JP2020068459A - Repeater, repeater power saving control method and repeater power saving control program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a repeater capable of realizing power saving by suppressing transmission of unnecessary radio wave.SOLUTION: A repeater 3 repeating radiocommunication between a radio access point 1 and a wireless slave terminal 6 in a wireless local area network has a communication monitoring unit 4 for monitoring a beacon from the radio access point 1, and monitoring connection state and communication state of the wireless slave terminal 6, and a communication control section 5 for determining whether transmission operation of the beacon from the own repeater 3 is executed or stopped, on the basis of information acquired as the outcome of monitoring from the communication monitoring unit 4. When the fact that the wireless slave terminal 6 is connected with the radio access point 1 is detected, as the monitoring outcome from the communication monitoring unit 4, the communication control section 5 stops transmission operation of the beacon from the own repeater 3, if the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal 6 in the own repeater 3 is equal to or smaller than the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal 6 at the radio access point 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a relay, a relay power saving control method, and a relay power saving control program, and in particular, the relay dynamically beacons in accordance with a connection state or a radio wave condition of a wireless slave terminal. The present invention relates to a relay device, a relay device power saving control method, and a relay device power saving control program that suppresses unnecessary radio wave transmission to realize power saving by controlling the transmission of the data.

  In recent years, terminals such as smartphones that can use a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) as wireless slave terminals have become widespread. This type of terminal is often used by connecting to a wireless LAN access point via a wireless LAN. In the following, a terminal using such a wireless LAN will be abbreviated as “wireless slave terminal”, and a wireless LAN access point will be abbreviated as “wireless access point”. Such a wireless slave device terminal is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-67826, “Wireless communication device, wireless communication system, and wireless communication method” of Patent Document 1. On the other hand, the range of wireless radio waves is limited in one wireless access point. For this reason, a wireless LAN repeater that relays a radio wave between a wireless slave terminal and a wireless access point has been used in order to enable use over a wider range. In the following, the wireless LAN repeater is simply abbreviated as “repeater”.

  In other words, the repeater transmits a beacon (Beacon) indicating the existence of its own repeater as a radio wave in a state where the connection with the radio access point is established, so that the range that the radio wave from the radio access point alone cannot reach. The communication range can be extended up to. This has an effect equivalent to the case where the number of wireless access points is increased to two, which is convenient in constructing a wireless LAN, while doubling the transmission of wireless radio waves.

  In addition, a wireless slave terminal such as a smartphone is generally a mobile terminal, and the place where it is used changes one after another. Therefore, depending on the situation, the wireless slave terminal directly communicates with the wireless access point, or connects to the relay station and communicates with the wireless access point via the relay station. It is desired to do.

JP, 2008-67826, A

  However, according to the current technology related to the present invention, even if the situation in which the wireless slave terminal can directly communicate with the wireless access point continues, the relay device does not generate unnecessary radio waves as Beacon in advance. It keeps sending at regular intervals. In other words, if the relay is connected to the wireless access point without considering the connection status (that is, presence / absence) of the wireless slave terminal or the radio wave condition regarding communication at all, the relay always keeps transmitting Beacon. , Waits for the wireless handset terminal, and continues to transmit unnecessary radio waves.

(Purpose of the present disclosure)
In view of such circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is that a relay device dynamically controls Beacon transmission according to a connection state and a radio wave state of a wireless slave device terminal, thereby suppressing unnecessary radio wave transmission. Another object of the present invention is to provide a relay device, a relay power saving control method, and a relay power saving control program that can realize power saving.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the relay, the relay power saving control method, and the relay power saving control program according to the present invention mainly employ the following characteristic configurations.

(1) The repeater according to the present invention is
In a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), relay wireless communication between a wireless access point and a wireless slave terminal,
A communication monitoring unit that monitors a beacon (Beacon) from the wireless access point and also monitors a connection state and a communication status of the wireless slave device terminal,
Based on the information obtained as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring unit, a communication control unit that determines whether to perform or stop the beacon transmission operation from the own repeater,
Have
The communication control unit,
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring unit, when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
When the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value of the wireless slave device terminal in the own relay device is a value smaller than the RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal in the wireless access point, the beacon is transmitted from the own relay device. Stop working,
It is characterized by

(2) The relay power saving control method according to the present invention is
In a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), control is performed to reduce power consumption of a relay device that relays wireless communication between a wireless access point and a wireless slave device terminal,
A communication monitoring step of monitoring a beacon (Beacon) from the wireless access point and monitoring a connection state and a communication status of the wireless slave terminal;
Based on the information obtained as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring step, a communication control step of determining whether to perform or stop the beacon transmission operation from the own repeater,
Have
The communication control step,
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring step, when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
When the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value of the wireless slave terminal in the own repeater is a value smaller than the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the wireless access point, the beacon is transmitted from the own repeater. Stop working,
It is characterized by

(3) The relay power saving control program according to the present invention is
In a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a computer executes control to reduce power consumption of a relay that relays wireless communication between a wireless access point and a wireless slave terminal,
A communication monitoring function of monitoring a beacon (Beacon) from the wireless access point and monitoring a connection state and a communication status of the wireless slave terminal,
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring function, a communication control function for determining whether to perform or stop the beacon transmission operation from the own repeater,
Have
The communication control function is
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring function, when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
When the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value of the wireless slave terminal in the own repeater is a value smaller than the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the wireless access point, the beacon is transmitted from the own repeater. Stop working,
It is characterized by

  According to the relay, the relay power saving control method, and the relay power saving control program of the present invention, the following effects can be mainly achieved.

  That is, the relay device compares the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value of the wireless slave device terminal at the wireless access point with the RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal at the own relay device so that the relay device transmits Beacon. Can be dynamically determined. That is, as a comparison result regarding the RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal, only when the relay device side is better than the wireless access point side with respect to the radio wave condition between the wireless slave device terminal and the wireless slave device terminal, Enables the operation of transmitting Beacon. Thus, it is possible to suppress unnecessary electric wave transmission from the repeater and realize power saving of the repeater.

