 20 specified by the memorize | stored information, and the process execution part 14 which performs the process determined by the process determination part 13 are provided.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a proxy processing device, a wireless LAN terminal, a wireless communication system, and a proxy processing method.

  There is IEEE 802.11 as a standard of a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), and a power save mode for reducing power consumption of a wireless LAN terminal is prepared. In this power save mode, the wireless LAN terminal shifts to a receivable mode (Awake mode) in accordance with the period of the beacon periodically transmitted from the wireless LAN base station, and checks whether there is a packet addressed to the terminal itself. During a period when there is no beacon period and a packet addressed to the terminal itself, power consumption can be reduced by shifting to a dormant mode (Doze mode).

  Packets addressed to a wireless LAN terminal include a multicast packet and a broadcast packet transmitted within a network including the wireless LAN terminal, and a unicast packet transmitted only to the wireless LAN terminal. Among these, multicast packets and broadcast packets are notified to wireless LAN terminals by DTIM (Delivery Traffic Indication Message) among beacons from wireless LAN base stations. For unicast packets, the destination wireless LAN terminal is determined by a flag in a field corresponding to an AID (Association IDentifier) assigned to the wireless LAN terminal when connected to the wireless LAN in the beacon TIM (Traffic Indication Map) field. Will be notified. The beacon transmitted from the wireless LAN base station is received by the wireless LAN terminal at an interval defined by ListenInterval, which is a parameter notified from the wireless LAN base station.

  The power saving mode defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard includes a super power saving mode in which DTIM is not received at all in addition to a mode for receiving a beacon at a reception interval defined by the ListenInterval (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

By the way, the unicast packet is used for data transmission / reception between devices, for example, for file acquisition by HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) and mail acquisition by POP (Post Office Protocol). On the other hand, multicast packets and broadcast packets are used for ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) used for address resolution of devices in the network and for device discovery protocol (SSDP: Simple Service Discovery Protocol) in UPnP (Universal Plug and Play). Yes. Of these, UPnP uses the SSDP NOTIFY message in addition to device discovery to notify other devices of its presence (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).
ANSI / IEEE Std 802.11, 1999 Edition (R2003) Information technology -Telecommunications and information exchange between systems-Local and metropolitan area networks-Specific requirements-Part 11: Wireless LANMedium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications UPnP Device Architecture 1.0, Version 1.0.1, 2 December 2003

  As described above, in order to detect the presence of another device for UPnP, it is necessary to receive a NOTIFY message by SSDP. However, in the super power saving mode described above, since the DTIM is not received, the wireless LAN terminal cannot receive notification that the multicast packet and the broadcast packet are transmitted, and may receive a NOTIFY message by SSDP. Can not.

  On the other hand, if the power saving mode is not the super power saving mode, the notification that the multicast packet and the broadcast packet have been transmitted can be received by receiving the DTIM, so that the NOTIFY message by SSDP can be received. However, due to an increase in the number of devices in the network, large power consumption occurs due to careless reception of NOTIFY messages.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. A proxy processing device, a wireless LAN terminal, a wireless communication system, and a proxy processing device that can reduce power consumption and appropriately cope with multicast packets and broadcast packets. An object is to provide a proxy processing method.

  In order to achieve the above object, the proxy processing device according to the present invention provides information for specifying processing to be performed on behalf of a wireless LAN terminal included in the network for a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network. A storage unit that stores the wireless LAN terminal in association with information that identifies the wireless LAN terminal, a packet receiving unit that receives a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network, and a multicast packet or broadcast packet received by the packet receiving unit On the other hand, with reference to the information stored in the storage unit, the process determination unit for determining the process to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal specified by the information stored in the storage unit, and the process determination unit Process executioner that executes the process Characterized in that it comprises a and.

  In the proxy processing device according to the present invention, multicast packets and broadcast packets that can be received by the wireless LAN terminal are processed as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal based on information stored in the storage unit. Therefore, in the wireless LAN terminal, it is not necessary to receive multicast packets and broadcast packets, and DTIM for receiving these packets, and the super power saving mode can be set, so that power consumption can be reduced. Further, according to the proxy processing device of the present invention, multicast packets and broadcast packets that can be received by the wireless LAN terminal are appropriately dealt with.

  The storage unit stores information specifying processing to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal in accordance with the contents of the multicast packet or broadcast packet, and the determining unit is configured to determine the multicast packet or broadcast packet received by the packet receiving unit. It is desirable to determine the processing according to the contents. According to this configuration, it is possible to perform appropriate processing according to the contents of the multicast packet or broadcast packet.

  The proxy processing device further includes registration means for receiving information specifying processing to be performed as a proxy for the multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network from the wireless LAN terminal, and registering the information in the storage unit. It is desirable. According to this configuration, the information specifying the process can be received from the wireless LAN terminal and registered in the storage unit, so that an appropriate process can be performed for each wireless LAN terminal.

  The processing determined by the processing determination unit and executed by the processing execution unit includes processing for responding to the multicast packet or broadcast packet received by the packet receiving unit, and converting the multicast packet or broadcast packet into a unicast packet. It is desirable to include at least one of processes for transmitting to the wireless LAN terminal. According to this configuration, appropriate processing can be reliably performed on multicast packets and broadcast packets.

  The process execution means preferably transmits the plurality of multicast packets and broadcast packets to the wireless LAN terminal. According to this configuration, the number of packets received at the wireless LAN terminal can be reduced, so that power consumption at the wireless LAN terminal can be further reduced.

