JP2002112347A - Radio terminal and radio communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio terminal that automatically switches a connected destination radio communication system depending on the contents of an application, a communication state, a state of a user, and a surrounding environmental condition or the like. SOLUTION: The radio terminal 22 that is connectable to each of communication networks 10, 12, 14 adopting different communication systems is provided with an optimum radio transmission channel selection means that can select an optimum radio transmission channel at any time on the basis of a prescribed radio transmission channel selection criterion among radio base stations 16, 18, 20 in the case of communication with any of the communication networks 10, 12, 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a radio terminal device, a radio communication system, and a radio communication method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional radio communication system, communication is performed using different frequencies for each system. For this reason, the wireless terminals are terminals unique to the wireless communication system used, and can be connected only to the corresponding wireless communication system. On the other hand, some terminals have a plurality of built-in wireless communication devices in advance and can be connected to a plurality of wireless communication systems, but can be connected to only one system at a time. Also, the switching of the wireless communication device itself has been manually performed by the user of the wireless terminal.

[0003] In the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 18, there are two communication networks, here a PHS network 1000 and a PDC network 100.
2, a wireless terminal device 1004 called a dual mode terminal is used. The wireless terminal device 1004 includes a display unit 1006 and a numeric keypad 100.
8, a radio antenna 1010 for the PHS network 100, and P
A wireless antenna 1012 for the DC network 1002 is provided. In addition, the PHS network 1000 and the PHS network 1002 respectively include radio base stations 1014 and 1016.
Is connected, and the wireless terminal device 1004 is connected to the PHS network 1000 and P via the wireless base stations 1014 and 1016.
A wireless connection is made to the DC network 1002. The PHS network 100 and the PDC network 1002 are connected to the Internet 10 as a public network via an access server 2109 corresponding to each.
20.

[0004] Radio terminal apparatus 1004 connects to PHS network 1000 using, for example, radio antenna 1010 and communicates with terminal 1022 connected to PHS network 1000.
It is possible to make a voice call with the user. Also, by connecting to the PDC network 1002 using the wireless antenna 1012,
It is also possible to make a voice call with a terminal 1024 at the communication destination connected to the DC network 1002. Further, a data communication line can be established with the access server 1018 to access a desired information server (WWW server) 1026 via the Internet 1020. The information in the information server 1026 is the PHS network 1000 or the PDC
Wireless device terminal 1004 via one of networks 1002
And is displayed on the display unit 1006 of the wireless terminal device 1004.

In the above case, the connection destination of the wireless terminal device 1004, that is, which of the PHS network 1000 and the PDC network 1002 is to be connected, is selected by a user input using a numeric keypad 1008 or the like. That is, the selection depends on the user's will. Therefore, for example, when the user performs voice communication, the user selects the PDC network 1002 which has a wide service area and is adaptable to high-speed movement, or selects the PHS network 1000 having a high data communication transmission speed. Is to be determined by the user. For this reason,
For example, when the PHS network 1000 is selected during a voice call, the communication is disconnected while moving,
Alternatively, the PDC network 1002 is selected for data communication,
As a result, there are cases where the data transmission speed is low and the fee is charged high.

[0006] In a PC device 1028 shown in FIG. 19, a PHS data communication card 1030 and a wireless LAN
Both of the cards 1032 are PCMC of the PC device 1028.
Connect to IA card slot 1028a. P
The HS data communication card 1030 is connected to the PHS terminal 1034, and the wireless LAN card device 1032 is connected to the parent device 1036 via the antenna unit 1032a. P
The C device 1028 includes the wireless LAN card 1032, the master device 1
036, Ethernet 1038, local network 1040, and information server (WWW server) 10 connected to Internet 1044 via gateway 1042.
Access 46. Alternatively, the PHS data communication card 1030, PHS terminal 1034, base station 1048, P
It is also possible to access the information server 1046 via the HS network 1050 and the access server 1052. In addition, communication is possible with a terminal 1054 of a communication destination connected to the PHS network 1050.

The connection destination of the PC device 1028 shown in FIG. 19, that is, which of the private network 1040 and the PHS network 1050 is to be connected is displayed on the display device of the PC device 1028, and the private network 104 and the PHS network 1050 respectively. Icon 1028b corresponding to the mouse cursor 1
It is determined by clicking on 028c. Further, the information of the information server 1046 can be downloaded by operating software such as a WWW browser in the PC device 1028.

[0008] Even in this case, as in the case shown in FIG. 18, the user of the PC device 1028 selects the connection destination of the PC device 1028 to execute the wireless communication. Further, the connection destination once selected cannot be automatically switched during communication. For this reason, for example, even when the PC device 1028 connected to the private network 1040 moves indoors and the connection needs to be switched to the PHS network 1050, the private network 1040 is temporarily
It is necessary to disconnect the communication with the PHS network 105 and then reconnect to the PHS network 105. Therefore, a complicated operation is required for the user.

Also, as a problem common to both the cases of FIGS. 18 and 19, when switching between two radios, each radio is independent, so the physical layer and MAC layer of the radio are There is a problem that each is necessary.
Furthermore, in the case of FIG. 19, the logic L for data communication is used.
Since SI and the like are also required for both, there is a problem that the weight, power consumption, and cost of the wireless device are required for almost two units.

