KR101327130B1 - Mobile Terminal and Method for detecting Area of Wireless Service - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention allows a mobile communication module (or collectively referred to as a wireless communication module) such as WLAN, WPAN, WiFi, etc., provided separately from the mobile communication module to be selectively operated only within the corresponding wireless service area. A mobile terminal, a server, a method, and a recording medium for detecting a wireless service area for minimizing power consumption of the terminal. An example of a method in a mobile terminal for detecting a wireless service area is (a) embedded passive propagation. Activating its operation by a radio wave signal radiated from the surroundings in the detection unit; (b) detecting the emitted radio wave signal by the activated passive radio wave detection unit, and determining whether the detected radio wave signal satisfies a set criterion; And (c) controlling an on / off operation of the wireless communication module for communication processing with the corresponding wireless communication network in the wireless service area according to the determination result of step (b).

Description

Mobile terminal and method for detecting wireless service area

The present invention relates to a technology for detecting a wireless service area, and more particularly, to a wireless communication module (or collectively referred to as a wireless communication module) such as WLAN, WPAN, WiFi, etc., which is provided separately from a mobile communication module in a mobile terminal. The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a method for detecting a wireless service area to minimize power consumption of the mobile terminal by selectively operating only within the wireless service area.

Recently, with the rapid development of communication services, convergence service technologies such as wired / wireless integrated service technology, integrated service technology of broadcasting and communication systems, and voice signal and data integration technology have been developed and commercialized in various forms. The convergence service technology has been applied to a mobile communication terminal (or mobile terminal), so that a user can access a convergence service while searching for a variety of information or download various contents while carrying the terminal.

On the other hand, as a method of accessing the wireless Internet for using the converged service technology using the mobile communication terminal, a method of accessing the wireless Internet through a mobile communication network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), Or a method of accessing the wireless Internet through a wireless communication network such as WiFi.

However, in the mobile communication terminal to which such a converged service technology is applied, it is necessary to periodically search for a near field communication network and a mobile communication network that are different technology methods, for example, to detect a radio signal from an access point (AP) of a wireless communication network. In order to receive and periodically search the entire band of WLAN and WPAN signals, the wireless transmit / receive module must be continuously operated, and the wireless communication module built in the mobile communication terminal must be operated even when not connected to the wireless communication network. There is a problem that the power consumption of is greatly increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to allow a wireless communication module (wireless communication module) such as WLAN, WPAN, WiFi, etc. provided in a mobile terminal to selectively operate only within a corresponding wireless service area. It is to provide a mobile terminal and method for detecting a wireless service area to minimize the power consumption of the mobile terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, the mobile terminal for wireless service area detection according to an aspect of the present invention, after the operation is activated by the radio signal emitted from the surroundings, and detects the radio wave signal, and the detected radio wave A passive radio wave detector for determining whether a signal satisfies a set criterion; A wireless communication module for processing communication with a corresponding wireless communication network in a wireless service area; And a controller for controlling an on / off operation of the wireless communication module according to the determination result of the passive radio detection unit.

The passive radio detector may be activated by generating induced power from the radiated radio signal, and the radiated radio signal may include a signal radiated from a corresponding wireless communication network in the wireless service area, and the set reference may be It may include a reference for the strength and duration of the detected radio signal.

In order to achieve the above object, a mobile terminal for detecting a wireless service area according to another aspect of the present invention detects the radiated radio signal after the operation is activated by a radio signal radiated from the surroundings, and the detected radio wave A passive radio wave detector for determining whether a signal satisfies a set criterion; A wireless communication module for processing communication with a corresponding wireless communication network in a wireless service area; And requesting and receiving wireless network search information for searching the wireless communication network from the passive radio detection unit through a mobile communication network to the wireless network information management server, and based on the received wireless network search information. It may include a control unit for controlling the on / off and wireless network search operation of the module.

The wireless network search information includes at least one or more of corresponding terminal device information, channel information, power class and level information, and specialized service information of the corresponding area for the wireless communication network of the wireless service area corresponding to the location information of the corresponding mobile terminal. The controller may provide the location information of the mobile terminal to the wireless network information management server together with the request of the wireless network detection information.

The passive propagation detector may be activated by generating induced power from the radiated radio signal, and the radiated radio signal may include a signal radiated from a corresponding wireless communication network in a wireless service area, and the set criterion is the detection. And a reference for the strength and duration of the propagated signal.