  It is desirable that the process execution unit holds the multicast packet and the broadcast packet and transmits a difference between the multicast packet and the broadcast packet to be transmitted to the wireless LAN terminal and the held multicast packet and the broadcast packet. According to this configuration, the number of packets received at the wireless LAN terminal can be reduced, so that power consumption at the wireless LAN terminal can be further reduced.

  The storage unit stores a response content corresponding to the wireless LAN terminal with respect to the multicast packet or the broadcast packet, and the process execution unit responds to the multicast packet or the broadcast packet based on the response content stored in the storage unit. It is desirable to generate and transmit to the transmission source of the multicast packet or broadcast packet. According to this configuration, it is possible to perform more appropriate processing according to the contents of the multicast packet or broadcast packet.

  The proxy processing device is preferably a wireless LAN base station. According to this configuration, since the proxy processing device can receive the multicast packet and the broadcast packet that can be received by the wireless LAN terminal, the effect of the present invention can be achieved more reliably.

  In order to achieve the above object, the wireless LAN terminal according to the present invention is a process that the proxy processing device performs as a proxy for its own terminal with respect to a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted in a network including the terminal. It is characterized by comprising a transmission means for associating information for identifying the terminal with information for identifying its own terminal and transmitting it to the proxy processing device.

  In the wireless LAN terminal according to the present invention, the proxy processing device can process the multicast packet and the broadcast packet that can be received by the local terminal as a proxy for the local terminal. Therefore, in the wireless LAN terminal according to the present invention, it is not necessary to receive multicast packets and broadcast packets, and DTIM for receiving these packets, and the power saving mode can be achieved. It is done. In addition, the proxy processing device appropriately handles multicast packets and broadcast packets that can be received by the terminal itself.

  The wireless LAN terminal has a proxy processing device that transmits a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted by a transmission unit according to an operation state of an application in the own terminal and transmitted in a network including the own terminal. It is desirable to further include processing information generation means for generating information specifying processing to be performed as a proxy. According to this configuration, a multicast packet and a broadcast packet that can be received by the terminal itself are more appropriately dealt with.

  It is desirable that the wireless LAN terminal further includes mode transition means for causing the terminal to shift to the super power saving mode after transmission by the transmission means. According to this configuration, since the self-terminal can be shifted to the super power-saving mode after the proxy processing device is processed as a proxy for the self-terminal, the effect of the present invention can be reliably achieved.

  The wireless LAN terminal preferably further includes search means for searching for the proxy processing device using a multicast packet or broadcast packet of a predetermined protocol. According to this configuration, it is possible to search for a proxy processing device that can perform processing on a multicast packet or broadcast packet of a predetermined protocol, and perform processing to be performed on behalf of the above-mentioned own terminal for the searched proxy processing device. By transmitting the specified information, the effects of the present invention can be reliably achieved.

  By the way, the present invention can be described as the invention of the proxy processing device and the wireless LAN terminal as described above, and can also be described as the invention of the wireless communication system and the proxy processing method as follows. This is substantially the same invention only in different categories and the like, and has the same operations and effects.

  That is, the wireless communication system according to the present invention is a wireless communication system configured to include a wireless LAN terminal and a proxy processing device, and the proxy processing device is configured to respond to multicast packets or broadcast packets transmitted in the network. A storage unit that stores information specifying processing to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal included in the network in association with information specifying the wireless LAN terminal, and a multicast packet or broadcast transmitted in the network A wireless LAN identified by the information stored in the storage unit with reference to the information stored in the storage unit with respect to the packet reception unit that receives the packet and the multicast packet or the broadcast packet received by the packet reception unit Processing to be performed on behalf of the terminal A processing determining means for determining a processing execution means for executing the processing determined by the processing determining means, characterized in that it comprises a.

  The proxy processing method according to the present invention specifies information for specifying processing to be performed on behalf of a wireless LAN terminal included in the network for a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network, and specifies the wireless LAN terminal. A proxy processing method in a proxy processing apparatus comprising a storage unit that stores information in association with a packet, the packet receiving step for receiving a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network, and the multicast packet received in the packet receiving step Alternatively, with respect to the broadcast packet, referring to information stored in the storage unit, a process determination step for determining a process to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal specified by the information stored in the storage unit, and a process determination step A process executing step of executing the processing determined you are, characterized in that it comprises a.

  The proxy processing method according to the present invention is a proxy processing method in a wireless LAN terminal, and the proxy processing device performs as a proxy of the own terminal for a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted in a network including the own terminal. The method includes a transmission step of transmitting information for specifying processing to the proxy processing apparatus in association with information for specifying the terminal itself.

  The proxy processing method according to the present invention includes a wireless LAN terminal and information specifying a process to be performed as a proxy of the wireless LAN terminal included in the network for a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted in the network, A wireless communication system including a proxy processing device including a storage unit that stores information associated with a wireless LAN terminal in association with the multicast packet or broadcast transmitted by the proxy processing device in the network A wireless LAN identified by the information stored in the storage unit with reference to the information stored in the storage unit with respect to the multicast packet or broadcast packet received in the packet reception step and the packet reception step of receiving the packet Line on behalf of the device A process determining step of determining the cormorants process, a process executing step of executing the processing determined in the processing determination step, characterized in that it comprises a.

  In the present invention, multicast packets and broadcast packets that can be received by the wireless LAN terminal are processed as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal based on information stored in the storage unit of the proxy processing device. Therefore, in the wireless LAN terminal, it is not necessary to receive multicast packets and broadcast packets, and DTIM for receiving these packets, and the super power saving mode can be set, so that power consumption can be reduced. Further, according to the present invention, multicast packets and broadcast packets that can be received by the wireless LAN terminal are appropriately dealt with.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a proxy processing device, a wireless LAN terminal, a wireless communication system, and a proxy processing method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 1 includes a proxy processing device 10 according to the present embodiment and a wireless LAN terminal 20.