[0010] Further, conventionally, a separate system has been constructed for each radio frequency.
Not only EE802.11 but also Home RF and Bluetooth
A plurality of systems such as ooth use the same frequency band. However, since the devices of each system are independent, it is necessary to connect a plurality of wireless terminals as shown in FIG. 19, even in the same frequency band, as described above. Similarly, in the 5.2 GHz band and the 5.3 GHz band, a plurality of wireless systems are expected to share the frequency.

[0011] In addition, since the switching of the wireless device of the wireless terminal device is performed manually by the user, the wireless communication system to be connected must be changed each time the location changes. If the communication contents are different even in the same place, it is necessary to switch the radios. Furthermore, since a plurality of wireless devices cannot be selected at the same time, communication of a plurality of contents such as making a call while viewing an image cannot be realized.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and according to the contents of an application, the state of communication, the state of a user, the surrounding environmental conditions, and the like, a wireless communication system of a connection destination. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless terminal device that can automatically switch between.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a wireless terminal device connectable to each of a plurality of wireless communication systems employing different communication systems, When communicating with any one of them, from among a plurality of radio transmission paths formed between the radio base stations of the plurality of radio communication systems, based on a predetermined radio transmission path selection criterion, The wireless terminal device includes an optimum wireless transmission path selecting unit that can select an optimum wireless transmission path at any time.

According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically switch the connection destination wireless communication system in accordance with the state of the user. Therefore, annoying operation by the user is reduced, and the operation of the application can be performed appropriately.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. Hereinafter, a wireless terminal device according to the present invention will be described first, and then a wireless communication system and a wireless communication method according to the present invention will be described using six embodiments.

(Wireless Terminal Device According to the Present Invention) FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a wireless communication system including a wireless terminal device according to the present invention. The wireless communication system includes a first communication network 10 for performing private communication, second and third communication networks 12 and 14 for performing public connection, and first, second and third communication networks.
Connected to the communication networks 10, 12, and 14, respectively.
Via the second and third wireless base stations 16, 18, and 20, and the first, second, and third wireless base stations 16, 18, and 20, wireless communication is performed with the corresponding communication networks 10, 12, and 14, respectively. And a connectable wireless terminal device 22. Between the first communication network 10 and the second communication network 12,
An interface 24 is connected, and an interface 26 is connected between the second communication network 12 and the third communication network 14.

The wireless terminal device 22 according to the present invention comprises:
Wireless communication is realized for each of the second and third wireless base stations 16, 18, and 20. The wireless terminal device 22 has at least a wireless interface capable of communicating with each of the first, second, and third base stations 16, 18, and 20. Usually, not all of the communicable areas of the respective base stations 16, 18, and 20 overlap. Therefore, the radio terminal device 22 sets the radio base stations with which communication can be established as the first, second, and third radio base stations 16, 18, and 2.
0, and selects the most appropriate communication path from the communication performance required by the application. In FIG.
The wireless base station 16 is a Bluetooth or wireless LA
N, a wireless communication base station that realizes short-distance private communication such as home RF, a wireless base station 18 is a base station of a public mobile communication network such as a PDC, The wireless communication base station 109, which can perform stable communication even for high-speed movement, is a PHS.
It is a base station for public wireless communication that provides movement at a walking speed such as high-speed mobile access.

Next, the layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. The first example relates to a method of selecting a wireless device when the 2.4 GHz band is used for the wireless unit. In this first example, Bluetooth, home RF, IEEE80
The physical layer and the MAC layer respectively corresponding to 2.11 (including IEEE802.11b; the same applies hereinafter) are independently configured. The wireless switching control middleware (RLC) implements the communication quality required by the application (AP) by switching the wireless devices, and furthermore, the QOS management unit ensures that the quality required by the user application is ensured. Retransmission control and flow control are performed on the LLC layer or the TCP layer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second example of the layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. In the second example, an application management control unit that manages QoS requirements of a user application and a radio management control middleware (RLC) are provided. Further, the physical layer and MA
The C layer is a switchable wireless system that can be flexibly connected using the same hardware like a software defined radio. Based on the QoS information requested from the application management control unit, the wireless management control middleware (R
LC) controls the software defined radio and the required Q
The software radio is controlled so as to satisfy the oS information. The wireless device connected in this case is, for example, Bl
Bluetooth, home RF, and IEEE 802.11 are conceivable.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a third example of the layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. In the third example, as the physical layer, Bluetooth, home RF, IEEE
Data link, I for each system such as E802.11
P, TCP / UDP, etc. Furthermore, an application management control unit for requesting communication quality from a user application, a device for monitoring the state of a terminal or a user using a battery or a sensor, and an interface switching control middleware for switching an interface provided for each system, Have. The application management control unit switches the system interface to which the communication middleware is connected in accordance with a predetermined algorithm based on communication quality required by the user application, information indicating the state of the terminal or the user obtained from the battery / sensor, or the like. Thereby, an appropriate wireless device is selected.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a fourth example of the layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. The fourth example relates to a method of selecting a wireless device when a 5 GHz band is used, for example. The fourth example includes an application management control unit, a radio management control middleware (RLC), and the like. The MAC layer realizes differences between systems by software. Further, the physical layer includes:
For the 2 GHz band and for the 5.3 GHz band, respectively. The application management control unit transmits the communication quality requested by the application to the radio management control middleware unit (RLC), determines the radio device to be connected in the radio management control middleware unit, and makes it correspond to the system that connects the MAC layer. A desired wireless system is realized by connecting to a necessary physical layer.

