JP2006081036A - Radio terminal device, cordless telephone set, communication control program, and computer readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a radio terminal device which is capable of searching for a lost radio terminal device and obtaining a clue thereto without being restricted by communicable areas of a repeater. <P>SOLUTION: A radio terminal device as to the present invention comprises: a storage unit 17 for storing identification information of a radio terminal device that is a communicating party; a communication unit 12 for transmitting/receiving a signal; a communication control unit 14 for creating a transmission signal containing the identification information and transmitting the relevant transmission signal via the communication unit 12; and a detection unit 16 for detecting whether or not a reception signal received via the communication control unit 14 contains the identification information, in comparison with the identification information stored in the storage unit 17, thereby obtaining a clue to whether or not the radio terminal device of the communicating party responds to a call originated by the transmission signal, namely, whether or not the radio terminal device of the communicating party exists within a communicable range of the searching side radio terminal device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless terminal device having a wireless communication function, and particularly to a portable wireless terminal device having a wireless communication function. The present invention also relates to a cordless telephone device set including the wireless terminal device. The cordless telephone device includes a parent device and a child device that communicate with each other wirelessly, and is used in addition to a cordless phone device as an alternative to a conventional telephone, in which the parent device is connected to a public network. Also, so-called mobile phones and PHS are included.

  2. Description of the Related Art Cordless telephone sets having terminal devices that can be easily carried are widely used in telephone devices that make a telephone call by connecting to a public network. This cordless telephone device set usually includes one relay device (so-called parent device) and one or more terminal devices (so-called child devices).

  In such a cordless telephone device, the relay device is wired to the public line network, and communication using a radio signal is performed between the relay device and the terminal device. As a result, the terminal device accesses the public line network via the relay device.

  Furthermore, in recent years, cordless telephone devices (so-called mobile phones, PHSs, etc.) that can be used outdoors and do not require users to make a wired connection to a public network have also become widespread. Even in such a cordless telephone apparatus, each terminal apparatus accesses the public line network via a relay apparatus (so-called base station) installed by a carrier company.

  The terminal devices of the above two types of cordless telephone devices are characterized by being easily portable because they are small and light and do not involve wiring. As a result, the user can comfortably make a call at a favorite place according to the situation.

  At the same time, however, there is a problem that the user loses the terminal device due to the above-described features. At this time, although it is possible to make the terminal device make a ringing tone via the relay device, there is a problem that when the distance is long, it is difficult to search because the ringing tone is difficult to hear. In addition, there is a problem that the battery of the terminal device is exhausted during the search, the battery runs out and the search cannot be continued.

  Therefore, instead of ringing the lost terminal device, the following device has been invented that can reliably notify the user of the positional relationship with the lost terminal device.

  In Patent Document 1, the search button is pressed, search radio waves are transmitted and received between the master unit and the slave unit, and then the search unit uses the search radio wave to calculate the direction of the slave unit and the distance to the slave unit. And the cordless telephone which displays a direction and distance on a display part is disclosed. According to this cordless telephone, it is possible to ascertain the location of the child device or the parent device and the distance between the parent device and the child device.

Patent Document 2 discloses the following search device. That is, when a wireless phone is called from the PHS transmission / reception device of the parent device to the child device carried by the search target, the child device performs positioning with the GPS positioning device and returns the positioning information of the child device to the parent device from the PHS response device . In the master unit, since the positioning information of the slave unit received from the slave unit and the own positioning information measured by the GPS positioning device of the master unit are obtained, a differential GPS positioning system is formed, and The relative position to the slave unit is displayed on the map image display with high accuracy with an error of less than 1 m. According to such a search device, since PHS is used for communication, a quick search can be performed regardless of the distance, and the position of the slave unit can be pinpointed by DGPS.
JP-A-8-265853 (published on October 11, 1996) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-122895 (published on May 15, 1998)

  However, in the conventional configuration, as will be described later, when a radio signal from a relay device such as a master unit or a base station does not reach the slave unit, the lost slave unit cannot be searched. ing.

  The cordless telephone set forth in Patent Document 1 measures the distance and direction between a parent device and a child device. The base unit is normally wired to the public network and does not have a battery, so it cannot be easily carried around while it is operating. Therefore, there is a problem that a slave unit that is out of reach of a radio signal from the master unit, that is, a slave unit outside the communicable area of the master unit cannot be searched.

  In addition, the search device described in Patent Document 2 uses PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) and GPS (Global Positioning System). Here, as described above, a terminal device using PHS cannot communicate without a relay device. Therefore, similarly to the invention described in Patent Document 1, the search device described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that it cannot search for a child device outside the communicable area of the relay device.

  Further, the conventional configuration has the following problems.

  That is, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, when searching for a lost child device, the user refers to distance information and direction information displayed on the parent device and moves to a point corresponding to the information. It will be. However, since it is difficult to move the parent machine as described above, the user cannot carry out a search with the parent machine. In other words, it is impossible to search while referring to the information of the lost handset at hand. As a result, the user can reach the surrounding points, but it is very difficult to reach the precise point and find the lost child device. As described above, the cordless telephone described in Patent Document 1 also has a problem that the user cannot search while referring to the position information at hand.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 2, since the GPS device receives radio waves from a satellite, it cannot receive a signal indoors where there is a ceiling or the like. As described above, the search device described in Patent Document 2 also has a problem that the search cannot be performed in a place where radio waves do not reach from the satellite.

