JP2003298495A - Communication method taking cost into account and terminal for implementing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication method whereby a user selects and utilizes either of a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) and a mobile phone depending on a situation so as to acquire contents at a low cost. <P>SOLUTION: A selection control section 23 compares a cost required to acquire contents through a mobile phone transmission/reception section 21 with a cost required to acquire contents through a DSRC transmission/reception section 22. Then the transmission/reception section providing the lower cost is selected and the contents are acquired through the selected transmission/ reception section. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a communication method,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of performing communication in consideration of costs, and a mobile terminal that acquires content by the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, by using a mobile phone or PHS, a terminal can be connected to the Internet from various places such as inside a train or an automobile to browse a home page,
It is possible to enjoy shopping. On the other hand, there are increasing opportunities to use map information for navigation and contents such as music / video in a car. This kind of large-capacity content is used for mobile phones and PHS.
Since it is difficult to transmit in a short time at the communication speed of
It is provided in a state where it is stored in a portable large-capacity recording medium such as a D or a DVD, and they are brought into the vehicle for use.

Recently, DSRC has been attracting attention as a method for enabling the wireless transmission of large-capacity contents as described above. As is well known, DSRC (Dedicat)
edShort Range Communicati
on) is a method for realizing high-speed transmission in a limited narrow area near the base station by using radio waves in the 5.8 GHz band, for example, and is used for ETC at toll gates, for example. Recently, it has been studied to use the DSRC so that the large-capacity contents as described above can be taken into an automobile.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
By using, without using a recording medium such as a CD or DVD,
It becomes possible to take in a large amount of content in a car in a short time. However, since the DSRC base station is operated by various business entities, not limited to the telecommunications carrier,
Even if the same content is acquired, it is expected that the communication cost will differ depending on the intervening DSRC base station at that time. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the cost of acquiring the content, it is not always preferable to use DSRC rather than to use a mobile phone or PHS.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is a mobile terminal provided with a plurality of communication means including a DSRC, and by selecting and using any one of these communication means depending on the situation, contents can be made as inexpensive as possible. It is to provide a terminal that can obtain.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention] A first invention is a terminal provided in a mobile body for acquiring contents from the outside of the mobile body. Is an arbitrary integer greater than or equal to 2) for acquiring the first to Nth communication means and the first to Nth communication means for acquiring the first to Nth contents, respectively. A selection unit is provided which compares the costs and selects one of the first to Nth communication units as a communication unit to be operated in relation to the comparison result.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the costs of acquiring the first to Nth contents by using the first to Nth communication means are compared with each other.
The communication means to be operated is selected from among the communication means of. This makes it possible to select the communication means to be used in consideration of the cost of acquiring the content.

A second aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the selecting means selects a communication means which costs the least to acquire the content.

In the second aspect, the contents can be acquired at the lowest cost.

A third aspect of the present invention further comprises an input means for inputting an upper limit of the cost for acquiring the content in the second aspect, wherein the selecting means has a content acquisition cost corresponding to the selected communication means. When the upper limit amount input through the input means is exceeded, the communication means is not operated.

In the third aspect, when the content acquisition cost when using the selected communication means exceeds the preset upper limit, the selected communication means is not operated. As a result, it is possible to prevent an unexpectedly high cost from acquiring the content.

In a fourth aspect based on the third aspect, a broadcast receiving section for receiving a free broadcast is further provided, and the selection means is
When the content acquisition cost corresponding to the selected communication unit exceeds the upper limit amount input through the input unit, the broadcast receiving unit is operated instead of the communication unit.

In the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the content acquisition cost when using the selected communication means exceeds the preset upper limit, the broadcast receiving section is operated instead of the selected communication means. As a result, even if the acquisition of the content is canceled, it is possible to receive the inexpensive broadcast.

A fifth invention is the first invention in the second invention.
~ Any one of the Nth communication means is a DSRC transceiver that performs short-range communication with one or more DSRC base stations, and the selecting means selects the DSRC transceiver as the communication means to operate, Currently the mobile is one of the DS
It is characterized in that it is determined whether or not it is located in an area where communication with the RC base station is possible, and when the determination result is negative, the DSRC transceiver unit is not operated until it becomes affirmative. .