(First Embodiment) Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 shows the first embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. In FIG. 6, as a communication partner of the wireless terminal device 22, the first communication network 10 includes an information server 30 configured by individually stored information such as mail, and the second communication network 12 includes advertising information. The information server 32 and the third communication network 14 are connected to an information server 34 composed of multimedia information including moving images and still images, respectively. The wireless terminal device 11 communicates with these information servers 30, 3
A communication destination is selected from 2, 34.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, the wireless terminal device 22 requests the user based on the remaining battery power of the wireless terminal device 22, the performance of the display screen, the content of the request from the user, the communication quality requested by the application, the version information of the application, and the like. Information servers 30, 32 containing the content,
34, and the communication network 1 to be connected based on the result of the selection.
0, 12, and 14 are determined. For example, consider a case where multimedia information including a moving image is received from the information server 34. When the battery level of the wireless terminal device 22 is sufficient and the display device of the wireless terminal device 22 can display a high-definition moving image, the communication middleware of the wireless terminal device 22 communicates via the third communication network 14 The communication with the information server 34 is executed. The information provided from the information server 34 is large-capacity information mainly composed of moving images.
The wireless terminal device 22 connects to the wireless base station 20 via the wireless transmission path. Further, when the application of the wireless terminal device 22 requests the mail transfer from the information server 30 at the same time, or when the effect of lowering the communication fee by receiving the advertisement information from the information server 32 is expected, the necessity is increased. Accordingly, the interface 24,
26, information is received from the information servers 30 and 32.

When the use of the second wireless transmission line having a lower transmission speed than that of the third wireless transmission line is sufficient, the communication middleware of the wireless terminal device 22 requires the communication cost and power consumption. The communication with the information server 34 is performed via the second wireless transmission path and the second communication network 12, which is advantageous in terms of the above. In such a case, for example, when the remaining battery power is small, when the information transmission content requested by the application has a transmission speed lower than that of the third communication network 14, or when moving at a high speed, the third radio base station is used. Occurs for reasons such as being out of the area of the station 20.

Further, the first communication network 10 by private communication
If it is possible to connect to the wireless base station 16,
The second communication middleware includes a first wireless transmission path and a first wireless transmission path.
Communication with the information servers 30, 32, and 34 is performed via the communication network 10. In general, in the private communication, a communication fee is not charged each time communication is performed, so that inexpensive communication can be realized.

In general, the higher the transmission speed, the higher the power consumption in the same transmission method and the same transmission quality. Therefore, these selections are effective, for example, in extending the operation time of the wireless terminal device 22 by battery operation. Works. Further, since the communication distance is shorter in public wireless communication than in public wireless communication, by performing communication with a reduced transmission output, the operation time of the terminal by battery operation can be similarly extended.

Here, a specific configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 will be described. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the wireless terminal device 22.
The wireless terminal device 22 includes a communication control unit 2201, wireless reception units 2202a, 2202b, 2202c, a battery device 2203, an acceleration sensor 2204, a position sensor 2205, a terminal state determination unit 2206, a display device 2207, The input device 2208, the user application 2209, the wireless transmission units 2210a, 2210b,
2210c.

Next, the receiving operation of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the receiving operation of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. First, the communication control unit 2201 reads wireless reception information from the wireless reception units 2202a, 2202b, and 2202c, and determines an available wireless device from the wireless reception information (step S101). Subsequently, the display device 2
207, input device 2208, user application 2
209, each state is read, and a wireless device candidate to be actually used is determined from available wireless devices (step S102). Normally, the display device 2207 and the input device 22
The display device status information, the input device status information, and the requested QoS information output from the 08 and the user application 2209 are temporarily stored in a storage device (not shown) such as a memory, and then read into the communication control unit 2201.

Next, the terminal state determination unit 2206 acquires acceleration information and position information from the acceleration sensor 2204 and the position sensor 2205, and determines whether the wireless terminal device 22 is in an operable state (step S10).
3). Usually, the terminal state determination information is temporarily recorded in a storage device such as a memory (not shown). Then, the communication control unit 2201 determines the operation state of the wireless terminal device 22, that is, the operation state of the user of the wireless terminal device 22, based on the terminal state determination information stored in the storage device. The receiving performance required for the device 22 is determined (step S104). For example, when the user is not looking at the screen, it is not necessary to receive a real-time image. In this case, the transmission speed may be reduced to receive the image data.

Next, the communication control unit 2201 determines in step S
Based on the determination result of step 104, the narrowing down of the wireless devices to be used is executed (step S105). The use candidate of the wireless device is not limited to one, and may be plural. However, in the case where there are a plurality, priority is given by a predetermined algorithm or the like. Then, one is selected from the wireless devices that are the use candidates (step S1).
06), the communication control unit 2201 determines whether or not communication is possible by the selected candidate,
The determination is made by referring to the wireless reception information from a, 2202b, and 2202c (step S107). And
If the candidate does not satisfy the condition (step S107N
O) If there is another next candidate (step S108YE)
If S), the process returns to step S106. On the other hand, if there is no next candidate (step S108 NO), the data reception is stopped (step S109), and the reception operation ends here.

