JP2004062342A - Relay computer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically select a communication means optimum to contents to be acquired and to present information useful for the efficiency of user's operation. <P>SOLUTION: A relay computer for relaying data communication between communication devices using a plurality of communication means is provided with a switching decision script part for selecting a communication means in accordance with contents and instructs the communication devices to switch the communication means to the one selected by the switching decision script part in accordance with the contents analyzed by a message analysis part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to switching of communication means of a communication device having a plurality of communication means, and more particularly to switching of communication means of a plurality of wireless communication means according to the type of communication data and the position of the communication device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, various wireless data communication networks such as IMT-2000, PHS, and PDC have been used along with an increase in needs for mobile Internet. On the other hand, at public facilities such as underground shopping malls, stations, and airports, hot spots that provide local wireless data communication services using a short-range wireless system such as IEEE 802.11 or Bluetooth are attracting attention. Conventional wide-area wireless networks such as IMT-2000, PHS, and PDC have a wide service area, low speed, expensive and pay-as-you-go billing, and high confidentiality, whereas hot spots have a local, high-speed and inexpensive service area. -It has features such as flat rate and low confidentiality. FIG. 17 shows an example.
[0003]
As described above, the current portable terminal has a plurality of wireless communication means, and the user has selectively used the communication means as needed. Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-355322, entitled "Method of combining a wireless terminal device with a data transmission network and a wireless terminal device", a user registers a switching criterion such as charge priority, speed priority, or safety priority. In addition, a terminal device that automatically switches communication means based on static information such as charging information of each communication network and a standard transmission speed when a plurality of available networks exist is disclosed. .
[0004]
However, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-355322, once the communication means is switched, until the communication network in use goes out of service or into a better communication network, regardless of the communication content, This is a static switching method in which the network is fixed.
[0005]
In such a static switching method, first, there is a problem that switching cannot be performed according to communication contents. For example, even if important data such as a card number of a credit card or a confidential document is once connected to a hot spot, the data is transmitted and received via the communication network with low confidentiality, which poses a security problem. In such a case, it is necessary to temporarily switch to a highly confidential wireless communication network.
[0006]
Further, it is difficult for the user to perform communication by predicting the contents of the communication in advance. That is, unless the content is actually downloaded from the server, the content of the communication cannot be known. For example, there is a case where the selected URL is a homepage including a large image, or a case where a confidential document is accidentally attached to a received mail. Therefore, the user obtains the large content by downloading it at a cheap and high-speed hot spot, and by downloading the content requiring secure communication through a highly confidential wide area wireless network. It was necessary to manually switch the wireless data communication network while always being aware of the content. In particular, when using hot spots, the service areas are local and scattered, so that in addition to being conscious of the content to be acquired, it is necessary to check the service areas one by one using a map or the like, which is complicated.
[0007]
In addition, when acquiring content, there is an inconvenience that the user has to determine whether it is more efficient to acquire the content now or whether it is better to acquire the content later in an appropriate place. For example, consider a case where a user downloads content over a wide area wireless network while moving. If you pass by a hotspot during downloading, it is more efficient to collectively download at a hotspot that is completed in a short time without using a wide area wireless network from the beginning. On the other hand, if the download is completed on the wide area wireless network before reaching such a hot spot, the work efficiency of the user will be improved by using the wide area wireless network as it is. As described above, it is difficult for the user to determine when and where to obtain the content.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the present invention, the communication means optimal for the content to be obtained is automatically selected without the user being conscious of the communication content, and at this time, information useful for improving the efficiency of the user's work is presented. It is aimed at.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above object is a message analyzing unit that analyzes data communication contents in a relay computer that relays data communication between communication devices using a plurality of communication means, A switching determination script unit that selects a communication unit according to the content, and instructs the communication device to switch to the communication unit selected by the switching determination script unit according to the content analyzed by the message analysis unit. Is a relay computer.
[0010]
According to the configuration described above, the content of the data communication is analyzed by the message analysis unit, and the communication apparatus can select the most appropriate communication means according to the content by the switching determination script unit. The switching determination of the switching determination script unit can be programmed by a redefinable script.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the relay computer according to the first aspect, further comprising a terminal information management unit that manages information on a plurality of communication devices that perform data communication.