6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a characteristic operation of the relay device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a connection configuration diagram for explaining an example of a connection configuration of a relay device according to the present invention. 3 is a sequence chart showing an example of a flow of signal transmission / reception between the repeater shown in FIG. 2 and a wireless access point and a wireless slave terminal. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation when the wireless access point shown in FIG. 2 detects a connection of a wireless slave device terminal. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation when detecting disconnection of a wireless slave device to which the wireless access point shown in FIG. 2 is connected. 3 is a table showing an example of information transmitted from the wireless access point shown in FIG. 2 in a Vendor IE field on Beacon. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation focusing on Beacon transmission / transmission stop operation of the repeater shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a connection configuration diagram for explaining another example of the connection configuration of the relay device according to the present invention, which is different from FIG. 2. 9 is a sequence chart showing an example of a flow of signal transmission / reception between the repeater shown in FIG. 8 and the wireless access point and the wireless slave terminal.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a relay, a relay power saving control method, and a relay power saving control program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the relay and the relay power saving control method according to the present invention will be described. However, the relay power saving control method is implemented as a relay power saving control program executable by a computer. Needless to say, the relay power saving control program may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. In addition, the drawing reference symbols attached to the following drawings are added for convenience to each element as an example for helping understanding, and it goes without saying that the present invention is not intended to be limited to the illustrated embodiments. Yes.

(Characteristics of the present invention)
Prior to the description of the embodiments of the present invention, the features of the present invention will be outlined first. According to the present invention, a wireless LAN relay device (hereinafter abbreviated as a relay device) connected to a wireless LAN access point (hereinafter abbreviated as a wireless access point) in a wireless LAN wirelessly connects to the wireless access point. A wireless radio wave is unnecessarily transmitted from the repeater by dynamically controlling the beacon (Beacon) transmission operation in accordance with the connection status and communication status of a mobile terminal (hereinafter abbreviated as a wireless slave terminal). The main feature is to suppress the operation, thus enabling the power saving of the repeater.

  The features of the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 1 is a flow chart for explaining an example of the characteristic operation of the relay station according to the present invention. In the operation flowchart of the relay station according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1, after the relay station establishes a connection with the wireless access point (step A1), the relay station stops the Beacon transmission operation (step A2). Thereafter, Beacon transmitted by the wireless access point is monitored (step A3).

  When the wireless access point is connected to the wireless access point, in the Vendor IE (Vendor Specific Information Element) field, which is a vendor specific information setting area on Beacon, the wireless access point is provided with the wireless access point The information of the MAC address of the device terminal and the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value, which is the radio wave intensity of the communication received from the wireless slave device terminal, is placed and notified to the relay device. When the relay machine detects the child machine information in the Vendor IE field on Beacon from the monitored wireless access point ('Yes' in step A4), the relay machine communicates with the wireless child machine terminal having the MAC address of the child machine information. By monitoring the communication performed with the wireless access point, the relay device itself acquires the RSSI value received from the wireless slave device terminal having the MAC address (step A5).

  When the relay station acquires the RSSI value received from the wireless slave station terminal, the relay station acquires the RSSI value (monitoring RSSI value) as the monitoring result and the MAC address of the wireless slave station terminal as the slave station information from the wireless access point. It is compared with the RSSI value (notification RSSI value) notified together with (step A6). When the monitoring RSSI value acquired in the relay is smaller than the notification RSSI value notified from the wireless access point (NO in step A6), Beacon is not transmitted from the relay and the step A5 is performed as it is. Then, the wireless slave terminal returns to the state of monitoring the communication performed with the wireless access point.

  On the other hand, when the monitoring RSSI value acquired by the relay device is larger than the notification RSSI value notified from the wireless access point (YES in step A6), the relay device connects to the wireless slave device terminal. The destination is changed to the own repeater, and the transmission operation of Beacon which has been stopped in order to connect the wireless slave device terminal to the wireless access point via the own repeater is started (step A7). Thus, the relay device can periodically perform the operation of transmitting Beacon only when necessary for the wireless slave device terminal, instead of constantly transmitting Beacon. In addition, even in the wireless slave device terminal, it is possible to detect a repeater with a better radio wave condition, connect to a repeater with a better radio wave condition, and improve communication quality with the wireless access point. Communication can be performed in good condition.

  As described above, in the present invention, the relay automatically compares the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal connected to the wireless access point with the value acquired on the wireless access point side and the value acquired on the relay side. By doing so, the Beacon transmission operation from the repeater is performed only when it is determined that the radio wave condition between the repeater and the wireless slave terminal is better than that of the wireless access point. Power can be saved by suppressing unnecessary radio wave transmission in the machine.

(Configuration example of the embodiment of the present invention)
Next, a configuration example of the repeater according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the connection configuration diagram of FIG. FIG. 2 is a connection configuration diagram for explaining an example of the connection configuration of the relay station according to the present invention.

  As shown in the connection configuration diagram of FIG. 2, at least a wireless access point 1, a relay device 3, and a wireless slave device terminal 6 are present as components of the wireless LAN communication network. The wireless access point 1 internally includes an information transmission unit 2 capable of controlling information to be placed in a vendor specific information setting area, that is, a Vendor IE (Vendor Specific Information Element) field arranged on Beacon, which is periodically transmitted. Have at least.

  When the information transmitting unit 2 detects that the wireless slave terminal 6 is connected to the wireless access point 1 of its own, the MAC address of the connected wireless slave terminal 6 is'yy: yy: yy: yy: yy: yy. 'And the RSSI value which is the radio field intensity received from the wireless slave terminal 6 are placed in the Vendor IE field on Beacon as slave information, and the relay 3 connected to the wireless access point 1 is transmitted. Notice. When the wireless slave terminal 6 detects that the connection with the wireless access point 1 itself has been disconnected, the MAC address of the wireless slave terminal 6 assigned as the slave information'yy: yy: yy: yy. : yy: yy 'and the RSSI value from the wireless slave terminal 6 are deleted from the Vendor IE field on Beacon, and the repeater 3 connected to the wireless access point 1 is notified.