If the wireless device selected in step S107 satisfies the conditions (step S107 YES), it is determined as a wireless device to be used (step S110). And
If there is another next candidate (step S111 YES), the process returns to step S106. On the other hand, if there is no next candidate (step S111: NO), the communication control unit 2201
Transmits a receiver control signal to the wireless receivers 2202a, 2202b, and 2202c, selects an optimal wireless device for reception (step S112), starts data reception (step S113), and performs a reception operation of the wireless terminal device 22. Ends.

Next, the transmission operation of the wireless terminal device 22 in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the transmission operation of the wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. First, the communication control unit 2201 checks whether there is data to be transmitted (step S20).
1). If there is no transmission data (step S20)
2NO), it is determined by means of a timer or the like whether or not to wait for transmission data, and if it is to be continued (step S2
13YES), and returns to step S201. When not continuing (step S213 NO), the data transmission is immediately stopped (step S210), and the transmission operation of the wireless terminal device 22 ends.

On the other hand, if there is transmission data (step S2
02YES), the communication control unit 2201 reads the terminal state determination information and determines whether the wireless terminal device 22 is in an operable state (step S203). Also, in this step S203, battery remaining amount information may be obtained from the battery-2203. Subsequently, the wireless terminal device 22
It is determined whether or not is ready for transmission (step S204). For example, user application 2
Even if 209 desires the user to transmit the camera image in real time, if it is determined in step S203 that the user is in a walking state, it is determined that a correct image cannot be transmitted (NO in step S204). ), The broadband communication required for the image signal is not performed (step S21)
0), and the like. Also, when it is determined from the battery remaining amount information that the remaining amount of the battery is small, it may be determined that the transmission operation is not possible. And
Here, the transmission operation ends.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the wireless terminal device 22 is ready for transmission (step S204Y).
ES), the communication control unit 2201 reads the wireless reception information (step S205), and determines a wireless device selection candidate (step S206). Here, the selection of the radio device selection candidate based on the radio reception information is usually performed because transmission and reception are performed in pairs with respect to the same radio base station, so that the broadcast information from the radio base station is received. This is because it is considered that transmission using an impossible wireless transmission path cannot be performed. However, for example, in the case of a hybrid wireless communication system that uses different wireless devices for transmission and reception, step S205, which is a reception state confirmation operation, can be omitted.

Then, one of the radios which is a selection candidate is selected (step S207), it is determined whether or not the radio can be transmitted. If the radio cannot be transmitted (step S207). (NO in S208), if there is another next candidate (YES in step S209), the process returns to step S207. On the other hand, if there is no next candidate (step S209N)
O), the data transmission is stopped (step S210), and the transmission operation ends here. Note that the above step S208
May be determined, for example, based on whether or not the broadcast information transmitted from the wireless base station can be received by the paired receiver.

On the other hand, if transmission is possible (step S208 YES), use of the wireless device is determined (step S211), and data transmission is started (step S21).
2) The transmission operation of the wireless terminal device 22 ends. In addition,
Reception as well as transmission may be performed simultaneously.

Here, the receiving operation of FIG.
For example, the prioritization of the selected wireless devices in the transmission operation may be performed as follows. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method of prioritizing the selected wireless devices. In the example of FIG. 10A, the transmission speed and the time unit price of the communication path 1 are a, A, and
This is the case where the transmission speed and unit price of the communication path 2 are b and B, respectively, and the transmission rate and unit price of the communication path 3 are c and C, respectively. In this case, the communication cost of each of the communication paths 1, 2, and 3 Are (A / a) M, (B / b) M, (C / c) M
Becomes Therefore, if the communication costs are lower in the order of the communication paths 2, 1, and 3, the priority order of the communication paths may be set in ascending order.

In the example of FIG. 10B, the communication path 1 is a time charging method in which a communication charge is determined according to time, the communication path 2 is a packet charging method in which a communication charge is determined according to the number of packets, and a communication method. Road 3 is a case of a flat rate. Here, assuming that the communication fee of the communication channel 2 is p per packet and the average packet length is 1, the marginal cost required for data transmission is (A /
a) It can be calculated as M, (M / 1) p, 0. In this case, if the communication cost is lower in the order of the communication paths 3, 2, 1,
The priority of the communication channel selection may be given in that order.

By having such a calculation table inside the terminal, it is possible to easily select a low-cost wireless communication path.

The prioritization of the communication paths can be performed not only by the communication cost as in the above example but also by using other factors. For example, in the case of a mobile terminal, when the remaining battery power is high, the communication path is determined by giving priority to the cost, and when the remaining battery power becomes low, the communication path is given priority to the communication path with lower power consumption. Should be determined. As a method of determining a communication path with low power consumption, not only the transmission speed, but also the reception electric field strength information from the base station is used to perform necessary transmission power control to the base station, and the base station is closest to the base station, and A wireless communication path with low power consumption can be selected.