In the fifth aspect of the invention, when the content is acquired through the DSRC transceiver, it is determined whether or not the moving body is located within the DSRC area. Then, as a result of the determination, when the mobile body is located outside the DSRC area, the DSRC transceiver unit is not operated until it enters the DSRC area.

A sixth aspect of the present invention further comprises means for guiding and guiding the mobile body to the nearest DSRC base station when the result of the determination by the selecting means is negative.

In the sixth aspect of the invention, when the mobile unit is located outside the DSRC area, the mobile unit is set to the nearest DSRC area.
Guidance guidance to the base station. And the mobile is DSR
Upon entering the C area, the DSRC transceiver unit is operated. According to the fifth and sixth inventions, it is possible to surely acquire the content by DSRC.

In a seventh aspect based on the fifth aspect, a broadcast receiving section for receiving a free broadcast is further provided, and the selection means is
Until the determination result is affirmative, the broadcast receiving unit is operated in place of the DSRC receiving unit.

In the seventh invention, the DSRC receiver is not operated until the mobile unit enters the DSRC area,
Instead, the broadcast receiver is operated. This allows DSR
While the content acquisition by C is pending,
You can receive inexpensive broadcasts.

An eighth invention is the first to fourth inventions, wherein any one of the first to Nth communication means has one or more DSs.
A DSRC transmission / reception unit that performs short-range communication with an RC base station, and the selection unit is a communication unit for operating the DS.
When the RC transceiver unit is selected, it is determined whether or not the mobile body is currently located in an area where any of the DSRC base stations can communicate, and when the determination result is negative, the DSRC transceiver unit The feature is that the output is not used.

In the eighth aspect of the invention, when the content is acquired through the DSRC transceiver, it is determined whether or not the moving body is located within the DSRC area. Then, as a result of the determination, when the mobile body is located outside the DSRC area, the output of the DSRC transceiver is not used.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is a system for delivering contents, comprising one or more content servers for accumulating the contents, and a terminal provided in the moving body and for obtaining the content from outside the moving body. , The terminal is
Utilizing the 1st to Nth communication means and the 1st to Nth communication means for acquiring the 1st to Nth content (where N is an arbitrary integer of 2 or more) from one or more content servers. The costs of acquiring the first to Nth contents, respectively, and selecting any one of the first to Nth communication means as a communication means to be operated in relation to the comparison result. It includes a selection means to do.

In the ninth invention, the first to Nth contents are accumulated by one or more contents servers. The terminal operates among the 1st to Nth communication means by comparing respective costs required to acquire the 1st to Nth contents by using the 1st to Nth communication means. Select the communication method. As a result, the terminal can select the communication means to be used in consideration of the cost of acquiring the content.

In a tenth aspect based on the ninth aspect, the first to Nth communication means are used for the selection means.
The system further includes a rate information server that provides rate information necessary for calculating each cost for acquiring the Nth content.

In the tenth aspect of the invention, the charge information required for the terminal to calculate each cost is provided by the charge information server.

An eleventh invention is the DSRC transceiver unit according to the ninth invention, wherein any one of the first to Nth communication means performs narrow area communication with one or more DSRC base stations,
A position information server for accumulating information indicating the position of one or more DSRC base stations is further provided, and when the terminal selects the DSRC transceiver as the communication means to operate, the terminal receives information from the position information server and is currently concerned. It is determined whether or not the mobile body is located within an area where it can communicate with any of the DSRC base stations, and when the determination result is negative, the mobile body is guided to the nearest DSRC base station. Means are further included.

In the eleventh aspect, the terminal is a DSRC.
It has a transmission / reception unit, and information indicating the positions of one or more DSRC base stations is stored in the position information server. When the terminal selects the DSRC transceiver as the communication means to operate, the terminal receives information from the location information server and determines whether or not the mobile body is currently located in the DSRC area. When the determination result is negative, the mobile unit is guided and guided toward the nearest DSRC base station.

A twelfth invention is a communication means to be operated in a terminal provided with the first to Nth communication means for acquiring the first to Nth contents (N is an arbitrary integer of 2 or more). As any one of the first to Nth communication means
A method of selecting one of the methods, the steps of comparing respective costs for acquiring the first to Nth contents by using the first to Nth communication means, and the result of the comparison. , A step of selecting any one of the first to Nth communication means as the communication means to be operated.