In order to achieve the above object, a server for detecting a wireless service area according to another aspect of the present invention includes a terminal device information, channel information, power class and level information, and area-specific specialized service for each wireless service area for a wireless communication network. An information manager configured to manage wireless network search information including at least one of information; An information detector for detecting, from the information manager, wireless network search information of a wireless service area corresponding to the location information of the mobile terminal in response to a request from the mobile terminal through a mobile communication network; And an information providing unit configured to provide the detected wireless network search information to the mobile terminal through the mobile communication network, and the information detection unit may receive the location information from the mobile terminal through the mobile communication network.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for detecting a wireless service area according to another aspect of the present invention is to detect the wireless service area in a mobile terminal including a wireless communication module and a passive radio detection unit for communication with a wireless communication network. CLAIMS 1. A method comprising: (a) activating its operation by a radio wave signal radiated from the environment in an embedded passive radio wave detector; (b) detecting the emitted radio wave signal by the activated passive radio wave detection unit, and determining whether the detected radio wave signal satisfies a set criterion; And (c) controlling an on / off operation of the wireless communication module for communication processing with the corresponding wireless communication network in the wireless service area according to the determination result of step (b).

The step (a) may generate the induced power from the radiated radio signal to activate the passive radio detection unit, and in step (a) the radiated radio signal is radiated from a corresponding wireless communication network of the wireless service area. A signal may be included, and the set criterion in step (b) may include a criterion for the strength and duration of the detected radio signal.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for detecting a wireless service area according to another aspect of the present invention includes a mobile communication module for communication with a mobile communication network, a wireless communication module for communication with a wireless communication network, and a passive wave detection unit. A method for detecting a wireless service area in a mobile terminal, comprising: (a) activating its operation by a radio signal radiated from the environment in the passive radio detection unit; (b) detecting the emitted radio wave signal by the activated passive radio wave detection unit and determining whether the detected radio wave signal satisfies a set criterion; (c) requesting wireless network information management server for searching for a wireless communication network to a wireless network information management server through the mobile communication module and a mobile communication network according to the determination result of step (b); (d) receiving the wireless network search information from the wireless network information management server through the mobile communication network and a mobile communication module in response to the request of step (c); And (e) controlling on / off and search operations of the wireless communication module based on the received wireless network search information.

The wireless network search information includes at least one or more of the corresponding terminal device information, channel information, power class and level information for the wireless communication network of the wireless service area corresponding to the location information of the mobile terminal, and specialized service information of the corresponding area. In step (c), the location information may be provided to the wireless network information management server together with the request of the wireless network detection information.

The step (a) may generate the induced power from the radiated radio signal to activate the passive radio detection unit, and in step (a) the radiated radio signal is radiated from a corresponding wireless communication network of the wireless service area. A signal may be included, and the set criterion in step (b) may include a criterion for the strength and duration of the detected radio signal.

In order to achieve the above object, a method for detecting a wireless service area according to another aspect of the present invention is a method for detecting a wireless service area in a wireless network information management server interworking with a wireless communication network and a mobile communication network, (a Managing wireless network search information including at least one of end device information for each wireless service area, channel information, power class and level information, and area-specific service information for the wireless communication network; (b) detecting wireless network search information of a wireless service area corresponding to location information of the mobile terminal according to a request from the mobile terminal through the mobile communication network; And (c) providing the detected wireless network search information to the mobile terminal through the mobile communication network, wherein the location information is provided from the mobile terminal through the mobile communication network in step (b). I can receive it.

In order to achieve the above object, according to another aspect of the present invention, various methods for detecting the wireless service area described above can provide a computer-readable recording medium recorded by a program.

As described above, according to various aspects of the present invention, a wireless communication module (wireless communication module) such as WLAN, WPAN, WiFi, etc. provided in a mobile terminal is normally turned off and is selectively turned on only in a corresponding wireless service area. In this way, the power consumption of the mobile terminal is minimized.

1 is a configuration diagram of a system for detecting a wireless service area according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal for detecting a wireless service area according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal for detecting a wireless service area according to another embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a block diagram of a server for detecting a wireless service area according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a flowchart of a method in a mobile terminal for detecting a wireless service area according to an embodiment of the present invention;
6 is a flowchart of a method in a mobile terminal for detecting a wireless service area according to another embodiment of the present invention;
7 is a flowchart of a method in a server for wireless service area detection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals are used to denote like elements throughout the drawings, even if they are shown in different drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

1 is a block diagram of a system for detecting a wireless service area according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a mobile communication network 110, a wireless communication network 120, a mobile communication network 110, or a wireless communication network ( The mobile terminal 200 and 300 capable of communicating through the terminal 120 and the wireless network information management server 400 connected to the mobile communication network 110 or the wireless communication network 120 may be included.