Further, it is also possible to select a base station in accordance with the contents of the contents, instead of the selection based on the cost as in the above example. For example, in the example of FIG. 10 (c), in the case of fixed content whose data amount is expected to fall within a certain range, the communication channel 1 for which the fee is charged is used and the range of the data amount is not determined. In the case of non-volume type content such as real-time image transmission, among the communication channels for which the fee is charged, the communication channel 3 having a lower communication fee but a smaller area is preferentially selected, and then the communication fee is higher than the communication channel 3. However, the communication path 2 having a wide communication area is searched and selected.

By providing such a selection algorithm in the communication control unit, the power consumption of the terminal can be suppressed, and the terminal can be reduced in size, the communication time can be increased, and the communication fee can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described. The second embodiment shows a specific application example of the wireless communication system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11A, the communication system according to the second embodiment is connected to a first communication network 36, a second communication network 38, and a first communication network 36, and performs high-speed transmission. Possible first radio base station (eg, CDMA radio base station)
40, a second radio base station (for example, a PHS radio base station) 42 connected to the second communication network 38 and performing lower-speed transmission than the first radio base station 40, and first and second radio base stations. And a wireless terminal device 44 that wirelessly communicates with the wireless base stations 40 and 42. The wireless terminal device 44 includes an antenna 4401, a display device 4402, and a display device 44.
02 and an acceleration sensor 4403 provided in parallel with the O.02. The wireless terminal device 44 forms a high-speed wireless transmission path 46 with the first wireless base station 40 and forms a low-speed wireless transmission path 48 with the second wireless base station 42.

FIG. 11A shows a state where the user of the wireless terminal device 44 is just watching the image displayed on the display device 4402 of the wireless terminal device 44. In this case, the acceleration sensor 4 provided in the wireless terminal device 44
403 is located in such a direction that the wireless terminal device 44 detects the direction of gravity. Thereby, the acceleration sensor 4403 can detect that the display device 4402 of the wireless terminal device 44 is in the upward direction. This is because a mobile terminal having a screen display is usually located below the user's eyes and the screen is viewed. Therefore, if it detects that the terminal is in the upward direction,
It is possible to determine that the user is looking at the screen. If the user is watching a real-time image, for example, the wireless terminal device 44
A high-speed wireless transmission path 46 is formed with the wireless base station 40, and it is possible to display a real-time image without stress to the user while viewing the screen.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11B, when the display device 4402 of the wireless terminal device 44 is placed vertically or face down, it is generally considered that the user is not looking at the screen. Can be In this case, it is unnecessary to receive an image in real time. Therefore, the acceleration sensor 4
If it is detected by 403 that the wireless terminal device 44 is placed vertically or face down, communication of user data and the like are performed via the low-speed wireless communication path 48 through the second wireless base station 4.
Connect to 2. Thereby, data communication can be realized without performing high-speed wireless communication with large power consumption. Therefore, the battery specification ratio of the wireless terminal device 44 can be reduced. Further, in the case of FIG.
By turning off the display of, the power consumption can be further reduced.

As the acceleration sensor 4403 in FIG.
For example, ADXL202JC manufactured by Analog Devices, which is a two-dimensional acceleration sensor, may be used. With this acceleration sensor, it is possible to detect the positional relationship of the terminal with respect to the gravitational direction based on the two-axis composite acceleration. Also, when the terminal is in the acceleration / deceleration state, the accurate direction of gravity cannot be detected. However, by adding another acceleration sensor in the direction of the third dimension, the direction of gravity in the three dimensions can be more improved. It is possible to grasp accurately.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the high-speed wireless transmission path 46 is used only for the downlink from the first wireless base station 40 to the wireless terminal device 44, and the low-speed wireless communication path 48 is used for the uplink. You may use it. In this case, the power consumption is further reduced and the wireless terminal device 44
By reducing the number of components, the terminal price can be reduced.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described. The third embodiment also shows a specific application example of the wireless communication system according to the first embodiment, as in the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 12, a wireless terminal device 50 includes a first wireless base station 54 installed in the house 52 for home use and a second public wireless base station installed outside the house 52 in the house 52. It is assumed that at least the radio wave of the wireless base station 56 can be received. The wireless terminal device 50 in the house 52
By channel switching, it is possible to connect to both the first wireless base station 54 and the second wireless base station 56,
The first wireless base station 54 broadcasts an ID indicating that it is a home wireless base station in the house 52 on a part of the broadcast channel, and the second wireless base station 56 similarly broadcasts the broadcast channel. It is assumed that an ID indicating a public wireless base station is partially reported.

In this case, the wireless terminal device 50 can perform stable quality communication by giving priority to the connection to the first wireless base station 54, and further, the radio wave is attenuated by the wall of the house 52. Therefore, connection can be made with reduced radio wave interference to the outside.

When the wireless terminal device 50 moves from the inside of the house 52 to the outside, since the same wireless frequency is used, even when connecting to the second wireless base station 56,
The connection can be made using the same transmission / reception circuit, which makes it possible to reduce the size and cost of the terminal.