[0012]
According to the above configuration, the relay computer can distinguish a plurality of communication devices, and can relay communication between the plurality of communication devices.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the relay computer according to the first or second aspect, if the data size of the content is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, the switching determination script unit selects a higher-speed communication unit. It is a relay computer.
[0014]
According to the above configuration, it is possible to automatically select an inexpensive and high-speed communication means such as a wireless LAN when receiving content such as an image or moving image data having a large data size.
[0015]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the relay computer according to the first or second aspect, if confidentiality is required for communication of the content, the switching determination script unit selects a communication means having higher confidentiality. It is a relay computer characterized by the following.
[0016]
According to the above configuration, in communication of content requiring confidentiality of communication such as a card number or a top secret document, by switching from a communication means such as a wireless LAN having a problem with confidentiality to a conventional wide area wireless network or the like. It is possible to automatically select a highly confidential communication means.
[0017]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the relay computer according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a service area management unit storing a service area for each communication unit, and a user storing a user preference of the communication device An information management unit, and when the communication means selected by the switching determination script unit cannot be used, a distance between the position of the service area nearest to the communication means and the position information is calculated, and the user's preference is calculated. A relay computer that, when it is determined that the mobile device can be moved, instructs the communication device to perform the communication of the content when the mobile device moves into the service area.
[0018]
According to the above configuration, when it is desirable to receive a large content having a large data size by a broadband communication means such as a wireless LAN, when the communication device is out of the wireless LAN service area, a user who has previously stored the mobile device can move. If there is a wireless LAN service area within a distance, the communication device is instructed to receive the content when moving into the service area. Can be received by a broadband communication means such as a wireless LAN.
[0019]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the relay computer according to the third aspect, a service area management unit that stores a service area for each communication unit and a user information management unit that stores route information of a user of the communication device. The terminal information management unit further stores the moving speed of the communication device, and when the communication means selected by the switching determination script unit cannot be used, the message analysis unit detects the data size of the data communication and detects the current data size. The communication time of the data amount is measured from the communication speed of the communication means being used, and the movement between the position of the service area of the communication means that arrives next from the route information and the current position stored in the position information is measured. Determine the distance, calculate the travel time from the travel speed to the service area, if the communication time is shorter than the travel time, use the current The data communication by the communication means is continued, and when the movement time is shorter than the communication time, the communication device is instructed to perform the communication of the content when the communication device moves into the service area. It is a relay computer.
[0020]
According to the above configuration, when the communication time is shorter when the content is received by the current communication means than when the mobile device moves to the service area of the broadband communication means such as the wireless LAN, the communication by the current communication means is performed. If the path to continue and move shortly through the service area of the broadband communication means such as a wireless LAN has already been set, after moving to the service area rather than continuing the communication by the current communication means, The content can be received using the communication means.
[0021]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the relay computer according to the fourth aspect, when it is necessary to use highly confidential communication for a part of the content, the content is divided and the switching is performed for each of the divided content. A relay computer characterized in that a determination script unit instructs a communication device to perform the communication with a selected communication means.
[0022]
According to the above configuration, when a homepage of an auction is browsed on a communication device by a communication means having a confidentiality problem such as a wireless LAN, when a data related to a bid price, which is confidential information in the homepage, is received. By using a communication means in a conventional wide area wireless network or the like in which confidentiality is ensured from a wireless LAN, a part of content related to confidential information can be used by a highly confidential communication means, and other contents can be used like a wireless LAN. Broadband communication means can be used.
[0023]
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the relay computer according to any one of the third to seventh aspects, a content cache unit for temporarily storing the content is provided, and a communication unit selected by the switching determination script unit is used. If the communication computer cannot be used, the content is stored in the content cache unit until the communication device can use the communication unit.
[0024]
According to the above configuration, when the switching determination script section selects the wireless LAN as the optimal communication means for certain moving image data stored in the server, and when the communication device is outside the service area of the wireless LAN, the communication device The user is instructed to move into the service area, and during the movement, the relay device receives the moving image data from the server and stores it in the content cache unit, so that the communication device is in the service area. When moving, the moving image data can be promptly received.