  The repeater 3 connected to the wireless access point 1 has a MAC address of “xx: xx: xx: xx: xx: xx”, and internally monitors the received radio wave and transmits the wireless signal from the wireless access point 1. The Beacon is provided with a communication monitoring unit 4 that monitors the connection status and communication status of the wireless slave terminal 6.

  Then, the communication monitoring unit 4 monitors the connection state (presence / absence) of the wireless slave device terminal 6 and determines whether the wireless slave device terminal 6 is connected to the self-relay device 3 (that is, exists), or Based on whether or not the slave device information is added to the Vendor IE field on Beacon from the wireless access point 1 while determining whether or not it is connected to the own repeater 3 (whether or not it is present). Then, it is determined whether or not the wireless slave device terminal 6 is connected to the wireless access point 1.

  Furthermore, when the wireless slave device terminal 6 is in a state of being directly connected to the wireless access point 1 without being connected to the own relay device 3, the communication monitoring unit 4 transmits the wireless slave device terminal 6 from the wireless access point 1. The MAC address'yy: yy: yy: yy: yy: yy 'of the wireless handset terminal 6 assigned as handset information in the Vendor IE field on the Beacon that comes and the radio field intensity received from the wireless handset terminal 6 Based on a certain RSSI value, the RSSI value at the wireless access point 1 of the wireless slave terminal 6 having the MAC address'yy: yy: yy: yy: yy: yy 'is acquired. Further, the communication monitoring unit 4 wirelessly accesses the wireless slave terminal 6 having the MAC address'yy: yy: yy: yy: yy: yy 'indicated by the slave information added to the Vendor IE field on Beacon. The communication status with point 1 is monitored, and the RSSI value in the self-repeater 3 of the wireless slave terminal 6 is acquired.

  In addition, the repeater 3 internally controls the transmission operation of the radio wave based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring unit 4 to perform the beacon transmission operation from the own repeater 3, or A communication control unit 5 that determines whether to stop is provided.

  Then, when the wireless slave terminal 6 is not connected to the own repeater 3 but directly connected to the wireless access point 1, the communication control unit 5 is notified by the wireless access point 1. The RSSI value (notification RSSI value) of the wireless slave terminal 6 at the wireless access point 1 and the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal 6 at the own repeater 3 monitored and obtained by the communication monitoring unit 4 of the own repeater 3 (monitoring). (RSSI value) is compared.

  As a comparison result, the communication control unit 5 determines that the RSSI value (monitoring RSSI value) monitored and acquired by the communication monitoring unit 4 of the own repeater 3 is equal to or less than the RSSI value (notification RSSI value) notified from the wireless access point 1. If it is a small value, the transmission operation of Beacon transmitted from the own repeater 3 is stopped. On the other hand, in the communication control unit 5, the RSSI value (monitoring RSSI value) monitored and acquired by the communication monitoring unit 4 of the repeater 3 is the RSSI value (notification RSSI) notified from the wireless access point 1. If the value is larger than the value), Beacon is transmitted from the own repeater 3.

  As described above, by providing at least the information transmitting unit 2 inside the wireless access point 1 and at least the communication monitoring unit 4 and the communication control unit 5 inside the repeater 3, the wireless slave terminal 6 can perform wireless access. Only when the repeater 3 having a better radio wave condition than the point 1 can be detected, and the communication with the wireless slave terminal 6 has a better communication quality than the wireless access point 1, Since Beacon is transmitted, the relay device 3 can suppress unnecessary radio wave transmission and can save power.

  When the wireless slave device terminal 6 first directly connects to the wireless access point 1 and starts communication, and then the relay device 3 starts the Beacon transmission operation, Whether the wireless slave terminal 6 that has received Beacon changes the connection state from the wireless access point 1 to the repeater 3 by changing the state in which the wireless slave terminal 6 is connected to the wireless access point 1. It is decided depending on the operation on the 6 side.

(Description of operation of the embodiment)
Next, the operation of the repeater 3 according to the present invention illustrated in FIG. 2 will be described in detail with reference to a sequence chart showing a flow of signal transmission / reception between the wireless access point 1 and the wireless slave device terminal 6. . FIG. 3 is a sequence chart showing an example of the flow of signal transmission / reception between the relay 3 and the wireless access point 1 and the wireless slave terminal 6 shown in FIG. It should be noted that an example of the characteristic operation according to the present invention in the repeater 3 shown in FIG. 2 is as described above in the operation flowchart of FIG.

  Prior to the description of the sequence chart of FIG. 3, the operation of the wireless access point 1 will be described first with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation when the wireless access point 1 shown in FIG. 2 detects the connection of the wireless slave terminal 6, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the connection of the wireless access point 1 shown in FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation performed when the disconnection of the wireless slave device terminal 6 which has been performed is detected.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the wireless access point 1 includes an information transmitting unit 2 that can control the Vendor IE field on Beacon and can transmit arbitrary information by placing it on the Vendor IE field. ing. In the embodiment according to the present invention, as described above, the information transmitting unit 2 sets the MAC address of the wireless slave terminal 6 connected to the wireless access point 1 and the wireless slave in the Vendor IE field on Beacon. The RSSI value, which is the radio field intensity received from the terminal 6, is loaded and transmitted to the relay device 3 connected to the wireless access point 1.