To determine whether the mobile terminal is inside or outside the house 52, the reception electric field strength of the broadcast information of the first radio base station 54 is measured, and the reception electric field strength of the first radio base station 54 is determined to be a predetermined value. If the threshold is exceeded, the first radio base station 54
It is possible by connecting to. Further, as another method, it is also possible to determine the inside and outside of the house from the reference of the position information of the terminal and the map information by using a method using the surrounding illuminance or using a GPS (positioning satellite).

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 shows an image captured by the digital camera device 62 and a server device 74 connected to the communication network 72.
2 shows a case of indirect transfer.

First, in FIG. 13A, the digital camera device 62 is located inside a building 66 such as a museum or a hall. Therefore, the wireless communication device built in the digital camera device 62 is a wireless base station 68 of the communication network 72.
And cannot be directly connected to the wireless base station 68. In such a case, the wireless terminal device 64 once receives the image in the digital camera device 62 and stores the image therein. Delivery of this image,
The wireless system may be different from the wireless system for the wireless base station 68. For example, the digital camera device 62 and the wireless terminal device 64 may be temporarily connected by Bluetooth. The wireless terminal device 64 is always in contact with the outside of the user's body, for example, in the shape of a wristwatch.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, the user of the wireless terminal device 64 goes out of the building 66 and moves into the communication area 70 of the wireless base station 68. At this time, it is assumed that the digital camera device 62 is carried in a metal bag 76. In this case, the digital camera device 62 cannot be connected to the wireless base station 68 due to radio wave attenuation caused by the metal bag 76. However, since the wireless terminal device 64 is visible outside the body such as a wristwatch, the wireless terminal device 64 can be connected to the wireless base station 68 and transmit the stored data from the digital camera device 62 to the server device 74 via the communication network 72. Of course, it may be transmitted to another communication terminal device instead of the server device 74.

According to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, when the digital camera device 62 does not have a connection device that can be used to connect to the radio base station 68, or even if there is a connection device, the digital camera device 62 transmits the data directly. Even in the situation where the wireless base station 6 cannot be used, the wireless base station 6
8 enables wireless data transmission to be performed asynchronously.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 14, a first wireless terminal device 78 is a wireless terminal device provided with a display device, such as a PDA (Personal Didigal Assistent). Also, the second
Wireless terminal device 80 can be connected to both first wireless terminal device 78 and wireless base station 82, and is always exposed to the outside like a wristwatch.

FIG. 14A shows that the first and second wireless terminal devices 78 and 80 allow the user to use the automatic ticket gate 8 in the station yard.
4 is shown. Here, the information server 8
Although there is data such as an electronic mail from 8 to the first wireless terminal device 78, it is assumed that the first wireless terminal device 78 is in a bag and cannot communicate with the wireless base station 82 due to radio wave attenuation. This is because, for example, in the case of a high frequency such as the 5 GHz band, communication becomes difficult in a situation where it is impossible to see. In such a case, the data addressed to the first wireless terminal device 78 is temporarily received by the second wireless terminal device 80 that is easily connected, and is stored in the storage device of the first wireless terminal device 80.

Then, as shown in FIG. 14B, the user transfers the data once stored in the second wireless terminal device 80 to the first wireless terminal device 78 in the railway vehicle 90. It is possible to display a moving image or the like on the first wireless terminal device 78.

(Sixth Embodiment) Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described. FIGS. 15A and 15B are diagrams for explaining a communication system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15A is a schematic configuration diagram, and FIG.
3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gateway server of FIG.

In FIG. 15A, for example, it is assumed that the user carrying the wireless terminal device 92 loses consciousness due to an accident and cannot call a hospital. in this case,
The wireless terminal device 92 detects that the user is in a dangerous state, automatically reports the information to a necessary place, and assists the user in rescue.

Specifically, the wireless terminal device 92 monitors the health condition of the user and, when detecting a dangerous condition, connects to the wireless base station 94 and notifies the gateway server 96 of an emergency signal. This uses, for example, a message ID of a type to notify danger, but not only a fixed number such as 119, but also a special number according to the danger state of the user can be notified.

As shown in FIG. 15B, inside the gateway server 96, the table 1 in the communication control unit 98
00, for example, the user's family doctor 1
An emergency call is displayed on the terminal 106 by the call number 02. Alternatively, an emergency call can be displayed on the communication terminal device 110 based on the call number of the fire department or the emergency center 108, and an ambulance can be dispatched. In this case, the call order is listed in the table 100, but the call destination can be changed depending on the danger state.

The gateway server 96 can also notify the concerned person 112 of danger by calling the terminal 114 of the related person 112 such as a relative via the radio base station 116. Further, the gateway server 96
Instead of switching the call destination by using the table 100, the service provider 118 may perform the call function of each of the communication terminating devices 104 on behalf of, for example.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another configuration of the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 16, the wireless terminal device 12
When the user 0 detects that the user is dangerous, such as falling down due to an accident or illness on the go, he calls a preset emergency contact number via the wireless base station 124, so that the hospital 126 , The fire station and the emergency center 128 are notified of the danger to the terminal device 134 via the communication terminating devices 130 respectively. The fire station or emergency center staff 136 or the medical staff 138 detects the danger of the user by looking at each terminal 134, and promptly arranges the dispatch of an ambulance or the like. Thereby, it is possible to rescue the user. Also, the wireless terminal device 1
20 notifies the emergency information to the gateway device 144 of the house 142 of the related person 140 such as a relative to display the emergency information on the user terminal device 148 via the local wireless base station 146, and the related person 140 Can inform you of danger.