  In addition, since a normal wireless terminal device is not equipped with a GPS device, it is necessary to add a GPS device. Since the GPS device is relatively expensive, the search device described in Patent Document 2 also has a problem that the manufacturing cost increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to realize a wireless terminal device that can obtain a clue to another wireless terminal device even outside the communicable area of the relay device. .

  Another object of the present invention is to realize a wireless terminal device that allows a user to search while referring to a clue.

  Another object of the present invention is to realize a wireless terminal device capable of searching even in a place where radio waves from a satellite do not reach such as indoors.

  Another object of the present invention is to realize a wireless terminal device that can reduce manufacturing costs.

  (1) In order to solve the above problems, a wireless terminal device according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores first identification information of a wireless terminal device that is a communication partner, a communication unit that transmits and receives signals, and the first A first transmission signal including the identification information, and a communication control unit that transmits the first transmission signal via the communication unit, and a first reception signal received via the communication control unit And a detection unit that detects whether or not the first identification information is included by comparing the first identification information with the first identification information stored in the storage unit.

  According to the above configuration, the communication control unit creates and transmits the first transmission signal including the first identification information assigned to the communication partner wireless terminal device. Is to call (call). After this call, the detecting unit detects whether or not the first identification information is included in the first received signal received via the communication control unit. For this detection, the first identification information stored in the storage unit is used as a comparison reference.

  If the detection unit detects that the first received signal includes the first identification information, it means that the communication partner wireless terminal device responds to the call and receives its own identification information. It means that the signal including it was returned. That is, according to the above configuration, whether or not the communication partner wireless terminal device is within the communicable range of the search-side wireless terminal device even if the communication partner wireless terminal device is missing. You can get a clue.

  The identification information is unique information assigned exclusively to a plurality of wireless terminal devices capable of wireless communication with each other, and may be information that can be used for outgoing calls.

  As described above, the configuration of the present invention can be applied to search for a lost terminal in a wireless system to which a plurality of wireless terminal devices belong. The wireless terminal device of the present invention does not require a relay device when communicating with a wireless terminal device to be searched. In other words, the wireless terminal device of the present invention is not wiredly connected to the public line network, and it is not impossible to communicate with the wireless terminal device of the communication partner without going through the relay device. Therefore, it is possible to search for a missing wireless terminal device and obtain a clue without being restricted by the communicable area of the relay device.

  (2) Further, in the wireless terminal device according to the present invention, the storage unit further stores its second identification information, and the detection unit receives a second received signal received via the communication control unit. Is detected by comparing with the second identification information stored in the storage unit, the communication control unit responds to the second received signal. It is preferable that a second transmission signal including the second identification information is created and the second transmission signal is transmitted via the communication unit.

  According to the said structure, when it becomes a missing wireless terminal device and becomes a search side, it can respond with respect to the other wireless terminal device which is searching. In short, the fact that the detection unit has detected that the second received signal including the second identification information of itself has been received means that it has been called (called) from another wireless terminal device. To do. Upon receiving this detection, the communication control unit creates and transmits the second identification information, that is, the second transmission signal including its own identification information, so that it is located with respect to the other wireless terminal devices that are searching. Can give clues.

  (3) In the wireless terminal device according to the present invention, the storage unit further stores its own second identification information, and the communication control unit further includes the second identification information and includes the first transmission information. Create and transmit a credit signal, and the detection unit stores in the storage unit that the first and second identification information is included in the second received signal received via the communication control unit. When detected by comparison with the stored first and second identification information, the communication control unit, in response to the second received signal, outputs a second transmission signal including the second identification information. It is preferable to transmit the second transmission signal to the wireless terminal device of the communication partner that has been created and has the first identification information.

  According to the above configuration, when the communication control unit creates and transmits the first transmission signal further including the second identification information, the partner wireless terminal device with which the communication is to be performed is indicated by the first identification information. And the second identification information can be clearly indicated to the counterpart wireless terminal device as the transmission source information.

  The detection unit detects that the second received signal includes the first identification information of the communication partner and the second identification information of the communication partner, and the communication control unit detects the second reception signal. In response to the signal, the second transmission signal including the second identification information is transmitted to the wireless terminal device of the communication partner having the first identification information. Therefore, when the wireless terminal device itself becomes a missing wireless terminal device and becomes the searched side, it is possible to identify and respond to the other wireless terminal device that is searching with the first identification information. That is, a clue of whereabouts can be given in a state where one-to-one communication is established without going through a relay terminal with a wireless terminal device as a communication partner.

  (4) Moreover, the radio | wireless terminal apparatus which concerns on this invention is based on the said 1st received signal, when the said 1st identification information is contained in the 1st received signal received via the said communication control part. In addition, a distance calculation unit that calculates the distance from the wireless terminal device of the communication partner may be provided.

  According to the above configuration, since the first identification information (communication partner wireless terminal device) is detected from the first received signal, the existence of the communication partner wireless terminal device can be confirmed. Using the first received signal that is estimated to be transmitted, the distance calculating unit can calculate the distance to the communication partner wireless terminal device. Therefore, the clue of the wireless terminal device to be searched can be obtained as the distance.

  The present invention is not limited to a specific distance calculation method, and the distance can be obtained by detecting a signal characteristic that is known to change according to the distance.

  (5) Further, in the wireless terminal device according to the present invention, the distance calculating unit calculates the distance based on the electric field strength of the wireless signal received from the communication partner or the bit of the wireless signal received from the communication partner. The distance may be calculated based on the error rate.