  First, the flowchart of FIG. 4 will be described. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the wireless access point 1 periodically transmits Beacon (beacon) for notifying the presence of the wireless access point at predetermined intervals (step B1), and the wireless access point 1 sends the wireless access point 1 to the wireless access point. It is waiting for the terminal 6 to be connected (step B2). Then, when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal 6 is connected to the own terminal ('Yes' in step B2), the MAC address of the wireless slave terminal 6 connected to the own terminal in the information transmitting unit 2 is detected. And the RSSI value that is the radio field intensity received from the wireless slave device terminal 6 that has acquired the MAC address. Then, the information transmitting unit 2 puts the acquired MAC address and RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal 6 in the Vendor IE field on the beacon as the slave device information (that is, adds them), and the wireless access point 1 concerned. It is transmitted to the repeater 3 connected to (step B3).

  Next, the flowchart of FIG. 5 will be described. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, Beacon in which the MAC address and the RSSI value of the wireless handset terminal 6 connected to the wireless access point 1 are placed (that is, given) in the Vendor IE field as handset information is being transmitted. At this time (step C1), when the disconnection of the connected wireless slave terminal 6 is detected (YES in step C2), the MAC address of the wireless slave terminal 6 included in the Vendor IE field on Beacon as slave information. And the RSSI value are deleted (step C3). Then, the process returns to the operation of transmitting Beacon with the child device information deleted to the connected relay device 3 (step C4).

  Next, the operation of the repeater 3 that transmits and receives signals to and from the wireless access point 1 and the wireless slave terminal 6 will be described using the sequence chart of FIG. Here, as described above, the relay device 3 constantly monitors Beacon that is periodically transmitted from the connected wireless access point 1, and the wireless slave device as slave device information in the Vendor IE field on the beacon. When the MAC address and the RSSI value of the terminal 6 are included, it is detected that the wireless slave terminal 6 is connected to the wireless access point 1, and the wireless access point 1 is detected from the Vendor IE field on the Beacon. The communication monitoring unit 4 acquires the MAC address and the RSSI value of the wireless handset terminal 6 connected to the terminal as handset information.

  As described above, the communication monitoring unit 4 communicates with the wireless access point 1 of the wireless slave terminal 6 having the MAC address acquired as the slave information from the Vendor IE field on Beacon from the wireless access point 1. It further has a function of monitoring the communication of the above and acquiring the RSSI value which is the radio field intensity received from the wireless slave device terminal 6 in the own repeater 3.

  Further, as described above, the relay device 3 monitors the communication of the wireless slave device terminal 6 having the MAC address acquired as the slave device information in the communication monitoring unit 4, and acquires the RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal 6 concerned. (That is, the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal 6 in the own repeater 3) and the RSSI value acquired as the slave information in the communication monitoring unit 4 (that is, in the wireless access point 1 notified from the wireless access point 1). The communication control unit 5 is provided to control the transmission operation of Beacon that is transmitted from the own device (relay device 3) based on the result of comparison with the RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal 6).

  In the state where the communication control unit 5 has established the connection with the wireless access point 1, the wireless slave device terminal 6 is not connected to either the self-device (relay device 3) or the wireless access point 1 (that is, If it does not exist), it further has a function of dynamically stopping the Beacon transmission operation from the own device (relay device 3).

  In other words, the communication control unit 5 compares the result of comparing the RSSI values of the wireless access point 1 and the self-relay device 3 with respect to the wireless handset terminal 6, and the wireless handset with respect to itself (relay device 3) and the wireless access point 1. It has a function of dynamically controlling Beacon transmission and transmission stop from the own device (relay device 3) based on the detection result of the connection state of the terminal 6.

  In the sequence chart of FIG. 3, the relay device 3 detects that the connection with the wireless access point 1 has been established by the communication control unit 5 as described in step A1 and step A2 of the flowchart of FIG. 1 (sequence). Seq1), the Beacon transmission operation from the own device (relay device 3) is stopped (sequence Seq2). Thereafter, as described in step A3 of the flowchart of FIG. 1, the relay station 3 performs communication monitoring of the child station information that is periodically transmitted by the wireless access point 1 and is placed in the Vendor IE field on Beacon. Continue monitoring by part 4.

  On the other hand, if the wireless access point 1 is currently connected only to the repeater 3 and the wireless slave terminal 6 is not yet connected, the Vendor IE field on Beacon shows The MAC address of the repeater 3 and the RSSI value which is the radio field intensity received from the repeater 3 are carried as information about the repeater 3 and are transmitted from the information transmitting unit 2 to the repeater 3. Therefore, the relay device 3 is not the slave device information regarding the wireless slave device terminal 6 and the information included in the Vendor IE field on Beacon transmitted from the wireless access point 1 is the information of the relay device 3 itself. Since the information is the RSSI value received from the MAC address “xx: xx: xx: xx: xx: xx”, it is determined that the information is not the control target information in the communication control unit 5 of the repeater 3.

  Then, when the wireless access point 1 establishes a connection with the wireless slave device terminal 6 (sequence Seq3), the wireless access point 1 sets the repeater in the Vendor IE field on Beacon as shown in FIG. 3 as well as information about the newly connected wireless handset terminal 6 as the handset information about the wireless handset terminal 6 including the MAC address'yy: yy: yy: yy: yy: yy 'of the wireless handset terminal 6. Information regarding the RSSI value, which is the radio field intensity received from the terminal 6, is placed and transmitted from the information transmitting unit 2 to the relay device 3 (sequence Seq4). Then, the wireless access point 1 starts communication with the wireless slave terminal 6 that has established the connection (sequence Seq5).

  FIG. 6 is a table showing an example of information transmitted from the wireless access point 1 shown in FIG. 2 in the Vendor IE field on Beacon. The table of FIG. 6 shows an example of the Vendor IE field information 20 (information contained in the Vendor IE field) attached to the Vendor IE field on Beacon transmitted from the wireless access point 1, and shows the MAC address. It is composed of a column 21 and an RSSI value column 22. The MAC address column 21 is set with the MAC address information of the wireless device connected to the wireless access point 1, and the RSSI value column 22 is set with the RSSI value received from the wireless device.