In FIG. 16 described above, the location information of the user can be known based on the base station ID broadcast from the radio base station 124, for example, and the terminal device 134, 1
The display at 48 enables quick and accurate rescue. Also, instead of searching the wireless terminal device 120 using the table of the call destination, the service provider 150 holds the table of the call destination, and the wireless terminal device 120 searches for the service provider 1
The service provider 150 notifies the fire station or the emergency center 12 by notifying the user 50 of the danger state.
8. It is also possible to call the hospital 126 or the party 140.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the wireless terminal devices 92 and 120 shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. In FIG. 17, the wireless terminal device includes an infrared sensor 152, a camera device 154, and an acceleration sensor 156.
, A pulse wave sensor 158, a position sensor 160, a health management information storage unit 162, an image processing unit 164, a user state determination unit 166, a communication control unit 168, a communication destination list 170, and a communication processing unit 172. And a wireless receiving unit 174;
And a wireless transmission unit 176.

In the wireless terminal device shown in FIG. 17, based on the measurement information of the infrared sensor 152 or the image signal of the camera device 154, the face, eyes,
The body state is processed by the image processing unit 164, and an image processing signal as a processing result is transmitted to the user state determination unit 166. Further, the user state determination unit 166 receives the acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 156, the pulse wave information from the pulse wave sensor 158, and the position signal from the position sensor 160, and determines the state of the user's body. Further, the user state determination unit 166 monitors the state of the user's body by referring to the health management information stored in the health management information storage unit 162 as necessary.

When the user state determination unit 166 detects an abnormality or danger in the user's body state, it transmits a user state determination signal indicating danger to the communication control unit 168. The communication control unit 168 stores the ID of the communication destination of the user.
Is read out from the communication destination list 170 storing the call ID of the user's family doctor or the like, and a communication control signal is transmitted to the communication processing unit 172. Communication processing section 172 outputs a receiver control signal and a transmitter control signal to wireless receiving section 174 and wireless transmitting section 176, respectively, and performs transmission and reception of reception data and transmission data.

[0071]

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a wireless terminal device capable of automatically switching the connection destination wireless communication system in accordance with the state of the user and the like. For this reason, switching by the user becomes unnecessary, and the user does not need to perform a troublesome switching operation. In addition, the application of the wireless terminal device can be more appropriately operated by the automatic switching.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a wireless communication system including a wireless terminal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a second example of a layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a fourth example of the layer configuration of the wireless terminal device 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a wireless communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless terminal device 22 of FIG. 6;

8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a reception operation of the wireless terminal device 22 in FIG.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a transmission operation of the wireless terminal device 22 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method of prioritizing wireless devices.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a communication system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another configuration of the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 shows a wireless terminal device 92, 1 shown in FIGS. 15 and 16;
20 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional wireless communication system.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of a conventional wireless communication system.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 12, 14, 36, 38, 58, 72, 86, 1
20,150 Communication network 16,18,20,40,42,54,56,68,8
2,94,116,124,146,1014,101
6,1048 wireless base stations 22,44,50,64,78,80,92,114,
122,148,1004 Wireless terminal device 24,26,60,96,144,1042 Interface (inter-network connection device) 28,30,32,34,74,88,1026,10
46 information server 46 high-speed wireless transmission path 48 low-speed wireless transmission path 52,142 house 62 digital camera device 66 building 70 communication area 76 bag 84 automatic ticket gate 90 railroad car 98 communication control unit 100 table 102 doctor 104,130 communication terminal 106, 110, 134 Communication terminal device 108, 128 Fire department, emergency center 112, 140 Related persons such as relatives 118 Service provider 126 Hospital 136 Fire department or emergency center staff 138 Medical staff 152 Infrared sensor 154 Camera device 156, 2204, 4403 Acceleration sensor 158 Pulse wave sensor 160, 2205 Position sensor 162 Health management information storage unit 164 Image processing unit 166 User status determination unit 168 Communication control unit 170 Communication destination list 172 Communication processing unit 1 74, 2202 Wireless receiving unit 176, 2210 Wireless transmitting unit 1000 PHS network 1002 PDC network 1006 Display unit 1008 Numeric keypad 1010, 1012 Wireless antenna 1018, 1052 Access server 1020, 1044 Internet 1022, 1024, 1054 Communication destination terminal 1028 PC device 1028a PCMCIA Card slot 1028b Icon 1028c Mouse cursor 1030 PHS data communication card 1032 Wireless LAN card device 1034 PHS terminal 1036 Master device 1038 Ethernet 1040 Private network 1050 PHS network 2201 Communication control unit 2203 Battery 2206 Terminal state determination unit 2207, 4402 Display device 2208 Input Device 2209 User application 4401 Antenna

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 7/24 7/26 7/30 F term (Reference) 5K027 AA11 AA12 BB01 CC08 EE11 FF02 FF22 KK03 MM04 MM17 5K033 AA04 CB14 DA19 5K034 AA11 AA19 EE03 JJ11 5K067 AA21 BB03 BB04 BB21 CC04 CC10 DD17 DD52 DD53 EE02 EE03 EE10 EE16 EE32 EE37 FF23 HH22 HH23 JJ52