In the present embodiment, the mobile communication network 110 refers to a general mobile communication network that enables communication while moving, and the wireless communication network 120 installs an end device such as an access point (AP) in a specific local area. In the wireless service area covered by the terminal device, it is possible to provide a wireless communication service to a terminal having a corresponding wireless communication module. For example, this refers to a conventional wireless communication network such as WLAN, WPAN, and WiFi.

The mobile terminals 200 and 300 according to the present exemplary embodiment have a function of accessing the wireless Internet through at least the mobile communication network 110 and a function of accessing the wireless Internet through a wireless communication network 120 such as WLAN, WPAN, or WiFi. For example, the mobile communication terminal 110 may be a mobile communication terminal, a PDA, a smart phone, or the like capable of voice communication, data communication, and internet communication through at least one of the mobile communication network 110 and the wireless communication network 120.

The wireless network information management server 400 according to the present embodiment is for storing, managing, and providing wireless network search information as a resource for searching at least the wireless service area of the wireless communication network 120.

2 is a configuration diagram of a mobile terminal for detecting a wireless service area according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is an example applied to the mobile terminal 200 of FIG. 1, and as shown in the figure, a passive wave detection unit 210. ), A wireless communication module 230, and a controller 250.

The passive radio wave detection unit 210 according to the present embodiment is activated by a radio wave signal radiated from the surroundings to receive the radio wave signal, and whether the received radio wave signal satisfies a preset radio wave reception criterion. It is for making a judgment and notifying the control part 250 of the result (for example, satisfaction signal). In the present embodiment, the preset radio wave reception criteria may include a criterion for the strength and duration of the received radio signal. It is to check if the radio wave is received.

The passive wave detection unit 210 according to the present embodiment is activated by generating induced power from a radio wave signal radiated from the surroundings, for example, like a passive tag of an existing RFID / NFC that does not always supply power. The induced power is generated by the radio signal transmitted from the AP as the terminal device of the wireless service area of the wireless communication network 120.

The wireless communication module 230 according to the present embodiment is for accessing the wireless communication network 120 in the wireless service area and performing communication processing. For example, the wireless communication module 230 may be configured as a WLAN / WPAN module, and may be a WLAN / WPAN module. Is a module that provides one or multiple WiFi and BT technologies of WLAN 802.11 a / b / g / n, a transmitter for encoding and modulating a signal transmitted by RF, and a receiver and a modem for demodulating and decoding a signal received by RF. And a data processor including a codec and the like.

The control unit 250 according to the present embodiment is for controlling the on / off operation of the wireless communication module 230 according to the determination result of the passive wave detection unit 210, for example, the passive wave detection unit. When the satisfaction signal is received from the control unit 210, the wireless communication module 230 in the normally off state is controlled to be turned on.

3 is a configuration diagram of a mobile terminal for detecting a wireless service area according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is an example applied to the mobile terminal 300 of FIG. 1, and as shown in the figure, a passive wave detection unit 310. ), A wireless communication module 330, a mobile communication module 350, and a controller 370.

The passive radio wave detector 310 according to the present embodiment is activated by a radio wave signal radiated from the surroundings to receive the radio wave signal, and whether or not the received radio wave signal satisfies a preset radio wave reception criterion. It is for making a judgment and notifying the control part 370 of the result (for example, satisfaction signal). In the present embodiment, the preset radio wave reception criteria may include a criterion for the strength and duration of the received radio signal. It is to check if the radio wave is received.

The passive wave detection unit 310 according to the present embodiment is activated by generating induced power from a radio wave signal radiated from the surroundings, for example, like a passive tag of an existing RFID / NFC that does not always supply power. The induced power is generated by the radio signal transmitted from the AP as the terminal device of the wireless service area of the wireless communication network 120.

The wireless communication module 330 according to the present embodiment is for connecting to a corresponding wireless communication network 120 in a wireless service area and performing communication processing. For example, the wireless communication module 330 may be configured as a WLAN / WPAN module. Is a module that provides one or multiple WiFi and BT technologies of WLAN 802.11 a / b / g / n, a transmitter for encoding and modulating a signal transmitted by RF, and a receiver and a modem for demodulating and decoding a signal received by RF. And a data processor including a codec and the like.

The mobile communication module 350 according to the present embodiment is for connecting to the mobile communication network 110 and performing communication processing. For example, a mobile communication technology such as CDMA, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, WIMAX, WIBRO, etc., is a mobile communication technology. It may be a module that provides one or a plurality of, a transmitter for encoding and modulating a signal transmitted by RF, a receiver for demodulating and decoding a signal received by RF, a data processing unit including a modem (MODEM) and a codec (CODEC), etc. It may include.