  It is known that the amplitude of a radio signal by radio waves attenuates as the distance from the transmitted point increases. That is, the radio signal has a smaller electric field strength depending on the distance transmitted. Therefore, the distance calculation unit can calculate the distance to the search target terminal device based on the electric field strength of the radio signal received from the lost terminal device.

  The bit error rate is obtained by dividing the number of bits in which an error has occurred by the total number of transmitted bits or the total number of received bits. It is known that the ratio of error signals included in all signals (that is, the bit error rate) increases as the distance increases as radio signals degrade in quality depending on distance. Therefore, the distance calculation unit can calculate the distance based on the obtained bit error rate by calculating the bit error rate.

  As described above, the distance calculation unit can calculate the distance to the search target terminal device based on the signal received from the search target terminal device. Here, in order to obtain a positional clue of the terminal device to be searched, a wireless signal is used without using GPS, so even a wireless terminal device in a place where radio waves from a satellite do not reach, such as indoors, Signals can be sent and received. Thereby, even if the wireless terminal device is placed indoors, it is possible to search for the missing wireless terminal device and obtain a clue. In addition, since it is not necessary to incorporate a relatively expensive GPS in the wireless terminal device, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  (6) Moreover, it is preferable that the wireless terminal device according to the present invention further includes notification means for notifying a user of information indicating the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit.

  According to the above configuration, when the distance calculation unit calculates the distance to the communication partner wireless terminal device, the wireless terminal device can transmit information indicating the distance to the user via the notification unit. Since the wireless terminal device is easy to carry, the user can search for the wireless terminal device to be searched while referring to the information indicating the distance from the wireless terminal device at hand.

  The information indicating the distance is not limited to the numerical information indicating the distance itself, but is information that allows the user to grasp the magnitude of the distance in a sense (any one or any combination of visual, auditory, tactile, etc.). I just need it.

  (7) Further, the wireless terminal device according to the present invention includes a notification unit that notifies the user of at least information indicating the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit, and when the second reception signal is received, You may provide the notification control part which controls a notification means so that the notification operation which shows that it is responding with respect to a 2nd received signal may be restrict | limited.

  In the above configuration, when the second received signal is received and the wireless terminal device itself becomes a search target, it emits sound or light or vibrates to notify its existence to the surroundings. It can also be done, but there is a risk of draining the battery before it is discovered. On the other hand, in the configuration of the present invention, the notification control unit controls the notification unit so as to limit the notification operation indicating that it is responding to the second received signal. It is possible to avoid a situation where the battery of the terminal device runs out and cannot be searched.

  (8) In the wireless terminal device according to the present invention, the notification unit may change a notification method according to the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit.

  When searching for a wireless terminal device, change the notification method according to the distance to the wireless terminal device to be searched, for example, approach the notification method to display distance information while the distance is relatively far to a certain distance At this point, the notification method is changed to adding intermittent notification sound or flashing light emission. Thereby, the user can grasp | ascertain the change of distance more easily. Therefore, the above configuration can improve the search efficiency of the wireless terminal device.

  (9) The wireless terminal device according to the present invention may be a wireless terminal device provided in a handset of the cordless telephone device.

  According to the above configuration, in a cordless telephone device configured by a relay device such as a so-called parent device or a base station and a plurality of child devices, a certain child device is the first even outside the communicable area of the parent device or the relay device. It is possible to realize a cordless telephone device cordless handset capable of searching for another cordless handset storing the identification information and obtaining a clue thereof.

  (10) In addition, a cordless telephone device set according to the present invention includes a slave unit including the wireless terminal device and a relay device that performs wireless communication with the wireless terminal device. .

  According to the above configuration, since the wireless terminal device is provided, the cordless telephone device configured by a relay device such as a so-called base unit or base station and a plurality of slave units can communicate with the base unit or the relay device. Even outside the area, it is possible to realize a cordless telephone device set that allows a certain handset to search for another handset that stores the first identification information and obtain a clue thereof.

  (11) Note that each control unit of the wireless terminal device may be realized by a computer, and in this case, the control unit of the wireless terminal device is operated by the computer as the control unit. The communication control program to be realized in this manner and a computer-readable recording medium on which the communication control program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention. In addition, each said control part means what is provided in either of the radio | wireless terminal apparatuses mentioned above among a communication control part, a distance calculation part, a detection part, a memory | storage part, and a notification control part.

  According to these configurations, the same operational effects as the wireless terminal device can be realized by causing the computer to read and execute the communication control program.

  A wireless terminal device according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores first identification information of a wireless terminal device that is a communication partner, a communication unit that transmits and receives signals, and a first transmission signal that includes the first identification information. And the first identification information is included in the first reception signal received via the communication control unit and the communication control unit that transmits the first transmission signal via the communication unit. A detection unit that detects whether or not there is a comparison with the first identification information stored in the storage unit.

  In addition, a cordless telephone set according to the present invention is characterized in that the cordless telephone set includes a slave unit including the wireless terminal device and a relay device that performs wireless communication with the wireless terminal device.

  The communication control program of the present invention is a communication control program for operating the wireless terminal device, and is a communication control program for causing a computer to function as the wireless terminal device.

  A computer-readable recording medium according to the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which the communication control program is recorded.

  Therefore, whether or not the communication partner wireless terminal device responds to the call by the first transmission signal, that is, the communication partner wireless terminal device is within the communicable range of the searching wireless terminal device. You can get a clue as to whether or not it exists. Therefore, the wireless terminal device of the present invention can search for a missing wireless terminal device and obtain a clue without being restricted by the communicable area of the relay device.