A thirteenth invention is a communication means to be operated in a terminal equipped with the first to Nth communication means for acquiring the first to Nth contents (N is an arbitrary integer of 2 or more). As any one of the first to Nth communication means
A computer-readable program for describing a method for selecting one of the methods, and comparing respective costs required to acquire the first to Nth contents by using the first to Nth communication means. And a step of selecting any one of the first to Nth communication means as a communication means to be operated, in relation to the step of performing, and the result of the comparison.

A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is a terminal provided in a mobile body for acquiring content from outside the mobile body, the first communication means for acquiring the first content, and the second communication means. Second communication means for acquiring content, cost for acquiring the first content by using the first communication means, and second content by using the second communication means And a selection unit that selects one of the first and second communication units as the communication unit to be operated in relation to the comparison result.

The fifteenth invention is the fourteenth invention, wherein
The selection means is characterized by selecting the communication means that is less expensive to acquire the content.

The 16th invention is the same as the 15th invention,
The first communication means is a DSRC transmission / reception unit that performs short-range communication with the DSRC base station.

A seventeenth invention is the sixteenth invention, wherein
The second communication means is a mobile phone transmitting / receiving unit that performs wide area communication with the mobile phone base station.

[0034]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2
It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the information delivery system in which the mobile terminal of FIG. 1 is used. In FIG. 2, the information distribution system includes a mobile phone base station 1, a DSRC base station 2, a content server 3, a charge information server 4, a billing server 5, and a mobile terminal 6. The content server 3, the charge information server 4, and the billing server 5 are respectively
Mobile phone base station 1 and DS via network 10
It is connected to the RC base station 2.

The mobile phone base stations 1 are installed at predetermined intervals in a mobile phone service providing area, for example, 8
Wide area communication is performed with the mobile terminal 6 using radio waves in the 00 MHz or 1.5 GHz band. The DSRC base station 2 is appropriately provided in a roadside store, a steel tower, or the like, and is, for example, 5.8.
Short-range communication is performed with the mobile terminal 6 using radio waves in the GHz band.

The content server 3 provides various contents such as maps, route guidance, traffic information, weather information, movies and music for a fee or free of charge. The charge information server 4 is used for providing content prices, mobile phones and DSs.
Various charge information such as communication costs such as RC is accumulated. The billing server 5 is connected to a financial institution such as a bank or a credit company (host computer owned by the financial institution), and as the mobile terminal 6 uses the communication service to acquire contents, Charge the content price and communication fee. The mobile terminal 6 is provided in the automobile 11 and acquires content using a wireless communication service such as a mobile phone or DSRC.

Referring to FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 6 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a mobile phone transceiver 21 and a DSRC.
The transmission / reception unit 22, the selection control unit 23, the input unit 24, the reproduction unit 25, and the output unit 26 are provided. The mobile phone transceiver 21 performs broadband communication with the mobile phone base station 1. The DSRC transceiver unit 22 performs narrow band communication with the DSRC base station 2. The selection control unit 23 selects any one of a plurality of communication means (here, two types of mobile phone and DSRC) and uses the selected communication means to acquire the content.

The input section 24 includes a keyboard and a touch panel, and receives an instruction input by the user. The content storage unit 20 includes a large-capacity storage medium such as a hard disk and stores the received content. Playback unit 25
Includes a demodulation circuit and a video / audio processing circuit, and reproduces the stored content. The output unit 26 includes a display and a speaker and outputs the reproduced content.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the selection control unit 23 of FIG. In FIG. 3, the selection control unit 23
Includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, and a RAM 33. 4A and 4B are memory maps showing the contents of the ROM 32 and the RAM 33 of FIG. Figure 4
In (a), the ROM 32 stores a selection control program 41. In FIG. 4B, RAM3
3 includes an area for storing the charge information 42.

The selection control section 23 configured as described above
C according to the selection control program 41 in the ROM 32.
The PU 31 operates by referring to the charge information 42 in the RAM 33 to execute the selection control process described below.