The control unit 370 according to the present embodiment transmits the wireless network search information for the search of the wireless service area of the wireless communication network 120 to the mobile communication module 350 and the mobile communication network according to the determination result of the passive wave detection unit 310. Requests and receives the wireless network information management server 400 through 110, and performs on / off operation and wireless network search operation of the wireless communication module 330 based on the received wireless network search information. To control.

In the present embodiment, the wireless network search information includes corresponding terminal information, channel information, power class and level information, and corresponding area for the wireless communication network 120 of the wireless service area corresponding to the location information of the mobile terminal 300. It may include at least one or more of the specialized service information of.

In the present embodiment, when the control unit 370 requests the wireless network detection information of the location information of the mobile terminal 300 based on the cell, the GPS, the position sensor, etc., the control unit 370 is provided to the wireless network information management server 400 together with the request. You can do that. Therefore, in this embodiment, the mobile terminal 300 may selectively include a GPS module (not shown), a position sensor (not shown), and the like so as to accurately acquire its own location information.

4 is a configuration diagram of a server for detecting a wireless service area according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is an example applied to the wireless network information management server 400 of FIG. 1, and as shown in the figure, an information management unit 410. ), An information detector 430, and an information provider 450.

The information management unit 410 according to the present embodiment includes a radio including at least one or more of information of a terminal device for each wireless service area, channel information, power class and level information, and region-specific service information for the wireless communication network 120. This is to build and manage a database that registers and stores network search information. In the present embodiment, the terminal device may be an access point (AP) installed in a specific local area, for example, and the wireless service area indicates an area covered by such an AP.

The information detecting unit 430 according to the present embodiment is a wireless network of a wireless service area corresponding to the location information of the mobile terminal 300 in response to a request for wireless network search information from the mobile terminal 300 through the mobile communication network 110. It is for detecting the search information from the information manager 410. In the present embodiment, the information detector 430 may receive the location information of the mobile terminal 300 from the mobile terminal 300 through, for example, the mobile communication network 110, but is not limited thereto. It is possible to obtain location information of the mobile terminal.

The information provider 450 according to the present exemplary embodiment is for providing the wireless network search information detected by the information detector 430 to the corresponding mobile terminal 300 through the mobile communication network 110.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method in a mobile terminal for detecting a wireless service area according to an embodiment of the present invention. Since it is applied to the mobile terminal 200 of FIG. 2, it will be described in parallel with the operation of the mobile terminal 200. .

First, in the idle mode, the mobile terminal 200 is in a state of turning off the power of the wireless communication module 230 in order to prevent power consumption due to unnecessary driving of the wireless communication module 230 ( S501).

 When the mobile terminal 200 is moved into the service coverage of the wireless service area while the power of the wireless communication module 230 is turned off as described above, the passive wave detection unit 210 transmits a radio signal emitted from the surroundings, that is, Induced power is generated by the radio wave signal radiated from the corresponding terminal device in the wireless service area to activate its operation (S503).

Subsequently, the passive radio detector 210 activated in step S503 receives and detects a radio wave signal radiated from the terminal device (S505), and determines whether the received and detected radio wave signal satisfies a predetermined criterion. For example, it is determined whether the reception intensity of the corresponding radio signal lasts for a predetermined time or more at a predetermined size or more (S507).

Subsequently, if the reception intensity of the corresponding radio signal satisfies a predetermined criterion as a result of the determination in step S507, the passive propagation detector 210 interrupts the satisfaction signal or changes a flag. After the notification, the control unit 250 drives the wireless communication module 230 on (S509), and then corresponds to the corresponding wireless communication network 120 through the on-driven wireless communication module 230. In step S511, wireless communication is performed with a corresponding end device in the wireless service area.

Lastly, the controller 250 determines that the signal from the terminal device of the corresponding wireless service area of the corresponding wireless communication network 120 connected in step S511 becomes lower than the reference or the user releases the connection. If it is determined that the condition to turn off (S513), the power of the wireless communication module 230 is driven off and the mobile terminal 200 is made to the idle mode of step S501 (S515).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method in a mobile terminal for detecting a wireless service area according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to the mobile terminal 300 of FIG. 3 and will be described in parallel with the operation of the mobile terminal 300. .

First, in the idle mode, the mobile terminal 300 is in a state of turning off the power of the wireless communication module 330 in order to prevent power consumption due to unnecessary driving of the wireless communication module 330 ( S601).

 When the mobile terminal 300 is moved into the service coverage of the wireless service area while the power of the wireless communication module 330 is turned off in this way, the passive radio detection unit 310 is a radio signal emitted from the surroundings, that is, Induced power is generated by the radio wave signal radiated from the corresponding terminal of the wireless service area to activate its operation (S603).