  As an example of the wireless terminal device according to the present invention, a cordless telephone handset (hereinafter referred to as “terminal device”) will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  In the terminal device of the present invention, members such as a reception unit and a microphone unit necessary for a call can be the same as those of a known terminal device. The operation during a call is the same as that of a known terminal device. Here, in order to simplify the description, description of parts common to general terminal devices, such as a part related to a telephone call, is omitted. In the present embodiment, a search function that is a function unique to the terminal device of the present invention will be described in detail.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a terminal device (wireless terminal device) 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal device 1 is a terminal device included in a cordless telephone set together with a relay device (so-called parent device).

  The terminal device 1 is provided with a control unit 9. A key input unit (input unit) 2, a display unit (notification unit) 3, a speaker output unit (notification unit) 4, and a communication unit 12 are connected to the control unit 9.

  The key input unit 2 is an input unit of the terminal device 1 and has a plurality of keys. When the user inputs a dial number necessary for making a call, when the user inputs a search mode command to be described later, or when the identification information of the lost terminal is input, the key input unit 2 Used as

  A display unit (an example of a notification unit) 3 is an output unit of the terminal device 1. The display unit 3 is used to visually notify various information required by the user. Such various information includes information received from the terminal device on the other side, the terminal device on the search side (hereinafter referred to as “search terminal”) and the lost terminal device that is the target of the search (hereinafter referred to as “search terminal”). Distance information with the “lost terminal”) is included.

  As the display unit 3, a liquid crystal display or the like can be used.

  A speaker output unit (another example of notification means) 4 is an output unit of the terminal device 1. The speaker output unit 4 can emit a notification sound such as a ringing tone, thereby notifying the user of various information such as a call. Moreover, the speaker output part 4 can also notify a user of the distance information between a search terminal and a lost terminal with a notification sound.

  In addition, as a notification part, both the display part 3 and the speaker output part 4 may be made to function simultaneously, or even if it makes at least one function, a user is notified of the distance information between a search terminal and a lost terminal. Can fulfill the purpose.

  In addition to the display unit 3 and the speaker output unit 4 described above, the notification unit may notify the user of distance information between the search terminal and the lost terminal by the strength of vibration. Such a notification means can be comprised by the vibrator which generates a vibration, and the amplitude control part (specifically CPU8 and amplitude control program) which controls the amplitude of a vibration.

  The communication unit 12 is an input / output unit for performing wireless communication using radio waves between the terminal device and the relay device or between the terminal device and the terminal device to exchange information. The communication unit 12 includes an A / D (Analog-to-digital) conversion unit 11, an RF (Radio Frequency) circuit 5, and an antenna unit 10. The A / D conversion unit 11, the RF circuit 5, and the antenna unit 10 are connected to the control unit 9 in this order. That is, the A / D conversion unit 11 is connected to the control unit 9, the RF circuit 5 is connected to the A / D conversion unit 11, and the antenna unit 10 is connected to the RF circuit 5.

  The A / D converter 11 converts a signal between analog and digital. The RF circuit 5 is a circuit that modulates between a normal signal based on voltage and a radio signal having a specific frequency. The antenna unit 10 is an input / output terminal that transmits and receives radio signals. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the terminal device 1 can perform radio communication using radio waves with the relay device 20 or with another terminal device 1 via the antenna unit 10.

  When transmitting a radio signal to another terminal device 1 or the relay device 20, first, the digital signal output from the control unit 9 is input to the A / D conversion unit 11 and converted into an analog signal. The converted analog signal is input to the RF circuit 5, converted to a signal having a specific frequency, and then output to the antenna unit 10. Then, a radio signal is transmitted from the antenna unit 10 to another terminal device 1 or the relay device 20.

  When receiving a signal from another terminal device 1 or the relay device 20, the radio signal received by the antenna unit 10 is input to the RF circuit 5 and converted into a normal analog signal based on the voltage. The converted analog signal is input to the A / D converter 11, converted into a digital signal, and then input to the controller 9. As described above, the terminal device 1 according to the present embodiment transmits / receives information to / from another terminal device 1 or the relay device 20.

  The control unit 9 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 6, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 7, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 8.

  The ROM 6 stores various programs and various data. Various programs include a general program used in a cordless telephone, a program related to communication between terminals, a program for identifying a terminal device, a distance calculation program, a program for controlling a notification unit, and the like.

  Here, the general program includes a program for processing information input from the key input unit 2, a program for processing information output to the display unit 3 and the speaker output unit 4, and a general program from a relay device. A program for responding to the call signal is included. Further, the programs related to the communication between terminals include a program for creating a connection request signal, a program for generating a specific signal, and the like.

  The RAM 7 is a working memory, expands a program read from the ROM 6, temporarily secures data received from the outside and input data, temporarily stores data to be transmitted to and output data from the outside. Used to secure.

  The CPU 8 performs processing while exchanging data with the RAM 7 based on the program and data stored in the ROM 6.

  The control unit 9 has various functions as shown in FIG. 2 when the CPU 8 performs processing based on various programs and various data recorded in the ROM 6 and / or the RAM 7.

  The control unit 9 functions as the general control unit 13 by performing processing based on the above-described general program recorded in the ROM 6. The general control unit 13 performs various processes including processing of information input by the key input unit 2.

  Further, the control unit 9 functions as the communication control unit 14 by performing processing based on the above-described program related to inter-terminal communication recorded in the ROM 6. The communication control unit 14 performs communication between terminal devices by controlling the communication unit 12.