  The proxy processing apparatus 10 is connected to the communication network N as shown in FIG. 1 and has a function of performing communication with another terminal connected to the communication network N. The proxy processing device 10 is a device that receives multicast packets and broadcast packets that can be received by the wireless LAN terminal 20 and processes the multicast packets and broadcast packets on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal 20. Specifically, the proxy processing device 10 corresponds to, for example, a PC (Personal Computer) or a server device. The function of the proxy processing apparatus 10 according to the present invention will be described in detail later.

  Specifically, the communication network N is, for example, a so-called home network in which communication devices at home are connected by wire, and includes a relay device such as a router or a hub. The communication network N can mediate communication performed according to a predetermined communication protocol (for example, IP (Internet Protocol)). Note that the communication network N is not necessarily a home network, and may be a PAN (Personal Area Network), for example. Further, in addition to connection by a wired LAN, it may be configured by a wireless communication network such as a wireless LAN. In short, as long as it is a communication network that mediates communication performed in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol between the proxy processing device 10, the wireless LAN terminal 20, and a wireless LAN base station (access point) 30 and a transmitting terminal described later. It may be anything.

  Moreover, although the case where the communication performed in this embodiment is based on IP is demonstrated, the communication protocol which this communication should comply with is not limited to IP. The communication protocol in the present invention may be any protocol that can transmit and receive multicast packets and broadcast packets.

  The wireless LAN terminal 20 has a function of configuring a wireless LAN by performing wireless communication with the wireless LAN base station 30. Specifically, the wireless LAN terminal 20 corresponds to a PC, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), and the like. The wireless LAN configured by the wireless LAN terminal 20 and the wireless LAN base station 30 is compliant with, for example, IEEE 802.11. The wireless LAN terminal 20 can detect the presence of the wireless LAN base station 30 by receiving a beacon transmitted from the wireless LAN base station 30, and can perform wireless communication with the wireless LAN base station 30. .

  The wireless LAN terminal 20 can communicate with the proxy processing device 10 and other terminals via the wireless LAN base station 30. This communication is performed using, for example, a protocol such as HTTP. Further, when data is transmitted / received to / from the proxy processing apparatus 10, the communication path may be encrypted using SSL / TLS (Secure Socket Layer / Transport Layer Security) or the like.

  The wireless LAN terminal 20 can shift to a super power saving mode that does not receive DTIM among beacons from the wireless LAN base station 30. The wireless LAN terminal 20 is included in the same subnet as the proxy processing device 10 in order to receive the proxy processing function provided by the proxy processing device 10.

  The wireless LAN terminal 20 may have a function as a so-called media server. Specifically, the wireless LAN terminal 20 stores content such as images and transmits the content in response to a request from the terminal. In the wireless LAN terminal 20, an application for a media server is operating in order to exhibit the function as a content server. The function according to the present invention of the wireless LAN terminal 20 will be described later in more detail.

  1 shows only one wireless LAN terminal 20 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of wireless LAN terminals 20 may exist.

  The wireless LAN base station 30 is a device that performs wireless communication with the wireless LAN terminal 20 as described above. On the other hand, the wireless LAN base station 30 is connected to the communication network N, and can communicate with the proxy processing device 10 and other terminals via the communication network N.

  The wireless LAN base station 30 periodically transmits beacons to the wireless LAN terminal 20. When a multicast packet and a broadcast packet are transmitted to a subnet including the wireless LAN base station 30 and the wireless LAN terminal 20, the wireless LAN base station 30 receives the packet and notifies the wireless LAN terminal 20 , Information to that effect is included in the DTIM of the beacon. When a unicast packet for the wireless LAN terminal 20 is transmitted, the wireless LAN base station 30 receives the packet and includes in the beacon that there is a packet addressed to the wireless LAN terminal 20.

  The transmission terminal 40 is connected to the communication network N and is a terminal that transmits multicast packets and broadcast packets to a subnet including the proxy processing device 10 and the wireless LAN terminal 20. The multicast packet and the broadcast packet are transmitted, for example, as an address resolution request for address resolution by APR, or a device information notification message for notifying own device information. The transmission terminal 40 may or may not be included in a subnet in which the proxy processing device 10 and the wireless LAN terminal 20 are included.

  The wireless LAN terminal 50 shown in FIG. 1 is a terminal shown for comparison of functions with the wireless LAN terminal 20 of the present embodiment. Similar to the wireless LAN terminal 20, the wireless LAN terminal 50 configures a wireless LAN by performing wireless communication with the wireless LAN base station 30. The wireless LAN terminal 50 is set to a power saving mode that also receives DTIM.

  Subsequently, functions according to the present invention of the proxy processing device 10 and the wireless LAN terminal 20 according to the present embodiment will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the proxy processing device 10 includes a storage unit 11, a packet reception unit 12, a process determination unit 13, a process execution unit 14, and a registration unit 15.

  The storage unit 11 is a part that stores information for specifying processing to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal 20 for multicast packets or broadcast packets in association with information for specifying the wireless LAN terminal 20. The multicast packet or broadcast packet to be processed by the proxy is a packet transmitted in the subnet including the proxy processing device 10 and the wireless LAN terminal 20.