The operation of the mobile terminal 6 configured as above will be described below. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by the selection control unit 23 of FIG. In FIG. 5, first, the selection control unit 23 receives the designation of the content to be acquired from the user through the input unit 24 (step S101). Next, the selection control unit 23 accesses the charge information server 4 through the mobile phone transmission / reception unit 21 (step S102) and acquires the charge information 42 from it (step S103).

In the charge information 42, as shown in FIG. 6, the price 51 of the designated content and the communication cost 5 for acquiring the content by using the mobile phone 5
2 and the communication cost 53 required to acquire the content using DSRC are described. Here, the communication cost 52 of the mobile phone is an amount calculated based on a standard (for example, a time zone, a call time, a distance to an access point, etc.) determined by the mobile phone operator.
The communication cost 53 of C is an amount calculated based on a standard (for example, communication time) independently determined by the installer of the DSRC base station 2, for example. Note that part or all of the communication cost can be borne by the content provider side.

Next, the selection control unit 23 determines the acquisition cost when using the mobile phone (= contents cost + mobile phone communication cost).
And the acquisition cost when using DSRC (= content price +
(Communication cost of DSRC) and selects the cheaper one (step S104). If the acquisition costs are the same,
Select a predetermined person (for example, a mobile phone).

Next, the selection control unit 23 presents the content acquisition cost to the user through the output unit 26, and requests a final instruction to execute or cancel the content acquisition (step S105). Then, it is determined whether or not the acquisition is instructed by the user (step S106), and if execution is instructed as a result of the determination, it corresponds to the selection result of step S104 in the mobile phone transceiver 21 and the DSRC transceiver 22. The content designated in step S101 is acquired through the transmitting / receiving unit (that is, the one with the lower communication cost) (step S107), and the process ends. On the other hand, if cancellation is instructed, step S107 is skipped and the process is immediately terminated.

As the contents are distributed to the mobile terminal 6 in this way, the contents server 3 to the charging server 5
The ID of the mobile terminal 6 and the price of the content are notified to the charging server 5, and the charging server 5 charges the owner of the mobile terminal 6. Further, the communication carrier charges the communication cost to the user of the mobile terminal 6 independently or through the charging server 5.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the cost of acquiring contents by using a mobile phone is compared with the cost of acquiring contents by using DSRC, Of the two transmitting / receiving units of the mobile phone and the DSRC, the transmitting / receiving unit corresponding to the cheaper one is selected and operated. This makes it possible to acquire the content at a low cost.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile terminal according to the exemplary embodiment. FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information distribution system in which the mobile terminal of FIG. 7 is used. In FIG.
The information distribution system includes a mobile phone base station 1, a DSRC base station 2, a content server 3, and a charge information server 4.
, A billing server 5, a broadcasting station 7, and a mobile terminal 6a. The content server 3, the charge information server 4, and the billing server 5 are respectively connected to the mobile phone base station 1 and the DSRC base station 2 via the network 10.

That is, the information distribution system of FIG. 8 is obtained by adding the broadcasting station 7 to the information distribution system of FIG. The broadcasting station 7 broadcasts radio programs such as FM / AM and TV programs free of charge. The mobile terminal 6a is partially different in configuration and operation from the mobile terminal 6 of the first embodiment.
The other components are the same as those in the first embodiment, and perform the same operation.

Referring to FIG. 7, the mobile terminal 6a according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a mobile phone transceiver 21 and a DSR.
The C transmission / reception unit 22, the content storage unit 20, the broadcast reception unit 27, the selection control unit 23a, the input unit 24, the reproduction unit 25, and the output unit 26 are provided.

That is, the mobile terminal 6a shown in FIG. 7 is obtained by adding the broadcast receiving section 27 to the mobile terminal 6 shown in FIG. The broadcast receiving unit 27 receives broadcasts such as radio programs and TV programs. The selection control unit 23a has the same configuration as the selection control unit 23 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 3), but FIG.
Selection control program 4 in ROM 32 shown in (a)
1 is partly different, and therefore partly performs different operations. In addition, in the RAM 33 shown in FIG. 4B, in addition to the area for storing the charge information 42, an area for storing the upper limit amount 43 is further included. The other components are the same as those in the first embodiment, and perform the same operation.