  The control unit 9 functions as the distance calculation unit 15 by performing processing based on the above-described distance calculation program recorded in the ROM 6 and the distance calculation table recorded in the ROM 6. The distance calculation unit 15 calculates the distance between the search terminal and the lost terminal based on the information input from the communication control unit 14.

  In addition, the control unit 9 functions as the detection unit 16 by performing processing based on the above-described program for identifying the terminal device recorded in the ROM 6. The detection unit 16 identifies the terminal device by comparing information input from the communication control unit 14 with information stored in the storage unit 17 described later.

  Moreover, the control part 9 functions as the memory | storage part 17 by memorize | storing the identification information of an own terminal device, and the identification information of the terminal device of a communicating party. Said identification information is used in order to identify each terminal device in the communication between the terminals mentioned later. Identification information of its own terminal device is stored in the ROM 6 or RAM 7, and identification information of the communication partner terminal device is stored in the RAM 7.

  As the identification information of itself, unique identification information that does not overlap among all manufactured terminal devices may be set at the time of manufacturing the terminal device and stored in the storage unit 17. Alternatively, instead of setting at the time of manufacture, it may be set dynamically when the cordless telephone system is operated. In this case, the relay device dynamically sets identification information for the subordinate terminal devices so that they do not overlap among all the terminal devices belonging to the system, and each terminal device stores the assigned identification information. What is necessary is just to memorize | store in the part 17.

  The storage unit 17 may store identification information of all terminal devices under the relay device in the ROM 6 or RAM 7 as identification information of other terminal devices. In this case, when the user searches for the lost terminal, it is used to call the identification information of the lost terminal or to call the identification information of the lost terminal received from the lost terminal as described later. Can do.

The control unit 9 has various functions as described above, but it goes without saying that the control unit 9 may be divided into individual control units for each function.
[First Embodiment]
Next, an embodiment of the operation of the terminal device 1 when searching will be described.

  When one of the terminal devices belonging to the cordless telephone system is lost, the user searches for the lost terminal device using one of the terminal devices that are not lost. Hereinafter, as already mentioned, a terminal device used for searching is called a search terminal, and a lost terminal device is called a lost terminal. Here, the operation of the search terminal will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, in S11, the general control unit 13 of the search terminal stands by until a search mode command is input from the key input unit 2. That is, it is determined whether or not a search mode command has been input. If it has been input, the process proceeds to the next step. If it has not been input, the process immediately returns to the previous determination.

  The search mode command may be input by providing a button corresponding to the search mode and pressing the button, or pressing keys used for other operations in a specific order or combination. You may input by.

  Next, in S12, the general control unit 13 stands by until the identification information of the lost terminal is input from the key input unit 2. That is, it is determined whether or not the identification information of the lost terminal has been input. If it has been input, the process proceeds to the next step. If it has not been input, the process returns to the previous step and detection is performed again. The lost terminal identification information input from the key input unit 2 is input to the communication control unit 14 via the general control unit 13.

  Here, the user may directly input the unique identification information set in each terminal device, but it is complicated for the user to store the identification information of all the terminal devices belonging to the cordless telephone system. Therefore, it is preferable that designation can be made using simple information that is easier for the user to understand. In this case, the association between the information input by the user for specifying the terminal device to be searched and the actual identification information is performed by a correspondence table stored in the ROM 6 or RAM 7 of the control unit 9.

  Further, when there are only two terminal devices belonging to the cordless telephone system and the identification information of the other terminal device is stored in advance in the storage unit 17 of the search terminal, the lost terminal is necessarily one more device. Therefore, it is not necessary to obtain an input from the key input unit 2 in S12. In this case, after S11, the identification information of the other aircraft stored in the storage unit 17 of the search terminal in S12 is automatically input to the communication control unit, and the process proceeds to the next step.

  Next, in S13, the communication control unit 14 of the search terminal controls the communication unit 12 to transmit information to the lost terminal based on the identification information input in S12. That is, the communication control unit 14 creates a transmission signal including the identification information input in S12 and controls the communication unit 12 to transmit the signal from the antenna unit 10 as a radio signal. Further, the communication control unit 14 stores the identification information input in S12 in the storage unit 17.

  Here, the transmission signal in S13 corresponds to the “first transmission signal” described in the claims, and the identification information of the lost terminal temporarily stored is described in the claims. This corresponds to “first identification information”.

  In S14, if there is a response signal from the lost terminal, the search terminal proceeds to the next step, and if not, tries again to establish wireless communication with the lost terminal. Specifically, this step is performed as follows. First, the communication control unit 14 transmits a reception signal received via the communication unit 12 to the detection unit 16. Next, the detection unit 16 compares the information identifying the transmission source of the received signal with the identification information of the lost terminal temporarily stored in S13, and if they match, the received signal is a response signal from the lost terminal. If it is recognized, the process proceeds to the next step. If not, the process returns to S13.

  Here, the received signal in S14 corresponds to the “first received signal” recited in the claims.

  In S13 and S14, the search terminal transmits the identification information of the lost terminal, and the lost terminal returns the identification information, so that the search terminal can obtain a clue of the lost terminal.

  After receiving the reply from the lost terminal in S14, in S15, the distance calculation unit 15 of the search terminal calculates the distance to the lost terminal based on the received radio signal. That is, the received signal of the lost terminal is input from the communication control unit 14 to the distance calculating unit 15, and the distance calculating unit 15 calculates the distance between the search terminal and the lost terminal based on the input received signal. As a method for calculating the distance, a method for calculating the distance based on the electric field strength of the radio signal received from the communication partner, a method for calculating the distance based on the bit error rate of the radio signal received from the communication partner, etc. Can be used. These methods are recorded in the ROM 6 of the control unit 9 as a distance calculation program.