  Specifically, for example, the storage unit 11 stores the above information by storing the information of the table as shown in FIG. 2 on the memory. As illustrated in FIG. 2, information specifying processing to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal 20 is stored in association with an IP address that is information specifying the wireless LAN terminal 20. In the table shown in FIG. 2, information on “message”, “proxy processing”, and “setting” is associated with the IP address that identifies the wireless LAN terminal 20.

  The “message” indicates the content of the multicast packet or broadcast packet, and the content is associated with information for specifying processing to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal 20. A “message” “NOTIFY (MediaServer)” shown in FIG. 2 is a packet in which the media server notifies other devices of its own existence. “NOTIFY (InternetGatewayDevice)” is a packet in which the gateway notifies its own existence to other devices. “M-Search” is a packet for inquiring a device having a predetermined function. The “address resolution request” is a packet for obtaining an Ethernet MAC address from an ARP IP address.

  The “proxy processing” is information indicating what processing is performed as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20. The processing to be performed as a proxy is any one of “proxy response”, “transfer”, and “transfer unnecessary”. Specifically, “proxy response” indicates that the proxy processing device 10 responds to the received multicast packet or broadcast packet, that is, returns to the transmitting terminal of the packet. “Transfer” indicates that the proxy processing device 10 converts the received multicast packet or broadcast packet into a unicast packet addressed to the wireless LAN terminal 20 and transmits the packet. “Transfer unnecessary” indicates that no special processing is performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal 20 for the received multicast packet or broadcast packet. Since the packet that is “transfer unnecessary” is considered unnecessary for the wireless LAN terminal 20, it may be discarded by the proxy processing device 10.

  “Setting” is information indicating how to perform the processing performed as a proxy. For example, in the case of transfer, the time interval is shown. In the case of a proxy response, the information indicates what information is returned for each wireless LAN terminal 20 that is a proxy target.

  The packet receiving unit 12 is a packet receiving unit that receives a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted in a subnet including the proxy processing device 10 and the wireless LAN terminal 20. The packet receiving unit 12 outputs the received packet to the process determining unit 13 and the process executing unit 14.

  The process determining unit 13 is a process determining unit that determines a process to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal 20 for the multicast packet or the broadcast packet received by the packet receiving unit 12. Specifically, the process determining unit 13 determines the above process as follows. First, the process determining unit 13 refers to the information stored in the storage unit 11 and uses the wireless LAN terminal 20 specified by the IP address stored in the storage unit 11 as a proxy object. Subsequently, the process determining unit 13 detects the content of the packet received by the packet receiving unit 12. The process determining unit 13 refers to the storage unit 11 and determines the process contents according to the detected packet contents.

  For example, if the content of the multicast packet or broadcast packet is “NOTIFY (MediaServer)”, the process determining unit 13 acts on the packet as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20 identified by the IP address “192.168.1.10”. Therefore, it is determined that processing such as transfer is not performed. If the content of the multicast packet or broadcast packet is “NOTIFY (Internet Gateway Device)”, the process determining unit 13 acts on the packet as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20 identified by the IP address “192.168.1.10”. And decide to transfer. The process determination unit 13 notifies the process execution unit 14 of the determined process content.

  The process execution unit 14 is a process execution unit that executes the process determined and notified by the process determination unit 13. When the process determined by the process determination unit 13 is “transfer”, the process execution unit 14 holds a packet for the wireless LAN terminal 20 for a predetermined period, and the held packet It is preferable to transmit to the wireless LAN terminal 20 collectively. Further, it is preferable that the process execution unit 14 holds the transferred packet, extracts a difference between the packet to be transferred and the transferred packet, and transmits the difference.

  The registration unit 15 receives from the wireless LAN terminal 20 information specifying processing to act on behalf of the own terminal 20 for the multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network, and registers it in the storage unit 11 It is. The information received from the wireless LAN terminal 20 is the information shown in FIG. Note that the registration of information in the storage unit 11 may be performed based on an input from the user to the proxy processing device 10 in addition to the information transmitted from the wireless LAN terminal 20 as described above. . The above is the configuration of the function of the proxy processing apparatus 10 according to the present invention.

  FIG. 3 shows a hardware configuration of the proxy processing apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the proxy processing device 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a random access memory (RAM) 102 and a read only memory (ROM) 103, which are main storage devices, and a communication module 104 for communication. And a computer including hardware such as an auxiliary storage device 105 such as a hard disk. The functions described above are exhibited by the operation of these components.

  Next, functions according to the present invention of the wireless LAN terminal 20 according to the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless LAN terminal 20 includes a search unit 21, a transmission unit 22, a processing information generation unit 23, and a mode transition unit 24. Note that the wireless LAN terminal 20 also has a wireless communication function for configuring the wireless LAN as described above, but these are omitted in the above-described functional configuration.

  The search unit 21 is search means for searching for the proxy processing device 10. The search of the proxy processing device 10 is performed by transmitting a multicast packet or a broadcast packet of a predetermined protocol inquiring about the existence of the proxy processing device 10 in a subnet including the own terminal. An example of the predetermined protocol is SSDP in UPnP. The proxy processing device 10 that has responded to the packet of the protocol can reliably perform the proxy processing for the packet of the protocol. When there is a reply to the packet, the search unit 21 detects the presence of the proxy processing device 10. When detecting the presence of the proxy processing device 10, the search unit 21 notifies the transmission unit 22 to that effect.