  In the setting example of FIG. 6, in the first line, the MAC address'xx: xx: xx: xx: xx: xx 'of the relay 3 is set in the MAC address column 21 as the relay information, and the RSSI value is set. The RSSI value “40” received from the repeater 3 is set in the column 22. Further, in the second line, as slave unit information, the MAC address'yy: yy: yy: yy: yy: yy 'of the wireless slave device terminal 6 is set in the MAC address column 21 and is set in the RSSI value column 22. The RSSI value '30' received from the wireless slave device terminal 6 is set.

  Hereinafter, the description returns to the sequence chart of FIG. As described in step A4 and step A5 of the flowchart of FIG. 1, the relay device 3 uses the wireless slave device as slave device information in the Vendor IE field on Beacon transmitted from the wireless access point 1 by the communication monitoring unit 4. When it is detected that the information regarding the MAC address'yy: yy: yy: yy: yy: yy 'of the terminal 6 and the RSSI value which is the radio field intensity received from the wireless slave terminal 6 is detected, next, Between the wireless access point 1 of the wireless handset terminal 6 having the MAC address'yy: yy: yy: yy: yy: yy 'that has been posted as handset information in the Vendor IE field on Beacon and has been notified. The communication status is monitored by the communication monitoring unit 4 (sequence Seq6). Then, the relay device 3 acquires the RSSI value, which is the radio field intensity received by the relay device 3 from the wireless slave device terminal 6, by the communication monitoring unit 4.

  Thereafter, the repeater 3 acquires the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal 6 by monitoring the communication status of the wireless slave terminal 6 by the communication monitoring unit 4 as described in step A6 of the flowchart of FIG. The RSSI value (that is, the monitoring RSSI value which is the RSSI value acquired as the monitoring result in the repeater 3) and the RSSI value notified from the wireless access point 1 (that is, the Vendor IE field on Beacon from the wireless access point 1) The communication control unit 5 compares the notification RSSI value, which is the RSSI value notified as the child device information, with the communication controller 5 (sequence Seq7).

  Then, as a result of the comparison, if the monitored RSSI value (RSSI value received by the repeater 3) is smaller than the notified RSSI value (RSSI value received by the wireless access point 1) or less, the wireless child Even if the device terminal 6 is switched to the communication state in which it is connected to the wireless access point 1 via the relay device 3, the radio wave condition is not improved or deteriorates. Therefore, as described in the case of “NO” in step A6 of the flowchart in FIG. 1, the operation of transmitting Beacon from the own repeater 3 is stopped and the wireless access point 1 of the wireless slave terminal 6 is connected to the wireless access point 1. Continue monitoring the communication status.

  On the other hand, when the monitored RSSI value is larger than the notified RSSI value, the radio wave condition is improved by switching and setting the communication state to connect to the wireless access point 1 via the repeater 3. Therefore, as described in the case of'YES 'in step A6 of the flowchart of FIG. 1 and in step A7, the communication control unit 5 starts the transmission operation of Beacon from the own repeater 3, and the wireless slave terminal It waits for the connection from 6 to the own repeater 3 (sequence Seq7).

  The operation of the repeater 3 described above will be further described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7, focusing on the operation of transmitting / stopping Beacon from the repeater 3. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation focusing on the Beacon transmission / transmission stop operation of the repeater 3 shown in FIG.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the repeater 3 receives the RSSI value (notification RSSI value) received from the wireless access point 1 by the RSSI value (monitoring RSSI value) directly received from the wireless slave device terminal 6, as described above. In the larger state, thereafter, the operation of periodically transmitting Beacon as a signal indicating the existence of the own device is performed at every predetermined cycle (step D1). However, since there is a possibility that the wireless communication state with the wireless slave terminal 6 may change and wireless communication may not be possible, it is regularly determined whether or not the presence of the wireless slave terminal 6 is detected. The monitoring operation is performed by the communication monitoring unit 4 (step D2).

  When the presence of the wireless slave terminal 6 connected to the relay 3 is detected (YES in step D2), the Beacon transmission operation from the relay 3 is continued as it is, and the subsequent processing is performed. Without that, the operation of FIG. 7 ends.

  However, when the wireless communication state with the wireless slave device terminal 6 is changed and the presence of the wireless slave device terminal 6 connected to the relay device 3 cannot be detected (NO in step D2). ), The relay device 3 carries the child device information (that is, the MAC address and the RSSI value of the wireless child device terminal 6 connected to the wireless access point 1) notified by being placed in the Vendor IE on Beacon from the wireless access point 1. (Information regarding) is returned to a state in which it is monitored by the communication monitoring unit 4 (step D3).

  As a result of monitoring by the communication monitoring unit 4, when the slave device information is not detected in the Vendor IE on Beacon from the wireless access point 1 ('No' in step D3), not only the relay device 3 but also the wireless access device is accessed. Even on the point 1 side, the presence of the wireless slave device terminal 6 to be connected is not detected, and the process proceeds to step D6 where the relay device 3 suppresses the operation of consuming unnecessary power. The Beacon transmission operation from the repeater 3 is stopped (step D6).

  Here, when Beacon itself from the wireless access point 1 cannot be detected, or the wireless slave terminal 6 which once detected its presence on the wireless access point 1 side has become absent. Also in this case, the communication monitoring unit 4 cannot detect the child device information in the Vendor IE on Beacon from the wireless access point 1, so the relay device 3 stops the Beacon transmission operation.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 7, when the handset information is detected in the Vendor IE on Beacon from the wireless access point 1 as the monitoring result by the communication monitoring unit 4 ('Yes' in step D3), the wireless access point 1 side In this case, the presence of the connected wireless slave terminal 6 is detected.

  Therefore, next, in order to confirm whether switching the connection destination of the wireless slave terminal 6 from the wireless access point 1 to the repeater 3 results in a better radio wave condition, first, the wireless slave terminal 1 is connected. The communication status with the wireless access point 1 of No. 6 is monitored by the communication monitoring unit 4 of the repeater 3 (step D4).