A method for calculating the distance based on the electric field strength of the radio signal will be described. It is known that the radio signal composed of radio waves attenuates the amplitude of the radio wave, that is, the electric field strength of the radio signal, as it is away from the transmission position. Therefore, the search terminal can calculate the distance to the lost terminal based on the electric field strength of the received radio signal. In this case, the electric field strength of the received radio signal is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 11 and input to the communication controller 14. The distance calculation unit 15 calculates the distance from the electric field strength inputted by referring to the correspondence table of the electric field strength and the distance recorded in advance in the ROM 6 based on the electrolytic strength inputted from the communication control unit 14. .

  In the method of calculating the distance based on the bit error rate, the radio signal attenuates with the distance, and the distance is calculated by measuring an error generated thereby. The bit error rate is obtained by dividing the number of bits in which an error has occurred by the total number of bits. This bit error rate is known to increase as the distance increases. The distance calculation unit 15 calculates a bit error rate based on the received signal input from the communication control unit 14, and refers to a correspondence table between the bit error rate and the distance measured and recorded in the ROM 6 in advance. To calculate the distance.

  As described above, the distance calculation unit 15 calculates the distance between the search terminal and the lost terminal based on the distance calculation program and the correspondence table recorded in the ROM 6 based on the received radio signal.

  Next, in S16, the notification control unit 18 of the search terminal controls the display unit 3 and / or the speaker output unit 4 so as to notify the user based on the distance calculated in S15.

  When the distance is notified by the display unit 3, a method of directly displaying the distance on the display unit 3 as a numerical value or a method of displaying the distance intuitively by an indicator or the like can be used.

  Also, when notifying the distance by the notification sound output from the speaker output unit 4, a method of reading the distance numerically, a method of notifying the relative magnitude of the distance by the magnitude of the volume (for example, the volume as the distance gets closer) A method of increasing the notification sound pattern according to the distance (for example, a method of shortening the period of the notification sound as the distance becomes shorter) or the like.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the method using the display unit 3 and the method using the speaker output unit 4 can be selected or combined as notification means depending on the situation. For example, when the distance is less than a predetermined value, the user can grasp the distance more intuitively by notifying the speaker output unit 4 with a notification sound. In addition, for example, it is configured so that the notification sound is not notified, and when searching at night, the user can search without generating noise at night by setting the notification sound not to be notified. It becomes like this. Further, for example, when the distance is relatively long, the notification is performed only by the display unit 3, and when the distance is less than a predetermined value, the notification by the speaker output unit 4 is added so that the user is more intuitive. You will be able to grasp the distance.

  Next, in S <b> 17, the general control unit 13 of the search terminal detects whether or not a search mode end command has been input from the key input unit 2. If the search mode end command is not input here, the process returns to S13, and the search terminal repeats the steps from S13.

  When the search mode end command is input from the key input unit 2, in S18, the communication control unit 14 controls the communication unit to transmit the search mode end command to the lost terminal, and the search terminal ends the search mode. That is, the communication control unit 14 creates a transmission signal including a search mode end command as command information, controls the communication unit 12 to transmit the transmission signal as a radio signal from the antenna unit 10, and ends the search mode. .

Note that S18 is a step required when the lost terminal continues to transmit a response signal periodically until an end instruction is given from the search terminal. Therefore, for example, if the lost terminal is configured to transmit a response signal only when it receives a radio signal transmitted from the search terminal in S13, the search terminal may end without performing S18 after S17. Good.
[Second Embodiment]
Next, another embodiment of the operation at the time of searching the terminal device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  This embodiment is common to the first embodiment except for S13, S14, and S18, and the description of the common parts is omitted for the sake of brevity.

  In the present embodiment, a transceiver function that has recently been installed is used as a method of directly communicating between terminal devices. In communication using the transceiver function, a signal including information specifying a transmission destination, information specifying a transmission source, and command information is transmitted. The apparatus that receives this signal processes the command information only when the information specifying the transmission destination matches the information specifying itself. If the information specifying the transmission destination does not match the information specifying itself, the device that has received the signal ignores the command information included in the signal. Thereby, it is possible to communicate with each other only with the terminal device without using the relay device.

  In S113, the communication control unit 14 of the search terminal controls the communication unit 12 to transmit information to the lost terminal based on the identification information input in S12. In other words, the communication control unit 14 includes the identification information of the self (search terminal) as information specifying the transmission source, includes the identification information of the lost terminal input in S12 as information specifying the transmission destination, and uses the search mode as command information. A communication signal including a command is generated, and the communication unit 12 is controlled to transmit the signal from the antenna unit 10 as a radio signal. In addition, the communication control unit 14 temporarily stores the identification information of the lost terminal (information specifying the transmission destination in S113) in order to detect whether the communication partner is the lost terminal when receiving a signal later. To remember.

  Here, the transmission signal in S113 corresponds to the “first transmission signal” described in the claims, and the temporarily stored identification information of the lost terminal is described in the claims. The first identification information corresponds to the “second identification information” described in the claims.