[0025]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0026]
The content communicated by data communication is characters, images, moving images, binary data, and the like, and has, for example, the size of the content, the type of the content, and the like as the attribute information. The content type is described in a MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) format such as “application / pdf”, “video / x-ms-wmv”, or the like.
[0027]
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the present application.
[0028]
The wireless data communication network 105 is a base station for wireless data communication, and enables the mobile terminal 101 in a service area to communicate using the communication network 104. The wireless data communication network 105 is, for example, a PDC (Personal Digital Cellular system) network, and the wireless system of the hot spot is IEEE802.11g. A hot spot is a wireless LAN base station. The service area of the PDC covers the entire area of Japan without any gaps, but the service area of the hot spot of the IEEE802.11g method is a few hundred meters at the maximum and intermittently exists. Also, PDC has features such as a higher fee, a pay-as-you-go (time billing, packet billing), a lower speed (9600 bps), and a higher confidentiality than a hot spot. On the other hand, hot spots are inexpensive, fixed-rate, high-speed (54 Mbps), but have low confidentiality.
[0029]
The mobile terminal 101 is an information processing terminal such as a notebook computer operated by a user. The terminal can be connected to the Internet via a PDC or a hot spot, is assigned an IP address that is a communication address on the Internet, and can communicate with a server and a relay computer on a company intranet. The mobile terminal in the present embodiment is, for example, a PDA, a notebook computer, a mobile phone, or the like.
[0030]
The server 102 stores content such as a homepage, an image, and a moving image, and can distribute the content to another computer through the communication network 104. A computer that is connected to the intranet of the company and can communicate with the mobile terminal, and returns a service response message to the service request message from the mobile terminal 101 by, for example, HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) or IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol). And a WWW server, a mail server, or the like.
[0031]
The relay computer 103 can relay the server 102 and the portable terminal 101.
[0032]
The communication network 104 is a communication network that enables communication between computers such as the server 102 and the mobile terminal 101, and corresponds to, for example, the Internet or an intranet.
[0033]
FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the relay computer 103.
[0034]
The service area management unit 201 stores and manages a service area for each wireless data communication network. From the position information of the mobile terminal 101, it is possible to determine which wireless data communication network can be used. Further, from the position information of the portable terminal 101, the distance and the position to the nearest base station of the specific wireless data communication network can be known.
[0035]
The user information management unit 202 stores and manages user preference information and route information registered by the user for each user ID.
[0036]
The switching determination script unit 203 can specify the optimal wireless data communication network for the content based on the attribute information of the data communication.
[0037]
The terminal information management unit 204 stores and manages terminal information of the plurality of mobile terminals 101 and user IDs of users who use the mobile terminals 101 for each terminal ID.
[0038]
The content cache unit 206 temporarily stores the content, and transmits a predetermined content in response to a content transmission request from the mobile terminal 101. For example, an HTTP server. In the present embodiment, communication is performed between the portable terminal 101 and the content cache 206 by the HTTP protocol, and the cache ID is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that uniquely identifies the content in the content cache unit. The server function unit 208 is a function capable of transmitting and receiving messages to and from the mobile terminal 101, and is a server socket in the present embodiment.
[0039]
The client function unit 209 is a function capable of transmitting and receiving messages to and from the server 102, and is a client socket in this embodiment.
[0040]
The message analysis unit 207 has a function of analyzing a message between the portable terminal 101 and the server 102 relayed by the server function unit 208 and the client function unit 209.
[0041]
The control unit 205 controls each function of the relay computer described above.
[0042]
FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the mobile terminal 101.
[0043]
The client program 301 is software for making a service request to the server 102, and is, for example, a WWW browser, a mailer, or the like.
[0044]
The content display external application 302 is an application program that handles content that cannot be processed by the client program 301. Examples of the content display external application 302 include “Acrobat Reader” for displaying a PDF document, and “MediaPlayer” for reproducing moving images and audio data.
[0045]
The application table 303 is a database that describes the relationship between the content type described in the MIME format and the content display external application 302 that can process the content, and is usually provided as a function of the operating system of the mobile terminal 101. . The client program 301 of the mobile terminal 101 searches the application table 303, and when the MIME type of the content is, for example, “application / pdf” or “video / x-ms-wmv”, the corresponding external application 302 for content display. Are “Acrobat Reader” and “MediaPlayer”, respectively.