  The transmission unit 22 identifies the own terminal 20 as information for identifying the processing that the proxy processing device 10 performs as a proxy for the own terminal 20 with respect to a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted within the network in which the own terminal 20 is included. It is a transmission means which transmits to the proxy processing apparatus 10 in association with the information to be performed. That is, the transmission unit 22 transmits information stored in the storage unit 11 of the proxy processing apparatus 10 as shown in FIG. 2 as information indicating the proxy process of the own terminal. This information may be input from the user to the wireless LAN terminal 20, but may be automatically generated by the processing information generation unit 23 as described below. In addition to the above information, the transmission unit 22 notifies the proxy processing device 10 that the transmission unit 22 shifts to the super power saving mode. When transmitting the information, the transmission unit 22 notifies the mode transition unit 24 of the fact.

  The processing information generating unit 23 generates information for specifying processing that the proxy processing device 10 performs as a proxy of the own terminal 20 for a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network including the own terminal 20. Information generation means. The information specifying the processing is performed based on information generation rules stored in advance in the own terminal 20 in accordance with the operation state of the application in the own terminal 20. For example, when only the application that functions as the above-described media server is operating in the own terminal 20, active access from the own terminal 20 to another terminal or server is not performed. Since it is not necessary to receive “NOTIFY (MediaServer)”, which is a packet for notifying the presence of the own terminal, from the terminal that is a server, information that “transfer is not required” is generated. On the other hand, in response to “M-Search”, which is a packet for searching for a device having the function of the media server from another terminal, a “proxy response” that transmits information notifying the existence of itself to the terminal that transmitted the packet Information to be generated. The information generated in this way is output to the transmission unit 22 for transmission to the proxy processing device 10.

  The mode transition unit 24 is a mode transition unit that shifts the terminal 20 to the super power saving mode after transmission by the transmission unit 22 is performed. When the wireless LAN terminal 20 shifts to the super power saving mode, DTIM is not received from the beacons. The above is the functional configuration of the wireless LAN terminal 20 according to the present invention.

  FIG. 4 shows a hardware configuration of the wireless LAN terminal 20. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the wireless LAN terminal 20 includes hardware such as a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, an operation unit 204, a wireless communication unit 205, a display 206, and an antenna 207. The functions described above are exhibited by the operation of these components.

  Subsequently, processing (proxy processing method) executed by the proxy processing device 10, the wireless LAN terminal 20, and the wireless communication system including them will be described with reference to the sequence diagrams of FIGS. First, with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. 5, processing until the proxy processing apparatus 10 shifts to a state of performing processing as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20 will be described, and then the sequence diagrams of FIGS. 6 and 7 will be used. Processing when the proxy processing device 10 executes processing as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20 will be described.

  First, in the wireless LAN terminal 20, the search unit 21 transmits a multicast packet inquiring about the existence of the proxy processing device 10 in the subnet including the own terminal 20 (S101, search step). As described above, this multicast packet is a packet based on SSDP in UPnP. Note that this process in the wireless LAN terminal 20 is triggered by, for example, an input from the user to the wireless LAN terminal 20 to shift to the super power saving mode.

  The packet transmitted by the wireless LAN terminal 20 is received by the proxy processing device 10. Subsequently, the unicast packet of the confirmation response notifying that the proxy processing apparatus 10 itself is the proxy processing apparatus 10 is transmitted from the proxy processing apparatus 10 that has received the packet to the wireless LAN terminal 20 (S102). This unicast packet is also a packet based on SSDP in UPnP. In the wireless LAN terminal 20, the search unit 21 receives the confirmation response and detects the presence of the proxy processing device 10.

  Subsequently, in the wireless LAN terminal 20, the search unit 21 notifies the transmission unit 22 of that fact. The transmission unit 22 instructs the processing information generation unit 23 to generate information for specifying processing that the proxy processing device 10 performs as a proxy for the terminal 20 itself. Subsequently, the operation status of the application in the wireless LAN terminal 20 is confirmed by the processing information generation unit 23 to generate the information (S103, processing information generation step). Subsequently, the above information is generated according to the operation status of the application confirmed by the processing information generation unit 23 (S104, processing information generation step). As shown in FIG. 2, the generated information includes proxy processing settings and frequency according to the contents of the multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network, and proxy processing such as the IP address and MAC address of the wireless LAN terminal 20. Information for performing The generated information is output to the transmission unit 22.

  Subsequently, the transmission unit 22 transmits the information generated by the processing information generation unit 23 to the proxy processing device 10 (S105, transmission step). In this transmission, information indicating that the terminal 20 shifts to the super power saving mode is also transmitted.

  In the proxy processing device 10, the information is received by the registration unit 15. This information is used by the registration unit 15 as information for specifying processing to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal 20 included in the network with respect to a multicast packet or broadcast packet in which the information is transmitted in the network. The information is stored in the storage unit 11 in association with information specifying the terminal. At that time, the registration unit 15 may perform registration after determining whether or not the processing performed as the proxy is applicable. This determination is made based on, for example, a protocol that can be processed by the proxy processing device 10. By such processing, the proxy processing apparatus 10 shifts to a state in which the wireless LAN terminal 20 performs proxy processing of multicast packets or broadcast packets (S106, setting step). Subsequently, the proxy processing apparatus 10 receives the information transmitted from the wireless LAN terminal 20 and notifies the wireless LAN terminal 20 that the above processing is completed as a confirmation response (S107).

  In the wireless LAN terminal 20, when the confirmation response is received, the transmission unit 22 notifies the mode transition unit 24 to that effect, and the mode transition unit 24 receives all DTIM among the beacons from the wireless LAN base station 30. The mode is shifted to the super power saving mode (S108, mode transition step). The above is the processing until the proxy processing apparatus 10 shifts to a state in which processing is performed as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20.