  In S114, if there is a response signal from the lost terminal, the search terminal proceeds to the next step, and if not, tries again to establish wireless communication with the lost terminal. Specifically, this step is performed as follows. First, the communication control unit 14 transmits a reception signal received via the communication unit 12 to the detection unit 16. Then, the detection unit 16 compares the information specifying the transmission destination of the received signal with the self identification information recorded in the storage unit 17, and if they match, the detection signal 16 is a signal transmitted to the self. If there is a match, the next process is performed. If they do not match, the process returns to S113 without performing the next process. Next, the detection unit 16 compares the information identifying the transmission source of the received signal with the identification information of the lost terminal temporarily stored in S113, and if they match, the received signal is from the lost terminal. Recognizing this, the next process is performed. If they do not match, the process returns to S113 without performing the next process. If the command information of the received signal is a search mode response command, it is recognized that it indicates a response, and the process proceeds to the next step. Otherwise, the process returns to S113.

  Here, the received signal in S114 corresponds to the “first received signal” recited in the claims.

  In S118, the communication control unit 14 controls the communication unit to transmit a search mode end command to the lost terminal, and the search terminal ends the search mode. That is, the communication control unit 14 includes the identification information of the search terminal as information specifying the transmission source, the identification information of the lost terminal as information specifying the transmission destination, and the transmission signal including the search mode end command as command information , And the communication unit 12 is controlled to transmit a transmission signal from the antenna unit 10 as a radio signal, and the search mode is terminated.

  Note that S118 is a step that is necessary when the lost terminal continues to periodically transmit a response signal until an end instruction is given from the search terminal. Accordingly, if the lost terminal is configured to transmit a response signal only when, for example, a wireless signal transmitted from the search terminal is received in S13, the search terminal may end without performing S118 after S17. Good.

In the present embodiment, as described above, by including the transmission source identification information, the communication partner identification information, and the command information in the transmission signal, the search terminal and the lost terminal can directly communicate with each other. It has become. Moreover, this embodiment can exchange information more reliably than the first embodiment by transmitting and receiving a search mode command and a search mode response command.
[Third Embodiment]
Next, an embodiment of the operation of the lost terminal will be described with reference to FIGS. The present embodiment is for the operation of the search terminal of the first embodiment.

  In S21, when the lost terminal receives a signal including its own identification information, the lost terminal recognizes that it is a lost terminal and enters the searched mode. That is, the communication control unit 14 of the lost terminal receives a signal from the communication unit 12 and outputs the received signal to the detection unit 16. The detection unit 16 detects whether or not the identification information stored in the storage unit 17 is included in the received signal. If it is included, the next search mode is entered and the process proceeds to the step. If it is not included, the process immediately returns.

  The lost terminal that has entered the searched mode responds to the searched terminal in S22. That is, the communication control unit 14 of the lost terminal creates a transmission signal including the identification information (identification information of the lost terminal that is itself) included in the received signal in S21, controls the communication unit 12, and controls the antenna unit. 10 transmits a transmission signal as a radio signal.

  The identification information in S21 and S22 corresponds to the “second identification information” described in the claims, and the reception signals in S21 and S22 are the “second reception signals” described in the claims. The transmission signal in S22 corresponds to the “second transmission signal” recited in the claims.

  In S23, the communication control unit 14 of the lost terminal returns to S22 and repeats the response until the search terminal notifies the end of the search mode in S18. That is, the lost terminal ends the searched mode when receiving a radio signal including a search mode end command, and returns to S22 when not received.

  Note that S23 is a step required when the lost terminal continues to transmit a response signal periodically until an instruction to end is given from the search terminal. Therefore, if the lost terminal is configured to transmit a response signal only when receiving a radio signal transmitted from the search terminal in S13, for example, S23 can be omitted.

Also, the notification control unit 18 of the lost terminal controls the speaker output unit 4 so as not to output a notification sound or the like for notifying the location in S22 and S23. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the battery of the lost terminal is exhausted by generating a notification sound or the like, causing the battery to run out before being found and making search impossible.
[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, another embodiment of the operation of the lost terminal will be described with reference to FIGS. The present embodiment is for the search terminal of the second embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, a transceiver function that has recently been installed is used as a method of directly communicating between terminal devices. In communication using the transceiver function, a signal including information specifying a transmission destination, information specifying a transmission source, and command information is transmitted. The apparatus that receives this signal processes the command information only when the information specifying the transmission destination matches the information specifying itself. If the information specifying the transmission destination does not match the information specifying itself, the device that has received the signal ignores the command information included in the signal. Thereby, it is possible to communicate with each other only with the terminal device without using the relay device.

  In S121, the lost terminal receives the radio signal transmitted by the search terminal in S113, thereby recognizing that the own terminal is a lost terminal and enters the searched mode. That is, the communication control unit 14 of the lost terminal receives a signal from the communication control unit 12 and outputs the received signal to the detection unit 16. When the detection unit 16 detects that the received signal includes the identification information of the lost terminal as the information for specifying the transmission destination and includes the search mode command as the command information, the process proceeds to the next step. Will return immediately.

  Then, the communication control unit 14 of the lost terminal that has entered the searched mode responds to the searched terminal in S122. That is, the communication control unit 14 of the lost terminal includes the identification information (identification information of the lost terminal that is itself) included in the received signal in S121 as information specifying the transmission source, and the search terminal as information specifying the transmission destination The transmission signal including the search mode response command as command information is generated, and the communication unit 12 is controlled to transmit the transmission signal from the antenna unit 10 as a radio signal.

  In S123, the communication control unit 14 of the lost terminal returns to S122 and repeats the response until the search terminal notifies the end of the search mode in S118. That is, the lost terminal includes the identification information of the lost terminal as information for specifying the transmission destination, and when the signal including the search mode end command as the command information is received, the searched mode is ended, and when the signal is not received , Return to S122.