The operation of the mobile terminal 6a configured as above will be described below. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by the selection control unit 23a of FIG. In FIG. 9, first, the selection control unit 23a receives from the user, via the input unit 24, the designation of the content to be acquired and the upper limit amount 43 of the content acquisition cost (step S201). As the upper limit amount 43, for example, “5
An arbitrary amount such as "0 yen" or "180 yen" can be designated. You may specify "0 yen".

Next, the selection control section 23a accesses the fee information server 4 through the portable telephone transmitting / receiving section 21 (step S202) and acquires the fee information 42 from it (step S203). The charge information 42 includes the price 51 of the specified content, the communication cost 52 required to acquire the content using the mobile phone, and the DS.
The communication cost 53 for acquiring the content using RC is described (see FIG. 6).

Next, the selection control section 23a compares the acquisition cost when using the mobile phone with the acquisition cost when using the DSRC, and selects the cheaper one (step S204). If the costs are the same, a predetermined person (eg mobile phone)
Select.

Next, the selection control unit 23a compares the content acquisition cost corresponding to the selected transmission / reception unit with the specified upper limit amount 43 (step S205), and determines whether the content acquisition cost exceeds the upper limit amount 43. It is determined whether or not (step S206). If the result of this determination is that the content acquisition cost does not exceed the upper limit amount 43, the selection control unit 23
The a acquires the content specified in step S201 through the transmission / reception unit corresponding to the selection result in step S204 (step S207), and thereafter ends the process.

As the contents are distributed to the mobile terminal 6a in this way, the contents server 3 to the charging server 5
The ID of the mobile terminal 6a and the price of the content are notified to the charging server 5, and the charging server 5 charges the owner of the mobile terminal 6a. In addition, the communication carrier charges the communication cost to the user of the mobile terminal 6a independently or through the charging server 5.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S206, when the content acquisition cost exceeds the upper limit amount 43, the selection control unit 23a stops the content acquisition by the mobile phone or the DSRC, and instead, through the broadcast receiving unit 27, free of charge The radio or TV program broadcast by is received (step S208). Then, the process ends.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the first
The same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained. In addition, when the content acquisition cost when using the selected transmission / reception unit exceeds the preset upper limit amount, the transmission / reception unit is not operated, so it is possible to prevent unexpectedly high cost of content acquisition. be able to. Further, since the broadcast receiving unit is operated instead of operating the selected transmission / reception unit, it is possible to receive the inexpensive broadcast even if the content acquisition is canceled.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile terminal according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information distribution system in which the mobile terminal of FIG. 10 is used. In FIG. 11, the information distribution system includes a mobile phone base station 1 and D
The SRC base station 2, the position information server 8, the content server 3, the charge information server 4, the charging server 5, and the mobile terminal 6b are provided. The position information server 8, the content server 3, the charge information server 4, and the billing server 5 are respectively connected to the mobile phone base station 1 and the DSRC base station 2 via the network 10.

That is, the information distribution system shown in FIG.
The position information server 8 is added to the information distribution system of FIG. The position information server 8 stores information indicating the position where the DSRC base station 2 is installed. The mobile terminal 6b is partially different in configuration and operation from the mobile terminal 6 of the first embodiment. The other components are the same as those in the first embodiment, and perform the same operation.

In FIG. 10, the mobile terminal 6b according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a mobile telephone transceiver 21 and a DS.
RC transmitter / receiver 22, content storage 20, position detector 28, navigation 29, and selection controller 23
b, an input unit 24, a reproduction unit 25, and an output unit 26.

That is, the mobile terminal 6b shown in FIG.
This mobile terminal 6 has a position detection unit 28 and a navigation unit 29 added thereto. The position detector 28 includes, for example, a GPS receiver and a gyro sensor, and detects the current position of the mobile terminal 6b. The navigation unit 29 is
A route from the designated departure place (for example, the current position of the mobile terminal 6b) to the designated destination (for example, the nearest DSRC base station 2) is searched.

The selection control unit 23b of FIG. 10 has the same configuration as the selection control unit 23 of FIG. 1 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). However, the control program in the ROM 32 shown in FIG. 4A is partly different from that of the first embodiment, and therefore the selection control unit 23b performs a part of processing different from that of the first embodiment. . RA shown in FIG.
In M33, in addition to the area for storing the charge information 42, an area for storing the position information 44 is further included. The other components are the same as those in the first embodiment, and perform the same operation.