  Subsequently, an example of processing when the proxy processing apparatus 10 executes processing as a proxy of the wireless LAN terminal 20 will be described using the sequence diagram of FIG. 6. Here, the wireless LAN terminal 20 has shifted to the super power saving mode by the above processing. In addition, for comparison with the wireless LAN terminal 20 according to the present embodiment, processing of the wireless LAN terminal 50 that receives DTIM will also be described. The wireless LAN terminal 20 and the wireless LAN terminal 50 are in an Awake state at the timing when a beacon is transmitted from the wireless LAN base station 30. However, since the wireless LAN terminal 20 is in the super power saving mode, it does not enter the awake state at the timing when the DTIM is transmitted.

  In this process, first, since the transmission terminal 40 performs address resolution of the wireless LAN terminal 20, a broadcast packet is transmitted from the transmission terminal 40 to a network including the wireless LAN terminal 20 (S201). The broadcast packet is received by the wireless LAN base station 30 and temporarily cached. Thereafter, DTIM is transmitted by the wireless LAN base station 30 at a predetermined timing, and notification that the broadcast packet is transmitted from the transmitting terminal 40 to the wireless LAN terminals 20 and 50 under the wireless LAN base station 30 by the DTIM. (S202).

  Since the wireless LAN terminal 50 is in the power saving mode, the wireless LAN terminal 50 enters an awake state at the timing when the DTIM is transmitted from the wireless LAN base station 30, receives the DTIM, and confirms packet accumulation. Thereafter, a broadcast packet is transmitted from the wireless LAN base station 30 (S203), and the wireless LAN terminal 50 receives the packet. However, since the wireless LAN terminal 20 is in the super power saving mode in which DTIM is not received, the wireless LAN terminal 20 does not receive DTIM and does not receive broadcast packets notified by the DTIM. Here, the wireless LAN terminal 50 generates power for receiving DTIM and broadcast packets, but the wireless LAN terminal 20 according to the present embodiment does not generate the power.

  On the other hand, when a broadcast packet is transmitted from the transmission terminal 40 as described above, the proxy processing apparatus 10 receives the packet by the packet reception unit 12 (S201, packet reception means). The received packet is output to the process determining unit 13 and the process executing unit 14.

  Subsequently, the process determining unit 13 determines a process to be used as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20 for the received broadcast packet (S204, process determining step). As described above, the process is determined by referring to the information stored in the storage unit 11 and according to the content of the packet.

  Assume that the information stored in the storage unit 11 is as shown in FIG. 2 and the IP address of the wireless LAN terminal 20 is “192.168.1.10”. In this process, since the broadcast packet relates to an address resolution request to the wireless LAN terminal 20, the process determining unit 13 determines to perform a “proxy response”. Subsequently, the process determination unit 13 notifies the process execution unit 14 of the determination. Information stored in the “setting” column of the storage unit 11 and how to execute the processing in the notification is also notified. In the case of this example, the transmission terminal 40 is notified of information that “00: 11: 22: aa: bb: cc” is returned as the MAC address of the wireless LAN terminal 20.

  Subsequently, the process determined by the process determination unit 13 is executed by the process execution unit 14 (S205, process execution step). In the case of this example, the MAC address information of the wireless LAN terminal 20 is transmitted to the transmission terminal 40. The above is an example of processing when the proxy processing device 10 executes processing as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20.

  Subsequently, another example of processing when the proxy processing apparatus 10 executes processing as a proxy of the wireless LAN terminal 20 will be described using the sequence diagram of FIG. 7. In this process, first, since the transmitting terminal 40 notifies its own device information, a multicast packet is transmitted from the transmitting terminal 40 to the network including the wireless LAN terminal 20 (S301). The multicast packet is received by the wireless LAN base station 30 and temporarily cached. Subsequently, DTIM is transmitted from the wireless LAN base station 30 at a predetermined timing, and the DTIM notifies the wireless LAN terminal 20 under the wireless LAN base station 30 that a multicast packet has been transmitted from the transmission terminal 40. (S302). However, since the wireless LAN terminal 20 is in the super power saving mode in which DTIM is not received, the wireless LAN terminal 20 does not receive DTIM and does not receive multi-packets notified by the DTIM.

  On the other hand, when the multicast packet is transmitted from the transmission terminal 40 as described above, in the proxy processing device 10, the packet reception unit 12 receives the packet (S301, packet reception means). The received packet is output to the process determining unit 13 and the process executing unit 14.

  Subsequently, the process determining unit 13 determines a process to be used as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20 for the received broadcast packet (S303, process determining step). As described above, the process is determined by referring to the information stored in the storage unit 11 and according to the content of the packet.

  Assume that the information stored in the storage unit 11 is as shown in FIG. 2 and the IP address of the wireless LAN terminal 20 is “192.168.1.10”. The contents of the multicast packet are assumed to be “NOTIFY (InternetGatewayDevice)”. The storage unit 11 is referred to based on the above information, and the process determining unit 13 determines to perform “transfer” on the packet. Subsequently, the process determination unit 13 notifies the process execution unit 14 of the determination. Information stored in the “setting” column of the storage unit 11 and how to execute the processing in the notification is also notified. In the case of this example, it is notified that transfer is performed every 30 minutes.

  Subsequently, the process determined by the process determination unit 13 is executed by the process execution unit 14 (S304, process execution step). In the case of this example, the processing execution unit 14 converts a multicast packet including device information from the transmission terminal 40 into a unicast packet addressed to the wireless LAN terminal 20 and transmits it.