  Then, when the RSSI value of the self-relay 3 of the wireless slave terminal 6 is acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitor 4 of the repeater 3, the RSSI value acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitor 4 of the self-relay 3 is acquired. The (monitoring RSSI value) is compared with the RSSI value (notified RSSI value) notified from the wireless access point 1 as slave device information in the communication control unit 5 of the own repeater 3 (step D5).

  As a comparison result, the RSSI value (monitoring RSSI value) acquired as the monitoring result by the communication monitoring unit 4 of the own repeater 3 is smaller than the RSSI value (notification RSSI value) notified from the wireless access point 1. If (NO in step D5), the radio wave condition of the wireless slave device terminal 6 is more suitable for direct communication with the wireless access point 1, and it is necessary to perform wireless communication via the self-relay device 3. Since there is no such situation, the process proceeds to step D6, and the Beacon transmission operation from the own repeater 3 is stopped (step D6).

  On the other hand, as a comparison result, the RSSI value (monitoring RSSI value) acquired as the monitoring result by the communication monitoring unit 4 of the own repeater 3 is the RSSI value notified from the wireless access point 1 (notification RSSI value). If the value is larger than () (YES in step D5), the Beacon transmission operation from the own repeater 3 is maintained as it is, or if the Beacon transmission operation is not currently performed. , Beacon transmission operation is started, and the process proceeds to step D7.

  When the process proceeds to step D7, the communication monitoring unit 4 of the relay device 3 monitors the communication status of the wireless slave device terminal 6, and the wireless slave device terminal 6 switches the connection destination from the wireless access point 1 to the relay device 3 It waits to be connected to (step D7). Then, when the communication monitoring unit 4 of the repeater 3 detects that the wireless slave device terminal 6 has switched the connection destination and connected to the own repeater 3, the Beacon transmission operation from the repeater 3 is continued as it is. The communication control unit 5 sets the wireless slave terminal 6 to be connected to the wireless access point 1 via the own repeater 3.

  As described in steps C1 and C2 of the flowchart of FIG. 5, the wireless access point 1 assigns the MAC address and the RSSI value of the connected wireless handset terminal 6 to the Vendor IE field as handset information. When the wireless slave terminal 6 switches the connection destination from the wireless access point 1 to the repeater 3 while transmitting Beacon, the wireless access point 1 detects disconnection of the wireless slave terminal 6. Will be done.

  Therefore, as described in step C3 of the flowchart of FIG. 5, the wireless access point 1 deletes the MAC address and the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal 6 assigned as the slave information in the Vendor IE field on Beacon. To do. As a result, the child device information is not added to the Vendor IE field on Beacon transmitted from the wireless access point 1. Therefore, when the flowchart of FIG. 7 is activated in the next Beacon transmission cycle, in step D3 of FIG. 7, the relay device 3 detects the child device information in the Vendor IE field on the beacon from the wireless access point 1. There is a risk that the transmission operation of Beacon may be stopped by determining that the state becomes impossible (“No” in step D3), the process proceeds to step D6.

  However, by switching the connection destination from the wireless access point 1 to the relay device 3 in the wireless slave device terminal 6, the wireless slave device terminal 6 is present (that is, connected) in the relay device 3 itself. There is. Therefore, in step D2 of FIG. 7, it is determined that the wireless slave device terminal 6 exists in the relay device 3 (YES in step D2), and the Beacon transmission operation from the relay device 3 is continued as it is. The processing of FIG. That is, when the connection destination of the wireless slave device terminal 6 is switched from the wireless access point 1 to the relay device 3, the operation of continuously transmitting the Beacon without stopping the transmission operation of Beacon from the relay device 3 is continued. To maintain.

(Explanation of the effect of the embodiment)
As described in detail above, in this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  That is, the repeater 3 compares the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal 6 notified as slave information from the wireless access point 1 with the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal 6 acquired by the repeater 3 itself. Thus, it is possible to dynamically determine whether or not the repeater 3 needs to transmit Beacon. That is, as a comparison result regarding the RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal 6, it is limited to the case where the radio wave condition with the wireless slave device terminal 6 is better on the repeater 3 side than on the wireless access point 1 side. Thus, the relay device 3 can perform the operation of transmitting Beacon. Thus, it is possible to suppress unnecessary radio wave transmission from the relay device 3 and realize power saving of the relay device 3.

(Other Embodiments of the Present Invention)
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the above-described embodiment, as described in the flowchart of FIG. 1 and the sequence chart of FIG. 3, the relay device 3 has a larger RSSI value with the wireless slave device terminal 6 than the wireless access point 1. In this case, the repeater 3 starts the Beacon transmission operation. However, even if the relay device 3 starts the Beacon transmission operation, unless the wireless slave device terminal 6 switches the connection destination from the wireless access point 1 and connects to the relay device 3, the relay device 3 transmits unnecessary radio waves. The state of continuously transmitting will continue.

  In view of such circumstances, in another embodiment of the present invention, when the relay device has a larger RSSI value with the wireless slave device terminal than the wireless access point, the relay device uses the wireless access point. To the wireless access point by forcibly disconnecting the wireless access point from the wireless access point. We are trying to encourage switching to a repeater and reconnecting. In other words, not only entrusting the switching of the connection destination to the operation of the wireless slave terminal, but by forcibly disconnecting the connection with the wireless access point of the wireless slave terminal, the radio wave condition is changed. It is possible to prompt the wireless handset terminal side to reconnect to the relay side which is in a better condition than the access point.

  First, the connection configuration of the repeater according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a connection configuration diagram for explaining another example of the connection configuration of the relay device according to the present invention, which is different from FIG. As the components of the wireless LAN communication network shown in the connection configuration diagram of FIG. 8, at least a wireless access point 1A, a repeater 3A, and a wireless slave device terminal 6 exist as in the wireless LAN communication network described above with reference to FIG. However, the internal configurations of the wireless access point 1A and the repeater 3A are different from the internal configurations of the wireless access point 1 and the repeater 3 in the case of FIG.