The operation of the mobile terminal 6b configured as described above will be described below. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by the selection control unit 23b of FIG. In FIG. 12, first, the selection control unit 23b receives the designation of the content to be acquired from the user via the input unit 24 (step S301). Next, the selection control unit 23b accesses the charge information server 4 through the mobile phone transmission / reception unit 21 (step S302), and acquires the charge information 42 therefrom (step S303). The charge information 42 includes the price 51 of the designated content, the communication fee 52 required to acquire the content using the mobile phone, and the communication fee required to acquire the content using the DSRC. 53 is described (see FIG. 6).

Next, the selection control unit 23b compares the content acquisition cost when using the mobile phone with the content acquisition cost when using the DSRC, and selects the one with the lower cost (step S304). If the costs are the same, select a predetermined one (for example, a mobile phone).

Next, the selection controller 23b is currently in the DSR.
It is determined whether or not the reception by C is selected (step S305). If the determination result is negative, step S305
Proceed to 312. In step S312, the selection control unit 23
b acquires the content designated in step S301 through the mobile phone receiving unit. Then, the process ends.

When the determination result of step S305 is affirmative, the selection control unit 23b detects the current position of the terminal 6b (vehicle 11) through the position detection unit 28 (step S306). Then, the location information server 8 is accessed through the mobile phone transmitting / receiving unit 21 (step S30
7), and the position information 44 is acquired therefrom (step S3).
08). In this position information 44, as shown in FIG.
The location 54 of the nearest DSRC base station 2 is described.

Next, the selection control section 23b carries out step S3.
The current position detected in 06 is the nearest DSRC base station 2
It is determined whether or not it is within the communication area (step S3)
09). When the determination result is affirmative, the selection control unit 2
3b uses the DSRC transceiver 22 to perform step S3.
The content designated by 01 is acquired (step S31
0), and then the process ends.

If the determination result of step S309 is negative, that is, if the mobile terminal 6b is located outside the DSRC area, the content acquisition is temporarily suspended and, instead, the navigation unit 29 is used to locate the nearest DSRC base station from the current position. A route search up to 2 is performed (step S311). After presenting the search result to the user through the output unit 26 (step S312), the step S3 is performed.
Return to 06.

According to the navigation, the user selects the car 1
When 1 is run and the mobile terminal 6b enters the DSRC area, the determination result of step S309 changes to affirmative. In response to this, the pending state is released, and step S310,
That is, content acquisition via the DSRC transceiver unit 22 is executed.

In this way, as the content is distributed to the mobile terminal 6b, the content server 3 charges the billing server 5
The ID of the mobile terminal 6b and the price of the content are notified to the charging server 5, and the charging server 5 charges the owner of the mobile terminal 6b. In addition, the communication carrier charges the communication cost to the user of the mobile terminal 6b independently or through the charging server 5.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the first
The same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained. In addition, DSRC
When the content is acquired through the transmission / reception unit 22, when the automobile 11 is located outside the DSRC area, D
DSRC transceiver unit 22 until entering the SRC area
Is not operated (that is, the content acquisition by DSRC is pending), while the vehicle 11 is guided to the nearest DSRC base station 2,
It becomes possible to surely acquire the content by SRC.

In this embodiment, the mobile terminal 6b is D
When it is outside the SRC area, the content acquisition by DSRC is pending and the car 11 is guided to the nearest DSRC base station 2. However, while the content acquisition is pending, the broadcasting of FM, TV, etc. You may give guidance while receiving. In this case, FIG.
In this system, a broadcast station 7 is added, and in the mobile terminal 6b in FIG. 10, a broadcast receiving unit 27 is added. that way,
An inexpensive broadcast can be received while content acquisition is pending.

Further, in the present embodiment, the selection control section 23b
Controls the DSRC transceiver 22 until the vehicle 11 is located outside the DSRC area until it enters the DSRC area. Instead, the DSRC transceiver 22 is operated. Up to DSR
The output from the C transmission / reception unit 22 may be controlled not to be stored or reproduced by the content storage unit 20 or the reproduction unit 25.