Subsequently, the passive radio detection unit 310 activated in step S603 receives and detects a radio wave signal radiated from the terminal device (S605), and determines whether the received and detected radio wave signal satisfies a predetermined criterion. For example, it is determined whether the reception intensity of the corresponding radio signal lasts for a predetermined time or more at a predetermined size or more (S607).

Subsequently, if the reception intensity of the corresponding radio signal satisfies a predetermined criterion as a result of the determination in step S607, the passive radio detection unit 310 may inform the controller 370 of a method such as interrupting or changing a flag. In this case, the control unit 370 transmits a request message of wireless network search information for searching the wireless communication network to the wireless network information management server 400 through the mobile communication module 350 and the mobile communication network 110. (S609). In operation S609, the controller 370 may provide the wireless network information management server 400 with location information of the corresponding mobile terminal 300 in a request message of wireless network search information.

Subsequently, when the wireless network search information is received from the wireless network information management server 400 through the mobile communication network 120 and the mobile communication module 350 in response to step S609, the control unit 370 searches for the received wireless network. After driving the wireless communication module 330 on the basis of the information (S613), through the on-driven wireless communication module 330 and the corresponding terminal device of the corresponding wireless service area of the wireless communication network 120 Perform wireless communication (S615).

In the present embodiment, the wireless network search information includes corresponding terminal information, channel information, power class and level information, and specialized service information of the corresponding area for the wireless communication network of the wireless service area corresponding to the location information of the mobile terminal 300. It may include at least one of.

Finally, the control unit 370 is a wireless communication module 330 such that the signal from the terminal device of the corresponding wireless service area of the corresponding wireless communication network 120 connected in step S615 is below the reference or the user releases the connection. If it is determined that the condition to turn off (S617), the power of the wireless communication module 330 is turned off and the mobile terminal 300 is in an idle mode in step S601 (S619).

7 is a flowchart of a method in a server for detecting a wireless service area according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is applied to the wireless network information management server 400 of FIG. 4. Explain in parallel.

First, the information management unit 410 is a wireless network search information including at least one or more of the end device information for each wireless service area, channel information, power class and level information, and area-specific service information for the wireless communication network 120 Create a database by storing the and manages the database (S701).

Subsequently, when the request message for the wireless network search information is received from the mobile terminal 300 through the mobile communication network 110 (S703), the information detector 430 based on the received request message, the corresponding mobile terminal 300. The wireless network search information of the wireless service area corresponding to the location information is extracted from the database of the information manager 410 (S705). The request message received in step S703 may include location information of the corresponding mobile terminal 300.

Finally, the information provider 450 provides the wireless network search information detected from the information detector 430 to the corresponding mobile terminal 300 through the mobile communication network 110.

The method in the mobile terminal or the server for detecting the wireless service area according to the embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 each includes a computer reading including program instructions for performing various computer-implemented operations. It can be implemented as a possible recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include a program command, a local data file, a local data structure, or the like, alone or in combination. The recording medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the embodiments of the present invention or may be those known to those skilled in the computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, magneto-optical media such as floppy disks, and ROMs, And hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute the same program instructions. The recording medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal line, a wave guide, or the like, including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal designating a program command, a local data structure, or the like. Examples of program instructions may include machine language code such as those generated by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that may be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

110: mobile communication network 120: wireless communication network
200,300: mobile terminal 210,310: passive radio detection unit
230,330: wireless communication module 250,370: control unit
350: mobile communication module 400: wireless network information management server
410: information management unit 430: information detection unit
450: information provider

Claims (4)

Generates induced power from radio wave signals radiated from an access point (AP) in a wireless service area of a wireless communication network to detect the radio wave signals after the operation is activated, and the strength and duration of the detected radio signals A passive propagation detector for determining whether the set criterion is satisfied;
A wireless communication module for processing communication with the access point in the wireless service area; And
And a control unit for controlling an on / off operation of the wireless communication module according to the determination result of the passive radio detection unit. delete A method for detecting a wireless service area in a mobile terminal including a wireless communication module and a passive wave detection unit for communication with a wireless communication network,
(a) a built-in passive wave detection unit, activating its operation by generating induced power from a radio wave signal radiated from an access point (AP) of a wireless service area of a wireless communication network;
(b) detecting the radiated radio wave signal by the activated passive radio wave detector, and determining whether the intensity and duration of the detected radio wave signal satisfy a set criterion; And
(c) controlling an on / off operation of a wireless communication module for communication processing with the access point in the wireless service area according to the determination result of step (b). Method for detection.
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