[0046]
Similarly to the content display external application 302, the switching external application 304 is a helper application that executes a switching process when a switching command is passed from the client program 301 through a helper application common API. In the present embodiment, the MIME type of the switching command is “application / networkswitch”. By registering the switching external application 304 as a helper application corresponding to “application / network” in the application table 303 in advance, the client that has received the switching command from the relay computer 103 always calls the switching external application 304. be able to.
[0047]
The navigation unit 305 is software that displays a route from the current position to the destination on a map when coordinates of the destination are specified. The navigation unit 305 also has a function of transmitting the route information set by the user to the relay computer 103. Note that the route information in the present embodiment is a list of branch points passing from the current position to the destination.
[0048]
The reservation management unit 306 is a database that stores cache IDs reserved for each wireless data communication network.
[0049]
The terminal information transmitting unit 307 transmits terminal information of the mobile terminal 101 to the relay computer 103.
[0050]
The position measuring unit 308 can grasp the current position of the mobile terminal 101, and is, for example, a GPS receiver. It is also conceivable to estimate the current position from information on a mobile phone or a PHS base station.
[0051]
The network control unit 309 has a function of controlling a plurality of wireless data communication networks, and in this embodiment, corresponds to a communication driver of IEEE 802.11 or PDC.
[0052]
The speed measuring unit 310 is a device that measures the moving speed of the mobile terminal 101. Note that the distance may be calculated based on the moving distance per unit time based on information from the position positioning unit 308.
[0053]
FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.
[0054]
The relay computer 103 is connected to a network in the company intranet 405 together with the server 102. Now, it is assumed that the user accesses the server 102 in the intranet 405 of the company via the Internet 401 using the mobile terminal 101 and the wireless communication interface. In the present embodiment, the relay computer 103 is connected to the server 102 within the intranet 405 within the company, but may be connected via the Internet 401.
[0055]
The PDC base station 403 is a PDC base station, and is connected to the Internet 401 via a PDC network 402 of a mobile phone company.
[0056]
The IEEE 802.11g base station 404 is a hot spot base station, and is connected to the Internet 401 via an ADSL line or the like.
[0057]
FIG. 5 shows an example of the switching determination script. The switching determination script is a script used by the switching determination script unit 203 when selecting an optimal wireless data communication network for the content based on the attribute information of the data communication, and is a type of rewritable program. In the example of FIG. 5, when performing communication of content requiring confidentiality, the communication network is set to select FOMA, PHS, or PDC, and the data size of the content is larger than a predefined constant user_defined_size. In such a case, the communication network is set so as to select communication using a hot spot.
[0058]
FIG. 6 illustrates a storage example of the terminal information of the mobile terminal 101 stored and managed by the terminal information management unit 204.
[0059]
The terminal ID 601 is an ID that can individually recognize the mobile terminal 101 managed by the relay computer 103. The MAC address of the wireless LAN interface of the portable terminal 101 can be used.
[0060]
The communication interface 602 records a wireless communication interface that can be used by each of the mobile terminals 101.
[0061]
The used network type 603 indicates the currently used communication interface.
[0062]
The IP address stores each communication address used by the mobile terminal 101 in the TCP / IP protocol.
[0063]
The transmission speed 604 indicates the communication speed of the portable terminal 101 using the network type 603 used. The standard of the communication speed includes a current execution speed, an average speed, and a maximum speed.
[0064]
The position information 605 stores the position information of the mobile terminal 101.
[0065]
The moving speed is the moving speed of the mobile terminal 101. The mobile terminal 101 measures its own speed and periodically notifies the relay computer 103 of the speed. Alternatively, the mobile terminal 101 may calculate the moving speed based on the position information 605 of the mobile terminal 101.
[0066]
The user ID is an ID of a user using the mobile terminal 101.
[0067]
In the following embodiments, it is assumed that the available network types of the mobile terminal 101, that is, the wireless communication interfaces of the mobile terminal 101 are two types: a PDC using a mobile phone and a modem, and a hot spot using a wireless LAN. I do. In general, communication by PDC has a wide service area, low speed, expensive / pay-as-you-go billing, and high confidentiality, whereas communication by hot spot has a local service area, high speed, low cost / flat-rate charge, and confidentiality. There are characteristics such as low.