Further, in this embodiment, the mobile terminal 6b is
Although it is determined whether or not the vehicle 11 is currently located in the DSRC area based on the position information provided by the position information server 8, instead, it is determined based on the reception state of the DSRC transceiver unit 22. Good. For example, by measuring the S / N ratio of the signal output from the DSRC transceiver unit 22,
There is a method in which if the measurement result is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined to be inside the DSRC area, and if it is below the threshold value, it is determined to be outside the DSRC area.

In the above description, a mobile phone and a DSRC are used as communication means for acquiring contents.
We chose the type that can be used and the cost of content acquisition is cheap, but instead, for example, we can use 3 types of mobile phone and DSRC plus PHS, the cheapest of them You may select any one.
Generally, it is possible to use different communication means,
The content with the lowest cost may be selected to acquire the content.

Further, although the selection is made based on the cost required to acquire the content, that is, the total amount of the content price and the communication cost, if the same content is acquired, only the communication cost can be compared. Good.

Although the communication means is selected based on only the cost required to acquire the content, the communication means may be selected in consideration of conditions other than the cost, such as the communication speed and the size of the communication area. . In other words, when deciding which of the plurality of communication means to use, it is necessary to consider at least the cost of acquiring the content.

Further, although the mobile terminals (6, 6a, 6b) use the mobile phone to obtain the charge information 42 and the position information 44, DSRC may be used instead or other communication means. May be used.

Further, instead of obtaining the charge information 42 and the position information 44 from the outside when acquiring the content, these information are stored in advance in the hard disk 20 of the mobile terminal (6, 6a, 6b), If necessary, the hard disk 20 may be read into the RAM 33.
In this case, the mobile terminals (6, 6a, 6b) can access the charge information server 4 and the position information server 8 regularly or irregularly to update the information in the hard disk 20.

Although the mobile terminals (6, 6a, 6b) are provided in the automobile 11, they may be provided in various mobile bodies such as mobile phones and notebook computers.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information distribution system in which the mobile terminal of FIG. 1 is used.

3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a selection control unit 23 in FIG.

4 (a) is a memory map showing the contents of the ROM 32 of FIG. (B) A memory map showing the contents of the RAM 33 of FIG.

5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by a selection control unit 23 in FIG.

6 is a diagram showing the content of charge information 42 provided from the charge information server 4 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile terminal according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information distribution system in which the mobile terminal of FIG. 7 is used.

9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by the selection control unit 23a in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile terminal according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information distribution system in which the mobile terminal of FIG. 10 is used.

12 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by the selection control unit 23b in FIG.

13 is a diagram showing the contents of position information 44 provided from the position information server 8 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Cellular phone base station 2 ... DSRC base station 3 ... Content server 4 ... Charge information server 5 ... Billing server 6, 6a, 6b ... Mobile terminal 7 ... Broadcasting station 8 ... Location information server 21 ... Mobile phone transceiver 22 ... DSRC transceiver 23, 23a, 23b ... Selection control unit 24 ... Input section 26 ... Output unit 27 ... Broadcast receiver 28 ... Position detection unit 29 ... Navigation section 41 ... Selection control program 42 ... Price information 43 ... Maximum amount 44 ... Position information

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Atsushi Yamashita             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 5K067 AA14 AA34 BB04 BB21 DD51                       EE02 EE10 EE16 FF02 FF04