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A wireless terminal device connectable to each of a plurality of wireless communication systems employing different communication systems, wherein when communicating with any of the plurality of wireless communication systems, the plurality of wireless communication systems From among a plurality of radio transmission paths formed between the radio base stations of the respective radio communication systems, based on a predetermined radio transmission path selection criterion, an optimal radio transmission path can be selected at any time. A wireless terminal device comprising means. 2. An optimum communication destination device capable of selecting an optimum communication destination device from a plurality of communication destination devices connected to each of the plurality of wireless communication systems based on a predetermined communication destination device selection criterion. The wireless terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising a selection unit. 3. The wireless terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the connection to the communication destination device is realized via at least two of the plurality of wireless communication systems. 4. An optimum wireless transmission line and a wireless communication system used for connection to the communication destination device, based on a predetermined connection route selection criterion, among the plurality of wireless transmission lines and the wireless communication system. The wireless terminal device according to claim 3, further comprising an optimal wireless route selecting means that can be selected at any time. 5. The wireless transmission path selection criterion, the communication destination apparatus selection criterion, and the connection path selection criterion include a state of the wireless terminal apparatus, a situation of a user of the wireless terminal apparatus, and a communication between the wireless terminal apparatus and the communication destination Communication contents between the device, the state of the communication destination device, the state of the wireless transmission path, and,
The wireless terminal device according to claim 4, further comprising at least one of cost and power consumption required for communication between the wireless terminal device and the communication destination device. 6. A first communication network comprising a wireless terminal device having a display screen, a first wireless base station forming a first wireless transmission path with the wireless terminal device, and the wireless terminal A second wireless transmission line having a lower transmission speed than the first wireless transmission line with the device;
A second communication network including a wireless base station, wherein the wireless terminal device detects a direction of gravity, and a display direction of the display screen based on a detection result from the detector. Means for determining the correlation with the user's line of sight of the wireless terminal device; and selecting one of the first and second wireless base stations based on a determination result from the determination means. And a wireless communication system. 7. When it is determined that the display direction of the display screen matches the line of sight of the user, the determination means selects a connection with the first wireless base station, and 7. The wireless communication system according to claim 6, wherein if it is determined that the display direction of the user does not match the line of sight of the user, the connection with the second wireless base station is selected. 8. A public network, a first communication network provided with a first wireless base station, and a local area network adopting the same communication system as the first communication network, A second communication network including a wireless base station, and a wireless terminal device connectable to each of the first and second wireless base stations, wherein each of the first and second wireless base stations is When communicating with a wireless terminal device, the wireless terminal device notifies each of the first and second wireless base stations of unique identification information, and the wireless terminal device identifies a connection destination wireless base station by notification of the identification information. And selecting an optimal connection destination radio base station. 9. The wireless communication system according to claim 8, wherein said wireless terminal device further comprises means for acquiring position information of said wireless terminal device. 10. A communication network having a wireless base station, a first wireless terminal device connectable to the wireless base station, and a wireless network connectable to the first wireless terminal device, and A second wireless terminal device that cannot be connected, and the data held inside the second wireless terminal device is:
Due to the connection between the first and second wireless terminal devices, the data is temporarily held in the first terminal device, and the once held data is stored in the first wireless terminal device and the wireless terminal device. A wireless communication system transmitted to the communication network by connection with a base station. 11. The second wireless terminal device is located outside a communication area of the wireless base station, or a wireless transmission path formed between the second wireless terminal device and the wireless base station is interrupted. The wireless communication system according to claim 10, wherein: 12. A communication network provided with a wireless base station, a first wireless terminal device connectable to the wireless base station, and a wireless network connectable to the first wireless terminal device, and A second wireless terminal device that cannot be connected, and the data transmitted from the communication network, the connection between the wireless base station and the first wireless terminal device, the data of the first terminal device Once held therein, and the once held data is transmitted to the second wireless terminal device by connection with the first and second wireless terminal devices. Wireless communication system. 13. The second wireless terminal device is disposed outside a communication area of the wireless base station, or a wireless transmission path formed between the second wireless terminal device and the wireless base station is interrupted. The wireless communication system according to claim 12, wherein: 14. A communication network including a plurality of wireless base stations, a wireless terminal device connectable to each of the wireless base stations, and information specifying each of a plurality of connection destinations of the wireless terminal device specified in advance. With the described table,
A connection destination selection unit that selects a connection destination of the wireless terminal device with reference to the table, wherein the wireless terminal device monitors a state of a user of the wireless terminal device as needed, and the user Means for transmitting an emergency signal when it is detected as being in a dangerous state, wherein the connection destination selecting means transmits an emergency signal from the wireless terminal device transmitted through any of the wireless base stations. Receiving a wireless communication device, selecting a connection destination of the wireless terminal device. 15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the connection destination means is provided in a gateway server connected between the wireless base station grounded in the home of the user and the communication network. A wireless communication system according to claim 1. 16. The wireless communication system according to claim 14, wherein said connection destination means is provided in a service provider connected to said communication network.