  The wireless access point 1A shown in FIG. 8 has, in addition to the information transmitting unit 2 shown in FIG. 2, an internal wireless handset terminal 6 and a corresponding wireless handset terminal 6 in response to a handset disconnection request transmitted from the repeater 3A. It further includes a slave unit communication control unit 7 having a function of forcibly disconnecting the connection. The handset communication control unit 7 relays the connection destination from the wireless access point 1A to the wireless handset terminal 6 prior to the operation of forcibly disconnecting the connection with the corresponding wireless handset terminal 6. A function of transmitting a message urging the switch to the machine 3 may be further added.

  Further, the repeater 3A shown in FIG. 8 is provided with a communication control unit 5A instead of the communication control unit 5 shown in FIG. 2, in addition to the communication monitoring unit 4 shown in FIG. . The communication control unit 5A has almost the same function as the communication control unit 5 shown in FIG. 2, but the RSSI value notified from the wireless access point 1A as slave device information and the monitoring result of the relay device 3A itself. Based on the result of the comparison with the RSSI value acquired as, the slave unit disconnection request for urging the connection of the wireless slave device terminal 6 with the wireless access point 1 to the connection with the relay device 3 is sent to the wireless access point 1A. It further has a function of transmitting to the user.

  Next, the operation of the repeater 3A shown in FIG. 8 as another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the sequence chart of FIG. FIG. 9 is a sequence chart showing an example of a flow of signal transmission / reception between the repeater 3A shown in FIG. 8 and the wireless access point 1A and the wireless slave device terminal 6. Regarding the basic signal flow, the sequence chart of FIG. 9 is the same as that of the sequence chart shown in FIG. 3 as an embodiment of the present invention, and the same sequence number (sequence Seq1 to sequence Seq7) as in FIG. ) And omit the duplicate explanation here. In the following, a part that performs an operation different from that in FIG. 3 (that is, a part of sequence Seq8 to sequence Seq10 in the sequence chart of FIG. 9) will be mainly described.

  In the sequence Seq7 of the sequence chart of FIG. 9, similarly to the case of the sequence Seq7 in the sequence chart of FIG. 3, the relay device 3A, with respect to the RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal 6, acquires the RSSI value obtained by the communication monitoring unit 4 (that is, The monitoring RSSI value, which is the RSSI value acquired as the monitoring result in the repeater 3A, and the RSSI value notified from the wireless access point 1A (that is, notified from the wireless access point 1A as Vendor IE field on Beacon as slave device information. The communication control unit 5A compares the received RSSI value which is the RSSI value (sequence Seq7).

  Then, as a result of the comparison, when the monitored RSSI value is larger than the notified RSSI value, by switching to the communication state for connecting to the wireless access point 1A via the repeater 3A, the setting is performed. Since the radio wave condition is improved, the Beacon transmission operation from the own repeater 3A is started by the communication control unit 5A. After that, in the sequence Seq7 of the sequence chart of FIG. 3 in the case of the above-described embodiment, a connection from the wireless slave device terminal 6 to the own repeater 3 is awaited. However, as described above, even if the repeater 3A starts the Beacon transmission operation, the wireless slave terminal 6 connected to the wireless access point 1A can access the wireless access terminal if there is no trigger for switching the connection destination. There is a possibility that the switching of the connection destination from the point 1A to the relay device 3A may be left unimplemented.

  In order to eliminate such a situation, in the sequence chart of FIG. 9, the communication control unit 5A of the repeater 3A simply connects the wireless slave terminal 6 after starting the Beacon transmission operation from the own repeater 3A. Instead of continuing the standby state, in order to give the wireless slave terminal 6 side an opportunity to switch the connection destination of the wireless slave terminal 6 from the wireless access point 1A to the relay 3A, A slave unit disconnection request for forcibly disconnecting the connection with wireless access point 1A is transmitted to wireless access point 1A (sequence Seq8).

  Note that, as an example of a transmission unit for transmitting the slave unit disconnection request, for example, the Vendor IE field of Beacon transmitted by the relay device 3A may be used. At this time, in order to specify the wireless slave terminal 6 that is the target of the disconnection request, information regarding the MAC address of the wireless slave terminal 6 may be placed in the Vendor IE field of the beacon and transmitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the wireless access point 1A receives the slave unit disconnection request from the repeater 3A and forcibly disconnects the corresponding wireless slave unit terminal 6, so that the wireless access point shown in FIG. A handset communication control unit 7 is further added to the point 1. The wireless access point 1A constantly monitors the information contained in the Vendor IE field of Beacon transmitted by the relay 3A in the slave communication control unit 7, and the relay disconnect request is transmitted from the relay 3A. When this is detected, it is first confirmed whether or not the wireless slave terminal 6 having the MAC address of the disconnection request target included in the slave disconnection request is connected to the wireless access point 1A.

  Upon confirming that the wireless slave terminal 6 having the MAC address of the disconnection request target is connected to the wireless access point 1A, the slave communication control unit 7 of the wireless access point 1A determines that the wireless slave having the corresponding MAC address. A disconnection signal is transmitted to the device terminal 6 to forcibly disconnect the connection with the wireless slave device terminal 6 (sequence Seq9).

  Upon receiving the disconnection signal from the wireless access point 1A and detecting that the connection with the wireless access point 1A has been disconnected, the wireless slave terminal 6 selects the wireless device of the connection partner having the best radio wave condition at that time. Since the selecting operation is performed, the relay device 3A having a better radio wave condition than the wireless access point 1A is selected and the connection with the relay device 3A is established (sequence Seq10).

  In another embodiment of the present invention, by performing the above operation, the wireless slave terminal 6 is routed through the relay 3A at substantially the same timing as when the relay 3A starts transmitting Beacon. Since it is possible to reconnect to the wireless access point 1A, it is possible to prevent the relay device 3A from continuing the state of transmitting unnecessary Beacon while the relay device 3A is not used forever.