  This unicast packet is received by the wireless LAN base station 30 and temporarily cached. Subsequently, a beacon (not DTIM) is transmitted from the wireless LAN base station 30 at a predetermined timing, and the wireless LAN terminal 20 under the wireless LAN base station 30 is notified that a multicast packet has been transmitted from the transmission terminal 40. (S305). Since the beacon is not DTIM, it is detected by the wireless LAN terminal 20 that is in the awake state and a unicast packet is transmitted to the wireless LAN terminal 20. Thereafter, a power saving poll (PS-Poll) frame is transmitted from the wireless LAN terminal 20 to the wireless LAN base station 30, and after receiving the ACK, the unicast packet transmitted from the wireless LAN base station 30 is received by the wireless LAN terminal 20. (S306). The above is another example of processing when the proxy processing device 10 executes processing as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the multicast packet and the broadcast packet that can be received by the wireless LAN terminal 20 are used as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal 20 based on the information stored in the storage unit 11 of the proxy processing device 10. Processed by the processing device 10. Accordingly, the wireless LAN terminal 20 does not need to receive multicast packets and broadcast packets, and DTIM for receiving those packets, and can be set to a super power saving mode, so that power consumption can be reduced. Further, according to the present embodiment, multicast packets and broadcast packets that can be received by the wireless LAN terminal 20 are appropriately dealt with.

  Further, if the processing is determined according to the contents of the multicast packet or the broadcast packet as in the present embodiment, it is possible to perform appropriate processing according to the contents of the packet. Further, as in the present embodiment, the process is a process of responding on behalf (replying to the transmission terminal 40), and a process of converting a multicast packet or a broadcast packet into a unicast packet and transmitting it to the wireless LAN terminal 20 If any of these is included, appropriate processing can be reliably performed on the multicast packet and the broadcast packet.

  For example, if the packet is “NOTIFY” for notifying the presence of itself from various devices, the wireless LAN terminal 20 may or may not receive the packet depending on the function of the wireless LAN terminal 20 or the like. Can be. Further, since a proxy response can be made with respect to “M-Search” and “address resolution request”, it is possible for the wireless LAN terminal 20 itself to take appropriate measures without receiving it. In other words, the wireless LAN terminal 20 can be put into the super power saving mode, and appropriate measures can be taken without consuming power for receiving those packets.

  In addition, when transferring a packet, if a plurality of packets are transmitted together or a packet difference is transmitted, the number of packets received by the wireless LAN terminal 20 can be reduced. The power consumption in the wireless LAN terminal 20 can be further reduced.

  Further, as in the present embodiment, if the registration unit 15 is provided in the proxy processing apparatus 10 and information is received from the wireless LAN terminal 20, information for specifying processing can be received from the wireless LAN terminal 20, and a storage unit 11, it is possible to perform appropriate processing for each wireless LAN terminal 20.

  As a specific effect, for example, when a slide show of a 2 million pixel file stored in the wireless LAN terminal 20 is executed from the transmission terminal 40, about 10% of packets received by the wireless LAN terminal 20 can be reduced. It is. Moreover, further reduction is possible at the time of standby. The power consumption in the wireless LAN terminal 20 can be reduced according to the reduction of these received packets.

  If the wireless LAN terminal 20 automatically generates information indicating processing performed on behalf of the application according to the operation state of the application in the own terminal 20 as in the present embodiment, the own terminal can receive the information. Multicast packets and broadcast packets are more appropriately dealt with. For example, in the case where the own terminal 20 is used only for the server function, it can be set such that transfer is not required for “NOTIFY (MediaServer)” notified from the terminal as another media server.

  Further, if the own terminal 20 is shifted to the super power saving mode after the transmission by the transmission unit 22 is performed, after the proxy processing apparatus 10 is processed as a proxy of the own terminal 20, the own terminal is Since it can shift to super power saving mode, the effect of the present invention can be produced reliably.

  Further, if the proxy processing device 10 is searched for by a multicast packet or broadcast packet of a predetermined protocol, it is possible to search for the proxy processing device 10 that can perform processing for the multicast packet or broadcast packet of the predetermined protocol. . The effect of the present invention can be reliably obtained by transmitting information specifying the processing to be performed as a proxy of the terminal 20 to the searched proxy processing device 10.

  In the present embodiment, the proxy processing device 10 is configured as an independent device connected to the communication network N by wire, but may be configured otherwise. For example, it is preferable to configure as a part of the function of the wireless LAN base station 30. With this configuration, since the proxy processing device can reliably receive the multicast packet and the broadcast packet that can be received by the wireless LAN terminal 20, the effect of the present invention can be achieved more reliably. Further, the proxy processing device may be a wireless LAN terminal.

  In addition, when an application that uses a multicast packet is activated when the wireless LAN terminal 20 is operating in the super power saving mode, the wireless LAN terminal is notified to the proxy processing device 10 to cancel the transition to the super power saving mode. 20 may be released from the proxy state, and reception of DTIM from the wireless LAN base station 30 may be started. If the multicast packet may be received via the proxy processing device 10, information specifying the processing to be performed on behalf of the own terminal 20 is newly generated, and the information notified to the proxy processing device 10 in S105 is updated. You may make it do.