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A terminal provided in a mobile body for acquiring contents from outside the mobile body, for acquiring contents of first to N-th (where N is any integer of 2 or more) contents. Of the first to Nth communication means and the respective costs of acquiring the first to Nth contents by using the first to Nth communication means, respectively, and are related to the comparison result. And a selection unit that selects any one of the first to Nth communication units as the communication unit to be operated. 2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit selects a communication unit that has the lowest cost for content acquisition. 3. The input means for inputting an upper limit of the cost for acquiring the content, wherein the selecting means has the upper limit of the content acquisition cost corresponding to the selected communication means, input through the input means. The terminal according to claim 2, characterized in that the communication means is not operated when the value exceeds. 4. A broadcast receiving unit for receiving a free broadcast is further provided, wherein when the content acquisition cost corresponding to the selected communication unit exceeds the upper limit amount input through the input unit, The terminal according to claim 3, wherein the broadcast receiving unit is operated instead of the communication unit. 5. One of the first to Nth communication means performs narrow area communication with one or more DSRC base stations.
SRC transmitter / receiver, wherein the selecting means is the DSR as a communication means to operate.
When the C transmitter / receiver is selected, it is determined whether or not the mobile unit is currently located in an area where it can communicate with any of the DSRC base stations, and when the determination result is negative,
The terminal according to claim 2, wherein the DSRC transceiver is not operated until it becomes affirmative. 6. The terminal according to claim 5, further comprising means for guiding and guiding the mobile body to the nearest DSRC base station when the result of the determination by the selecting means is negative. 7. A broadcast receiving unit for receiving a free broadcast is further provided, wherein the selecting unit is provided until the determination result becomes affirmative.
The terminal according to claim 5, wherein the broadcast receiving unit is operated instead of the DSRC receiving unit. 8. One of the first to Nth communication means performs narrow area communication with one or more DSRC base stations.
SRC transmitter / receiver, wherein the selecting means is the DSR as a communication means to operate.
When the C transmitter / receiver is selected, it is determined whether or not the mobile unit is currently located in an area where it can communicate with any of the DSRC base stations, and when the determination result is negative,
The terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the output of the DSRC transceiver is not used. 9. A system for delivering contents, comprising one or more content servers for accumulating contents, and a terminal provided in a mobile body for acquiring the content from outside the mobile body, the terminal comprising: , 1st to Nth communication means for acquiring 1st to Nth content (where N is any integer of 2 or more) from said 1 or more content servers, and said 1st to Nth communication means 1 is used as a communication unit to operate in comparison with each cost required to acquire each of the first to Nth contents by using the above. A content distribution system including selection means for selecting one. 10. The first to Nth to the selecting means
10. The content distribution according to claim 9, further comprising: a charge information server that provides charge information necessary to calculate each cost required to acquire each of the first to Nth contents by using the communication means. system. 11. Any one of the first to Nth communication means is a DSRC transceiver unit that performs short-range communication with the one or more DSRC base stations, and the position of the one or more DSRC base stations is determined. The terminal further includes a location information server for accumulating information, and when the terminal selects the DSRC transceiver as the communication unit to operate, the terminal receives information from the location information server and the mobile body is currently in a DSRC state. The method further comprising means for determining whether or not the vehicle is located within an area where communication with the base station is possible, and when the result of the determination is negative, guiding the mobile body to the nearest DSRC base station. 9. The content distribution system according to item 9. 12. A terminal having first to Nth communication means for acquiring first to Nth (where N is an arbitrary integer of 2 or more) contents, the first communication means being operated as the first communication means. ~ Method of selecting any one of N-th communication means, comparing respective costs required to acquire the first to N-th content using the first to N-th communication means And a step of selecting any one of the first to Nth communication means as the communication means to be operated in relation to the result of the comparison. 13. A terminal having first to Nth communication means for acquiring first to Nth content (where N is an arbitrary integer of 2 or more) is used as the first communication means to be operated. A computer-readable program for describing a method for selecting any one of the Nth communication means, the first to Nth contents utilizing the first to Nth communication means The cost of acquiring each of the costs, and the step of selecting one of the first to Nth communication means as the communication means to operate in relation to the result of the comparison. Choice program. 14. A terminal provided on a mobile body for acquiring content from outside the mobile body, the first communication means for acquiring the first content, and the second content. And a cost required to obtain the first content by using the second communication means, and the second content by using the second communication means. A terminal, comprising: a selection unit that compares the cost with the above, and selects either one of the first communication unit and the second communication unit as the communication unit to be operated in relation to the comparison result. 15. The terminal according to claim 14, wherein the selection unit selects a communication unit with a lower cost for content acquisition. 16. The terminal according to claim 15, wherein the first communication means is a DSRC transmission / reception unit that performs short-range communication with a DSRC base station. 17. The terminal according to claim 16, wherein the second communication unit is a mobile phone transmitting / receiving unit that performs wide area communication with a mobile phone base station.