  The configuration of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, it should be noted that such an embodiment is merely an example of the present invention and does not limit the present invention in any way. Those skilled in the art can easily understand that various modifications and changes can be made according to a specific application without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 wireless access point 1A wireless access point 2 information transmission unit 3 relay 3A relay 4 communication monitoring unit 5 communication control unit 5A communication control unit 6 wireless handset terminal 7 handset communication control unit 20 Vendor IE field information 21 of wireless device MAC address column 22 RSSI value column

Claims (10)

In a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), relay wireless communication between a wireless access point and a wireless slave terminal,
A communication monitoring unit that monitors a beacon (Beacon) from the wireless access point and also monitors a connection state and a communication status of the wireless slave device terminal,
Based on the information obtained as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring unit, a communication control unit that determines whether to perform or stop the beacon transmission operation from the own repeater,
Have
The communication control unit,
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring unit, when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
When the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value of the wireless slave device terminal in the own relay device is a value smaller than the RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal in the wireless access point, the beacon is transmitted from the own relay device. Stop working,
A repeater characterized by that. The communication control unit,
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring unit, when it is detected that the wireless slave device terminal is not connected to either the self-relay device or the wireless access point, the self-relay device. From the beacon transmission operation from
Then, based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring unit, even when it is detected that the wireless slave device terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
When the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the own repeater is a value smaller than the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the wireless access point, the beacon transmission operation from the own repeater is stopped. To do
The repeater according to claim 1, wherein: The wireless access point is
In the Vendor IE (Vendor Specific Information Element) field, which is a vendor specific information setting area on the beacon transmitted from the own wireless access point, the MAC address of the wireless slave device terminal connected to the own wireless access point and the wireless slave device When transmitting a beacon with the RSSI value, which is the radio field intensity received from the terminal, as slave unit information,
The communication monitoring unit,
When the slave device information is added to the Vendor IE field on the beacon received from the wireless access point, it is detected that the wireless slave device terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
And,
The RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal having the MAC address of the wireless slave device terminal, which is added to the Vendor IE field as the slave device information, is obtained as the RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal at the wireless access point. Then
And,
Acquiring the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in its own repeater from the result of monitoring the communication status of the wireless slave terminal having the MAC address in communication with the wireless access point.
The repeater according to claim 1 or 2, wherein. The communication control unit,
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring unit, when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
When the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the own relay device is a value larger than the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the wireless access point,
Waiting for the wireless slave device terminal to switch the connection destination and connect to the own relay device by transmitting a beacon from the own relay device,
The repeater according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The communication control unit of the relay,
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring unit, when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
When the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the own relay device is a value larger than the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the wireless access point,
Furthermore, a cordless handset disconnection request for disconnecting the connection of the wireless cordless handset terminal connected to the wireless access point is transmitted to the wireless access point, and the wireless cordless handset terminal of the wireless cordless handset terminal is connected. Forcibly disconnect the connection with the access point,
The repeater according to claim 4, wherein In a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), control is performed to reduce power consumption of a relay device that relays wireless communication between a wireless access point and a wireless slave device terminal,
A communication monitoring step of monitoring a beacon (Beacon) from the wireless access point and monitoring a connection state and a communication status of the wireless slave terminal;
Based on the information obtained as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring step, a communication control step of determining whether to perform or stop the beacon transmission operation from the own repeater,
Have
The communication control step,
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring step, when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
When the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value of the wireless slave device terminal in the own relay device is a value smaller than the RSSI value of the wireless slave device terminal in the wireless access point, the beacon is transmitted from the own relay device. Stop working,
A relay power saving control method characterized by the above. The communication control step of the repeater,
On the basis of the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring step, when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal is not connected to either the own relay station or the wireless access point, the own relay station From the beacon transmission operation from
Then, based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring step, even when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
When the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the own repeater is a value smaller than the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the wireless access point, the beacon transmission operation from the own repeater is stopped. To do
The relay device power saving control method according to claim 6, wherein The wireless access point is
In the Vendor IE (Vendor Specific Information Element) field, which is a vendor specific information setting area on the beacon transmitted from the own wireless access point, the MAC address of the wireless slave terminal connected to the own wireless access point and the wireless slave device When transmitting a beacon with the RSSI value, which is the radio field intensity received from the terminal, as slave unit information,
The communication monitoring step of the relay device,
When the slave device information is added to the Vendor IE field on the beacon received from the wireless access point, it is detected that the wireless slave device terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
And,
The RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal having the MAC address of the wireless slave terminal, which is given as the slave information in the Vendor IE field, is acquired as the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal at the wireless access point. Then
And,
Acquiring the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in its own repeater from the result of monitoring the communication status of the wireless slave terminal having the MAC address in communication with the wireless access point.
The repeater power saving control method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that. The communication control step of the repeater,
When it is detected that the wireless slave device terminal is connected to the wireless access point based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring step: RSSI of the wireless slave device terminal in the own repeater. When the value is larger than the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal at the wireless access point,
Waiting for the wireless slave device terminal to switch the connection destination and connect to the own relay device by transmitting a beacon from the own relay device,
9. The relay power saving control method according to claim 6, wherein: In a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a computer executes control to reduce power consumption of a relay that relays wireless communication between a wireless access point and a wireless slave terminal,
A communication monitoring function of monitoring a beacon (Beacon) from the wireless access point and monitoring a connection state and a communication status of the wireless slave terminal,
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring function, a communication control function for determining whether to perform or stop the beacon transmission operation from the own repeater,
Have
The communication control function is
Based on the information acquired as the monitoring result of the communication monitoring function, when it is detected that the wireless slave terminal is connected to the wireless access point,
When the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value of the wireless slave terminal in the own repeater is a value smaller than the RSSI value of the wireless slave terminal in the wireless access point, the beacon is transmitted from the own repeater. Stop working,
A power saving control program for a repeater.

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