  Further, in the present embodiment, there is one proxy processing device 10 in the subnet, but a plurality of proxy processing devices 10 may exist. In that case, the wireless LAN terminal 20 may select one or more of them and perform notification (S105) to shift to the super power saving mode.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the proxy processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, a wireless LAN terminal, and the radio | wireless communications system comprised including them. Indicates a table in which information stored in the storage unit of the proxy processing device is stored It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the proxy processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the wireless LAN terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process (proxy processing method) performed with the proxy processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, a wireless LAN terminal, and the radio | wireless communications system comprised including them. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process (proxy processing method) performed with the proxy processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, a wireless LAN terminal, and the radio | wireless communications system comprised including them. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process (proxy processing method) performed with the proxy processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, a wireless LAN terminal, and the radio | wireless communications system comprised including them.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wireless communication system, 10 ... Proxy processing apparatus, 11 ... Memory | storage part, 12 ... Packet receiving part, 13 ... Process determination part, 14 ... Process execution part, 15 ... Registration part, 101 ... CPU, 102 ... RAM, 103 ... ROM 104 104 Communication module 105 Auxiliary storage device 20 50 Wireless LAN terminal 21 Search unit 22 Transmission unit 23 Processing information generation unit 24 Mode transition unit 201 CPU 202 RAM 203 203 ROM 204 Operation unit 205 Wireless communication unit 206 Display 207 Antenna 30 Wireless LAN base station 40 Transmission terminal N Communication network

Claims (16)

A storage unit that stores information specifying processing to be performed on behalf of a wireless LAN terminal included in the network for a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network in association with information specifying the wireless LAN terminal When,
Packet receiving means for receiving a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network;
Processing performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal specified by the information stored in the storage unit with reference to the information stored in the storage unit with respect to the multicast packet or broadcast packet received by the packet receiving unit Processing determining means for determining
Processing execution means for executing the processing determined by the processing determination means;
A proxy processing device comprising: The storage unit stores information specifying processing to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal according to the contents of the multicast packet or broadcast packet,
The determining means determines the processing according to the contents of the multicast packet or broadcast packet received by the packet receiving means;
The proxy processing apparatus according to claim 1.   It further comprises registration means for receiving, from the wireless LAN terminal, information specifying processing to be performed on behalf of its own terminal for a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network, and registering it in the storage unit. The proxy processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the proxy processing apparatus is characterized.   The processing determined by the processing determination unit and executed by the processing execution unit includes processing for responding to a multicast packet or broadcast packet received by the packet reception unit, and unicasting the multicast packet or broadcast packet. The proxy processing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising at least one of processes for converting the packet into a packet and transmitting the packet to the wireless LAN terminal.   5. The proxy processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processing execution unit transmits a plurality of the multicast packets and broadcast packets to the wireless LAN terminal.   The processing execution means holds the multicast packet and the broadcast packet, and transmits a difference between the multicast packet and the broadcast packet to be transmitted to the wireless LAN terminal and the held multicast packet and the broadcast packet. The proxy processing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that: The storage unit stores a response content corresponding to the wireless LAN terminal with respect to the multicast packet or the broadcast packet,
The process execution means generates a response packet for the multicast packet or broadcast packet based on the response content stored in the storage unit, and transmits the response packet to the source of the multicast packet or broadcast packet.
The proxy processing apparatus according to claim 4.   The proxy processing device according to claim 1, wherein the proxy processing device is a wireless LAN base station.   For a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted in a network including the own terminal, the proxy processing device associates information specifying processing performed as a proxy of the own terminal with information specifying the own terminal, and A wireless LAN terminal comprising transmission means for transmitting to a processing device.   The proxy processing device acts as a proxy for the own terminal for a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted by the transmission means and transmitted in the network including the own terminal according to the operation state of the application in the own terminal. The wireless LAN terminal according to claim 9, further comprising processing information generation means for generating information for specifying processing.   The wireless LAN terminal according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising mode transition means for causing the terminal to transition to a super power saving mode after transmission by the transmission means.   The wireless LAN terminal according to any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising search means for searching for the proxy processing device using a multicast packet or broadcast packet of a predetermined protocol. A wireless communication system including a wireless LAN terminal and a proxy processing device,
The proxy processing device is:
A storage for storing information specifying processing to be performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal included in the network for multicast packets or broadcast packets transmitted in the network in association with information specifying the wireless LAN terminal And
Packet receiving means for receiving a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network;
Processing performed on behalf of the wireless LAN terminal specified by the information stored in the storage unit with reference to the information stored in the storage unit with respect to the multicast packet or broadcast packet received by the packet receiving unit Processing determining means for determining
Processing execution means for executing the processing determined by the processing determination means;
A wireless communication system comprising: A storage unit that stores information specifying processing to be performed on behalf of a wireless LAN terminal included in the network for a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network in association with information specifying the wireless LAN terminal A proxy processing method in a proxy processing apparatus comprising:
A packet receiving step of receiving a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted in the network;
Processing performed as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal specified by the information stored in the storage unit with reference to the information stored in the storage unit with respect to the multicast packet or broadcast packet received in the packet reception step A process determination step for determining
A process execution step of executing the process determined in the process determination step;
A surrogate processing method.   A proxy processing method in a wireless LAN terminal, in which information for identifying a process performed by a proxy processing device as a proxy for the own terminal with respect to a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted in a network including the own terminal A proxy processing method including a transmission step of transmitting to the proxy processing device in association with information specifying Corresponds to information identifying a wireless LAN terminal and information identifying the wireless LAN terminal as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal included in the network for a multicast packet or broadcast packet transmitted in the network A wireless communication system including a proxy processing device including a storage unit for storing information;
The proxy processing device is
A packet receiving step of receiving a multicast packet or a broadcast packet transmitted in the network;
Processing performed as a proxy for the wireless LAN terminal specified by the information stored in the storage unit with reference to the information stored in the storage unit with respect to the multicast packet or broadcast packet received in the packet reception step A process determination step for determining
A process execution step of executing the process determined in the process determination step;
A surrogate processing method.

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