  Note that S123 is a step that is necessary when the lost terminal continues to periodically transmit a response signal until an end instruction is given from the search terminal. Therefore, if the lost terminal is configured to transmit a response signal only when receiving a radio signal transmitted from the search terminal in S113, for example, S123 can be omitted.

  In addition, the notification control unit 18 of the lost terminal controls the speaker output unit 4 so as not to emit a notification sound or the like for notifying the location in S122 and S123. As a result, as described in the previous embodiment, it is possible to prevent the battery of the lost terminal from being exhausted by generating a notification sound or the like.

  In the embodiment described above, the operation when searching for a lost terminal device has been described as an example. However, the purpose of use of the search function is not limited to searching for a lost terminal device. For example, the present invention can be applied to an assist or the like that reaches a meeting place while confirming distance information with the terminal device of the meeting partner.

  As described above, the terminal device of the cordless telephone according to the present invention can perform a search while performing communication only between terminals without using a relay device. Usually, since a relay device is connected to a telephone line and cannot be easily moved, it is difficult or complicated to search for a terminal device outside the wireless communication area of the relay device using the relay device. It is. However, since the terminal device of the cordless telephone of the present invention can be searched only by a portable terminal device, when searching for a terminal device outside the wireless communication area with the parent device, it is easy to search. can do.

  Further, the terminal device of the cordless telephone according to the present invention is a cordless telephone comprising a parent device connected to a telephone line and a child device wirelessly connected to the parent device. Detecting means or detecting means for detecting a bit error rate (BER), means for enabling data transmission / reception between terminals without going through the parent device, notifying means for notifying information, and searching for a lost terminal For example, having a search function for determining whether the slave device detected by the detection means is a lost terminal and notifying the notification means of the distance obtained by the detection means Good.

  Further, the terminal device of the cordless telephone according to the present invention is capable of acquiring lost terminal information only by a searching side unit without ringing a notification sound when a lost terminal detected in the search mode is detected. It may be.

  In the cordless telephone terminal device according to the present invention, the search means may change the notification means according to the detected distance of the lost terminal.

  Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for implementing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, or the like can be used.

  The program code may be downloaded from another computer system to the storage unit of the terminal device via a transmission medium such as a communication network.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is determined based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU of the expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.

  Note that the terminal device of the cordless telephone of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. That is, embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately changed within the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The wireless terminal device of the present invention can suppress the manufacturing cost while having the function of efficiently searching when lost. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to a terminal device such as a wired cordless telephone or a mobile phone connected to the public line network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1, showing an embodiment of the present invention, is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a wireless terminal device. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a control unit 9 of a wireless terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a search terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of a lost terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a search terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of a lost terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cordless telephone terminal equipment (wireless terminal equipment)
3 Display (notification means)
4 Speaker output section (notification means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Control part 12 Communication part 14 Communication control part 15 Distance calculation part 16 Detection part 17 Memory | storage part 18 Notification control part 20 Relay apparatus of a cordless telephone

Claims (12)

A storage unit for storing first identification information of a wireless terminal device of a communication partner;
A communication unit for transmitting and receiving signals;
Creating a first transmission signal including the first identification information, and transmitting the first transmission signal via the communication unit;
A detection unit that detects whether or not the first identification information is included in the first reception signal received via the communication control unit by comparing with the first identification information stored in the storage unit When,
A wireless terminal device comprising: The storage unit further stores its second identification information,
By comparing the second identification information stored in the storage unit with the second identification information that the detection unit includes the second identification information in the second reception signal received via the communication control unit. Upon detection, the communication control unit creates a second transmission signal including the second identification information in response to the second received signal, and sends the second transmission signal to the communication unit. The wireless terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless terminal device makes a call. The storage unit further stores its second identification information,
The communication control unit generates and transmits a first transmission signal further including second identification information,
The first and second stored in the storage unit that the detection unit includes the first and second identification information in the second reception signal received via the communication control unit. When detected by comparison with the identification information, the communication control unit creates a second transmission signal including the second identification information in response to the second received signal, and sets the first identification information. The wireless terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second transmission signal is transmitted to a wireless terminal apparatus of a communication partner having the communication partner.   When the first identification information is included in the first reception signal received via the communication control unit, the distance to the communication partner wireless terminal device is calculated based on the first reception signal The radio | wireless terminal apparatus of any one of Claim 1 to 3 provided with the distance calculation part to perform.   The distance calculation unit calculates a distance based on an electric field strength of the first received signal, or calculates a distance based on a bit error rate of the first received signal. 4. The wireless terminal device according to 4.   The wireless terminal device according to claim 4, further comprising notification means for notifying a user of information indicating the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit. A notification means for at least notifying a user of information indicating the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit;
A notification control unit for controlling the notification means so as to limit a notification operation indicating that a response is being made to the second reception signal when the second reception signal is received; The radio | wireless terminal apparatus of Claim 2 or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The wireless terminal device according to claim 6, wherein the notification unit changes a notification method according to the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit.   The wireless terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the wireless terminal device is a wireless terminal device provided in a handset of the cordless telephone device. A handset provided with the wireless terminal device according to claim 9;
A cordless telephone device set, comprising: a relay device that performs wireless communication with the wireless terminal device.   A communication control program for operating the wireless terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the communication control program causes a computer to function as the wireless terminal device.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the communication control program according to claim 11 is recorded.

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