<First Embodiment> In the first embodiment, the user operates the portable terminal 101 to access the server 102 which is running the customer information service on the intranet 405 of the company from a hot spot outside the company.
[0068]
Although highly confidential communication is required to access the customer information service, this embodiment is an example in which the content is automatically switched to a highly confidential PDC when the content is accessed. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the PDC and the hot spot, which are communication interfaces of the mobile terminal 101, are both within a service area, and the user is currently communicating at the hot spot.
[0069]
First, terminal information managed by the terminal information management unit 204 of the relay computer 103 will be described. FIG. 7 shows an example of the terminal information update sequence. The network control unit 309 of the mobile terminal 101 changes the currently used communication interface. (Step 701). The reason why the network control unit 309 changes the communication interface is that the currently used communication interface is out of the service area of the base station, or that it is determined by the switching determination script unit 203 or by the user. It is conceivable that.
[0070]
The network control unit 309 sends a network status update notification to the terminal information transmission unit 307 as a communication interface change notification (step 702). The contents of the notification include the new network type 603 and the IP address 604.
[0071]
The terminal information transmitting unit 307 sends a terminal information update request to the terminal information managing unit 204 of the relay computer 103 via the network control unit 309 (Step 703). The contents of the notification include the terminal ID 601 of the portable terminal 101, the new network type 603, the IP address 604, and the like.
[0072]
Upon receiving the terminal information update request, the terminal information management unit 204 updates the network type 603 and the IP address 604 of the terminal information of the portable terminal 101 using the terminal ID 601 as a key (step 704).
[0073]
The terminal information management unit 204 notifies the terminal information transmission unit 307 of the mobile terminal 101 of the update completion notification of the terminal information of the mobile terminal 101 (step 705).
[0074]
Thus, the terminal information managed by the terminal information management unit 204 of the relay computer 103 is kept up to date.
[0075]
Next, FIG. 8 shows an example of an operation sequence of the present system in this embodiment, and FIG. 9 shows an example of a flowchart of the control unit 205 of the relay computer 103.
[0076]
First, the user operates the WWW browser, which is the client program 301, to specify the URL (www.fujitsu.co.jp/customer-information/index.html) of the HTTP-based customer information service of the server 102, An HTTP GET message, that is, a service request message is transmitted to the relay computer 103. Next, the relay computer 103 receives the HTTP GET message through the server socket, that is, the server function unit 208 (step 901). The network information 609 of the terminal information of the mobile terminal 101 is acquired from the terminal information management unit 204 using the source IP address 604 of the message as a key (step 902). The HTTP GET message is transferred to the server 102 by the client socket, that is, the client function 209 (step 801).
[0077]
The server 102 transmits the content specified by the URL to the relay computer 103 as an HTTP Response message, that is, a service response message (step 802). The relay computer 103 receives the service response message (step 903).
[0078]
The relay computer 103 that has received the message obtains the attribute information of the content by the message analyzer 207 (step 904). The attribute information of the content in the present embodiment is, for example, a content size of 2 KB and a content address on the Internet of www. Fujitsu. co. jp / customer-information / index. html. Next, the relay computer 103 specifies an optimal network for the content from the attribute information using the switching determination script shown in the figure (step 905). According to the switching determination script of FIG. 5, the optimal network for the content is determined to be FOMA, PHS, and PDC with high confidentiality. Therefore, the hotspot currently used by the portable terminal is not the optimal network (step 906). Also, since the PDC of the optimal network can be used in the portable terminal based on the network information of the terminal information management unit, the relay computer 103 can determine to switch to the PDC (steps 803 and 908). If it is determined in step 906 that the communication means currently used is the optimum network for the communication of the content, normal communication is continued using the current communication means (step 907). Also, in step 908, even when the portable terminal 101 does not have the communication means of the optimum network, normal communication is continued using the current communication means (step 909).
[0079]
The relay computer 103 stores the content in the content cache unit 206 and issues a cache ID of the content (step 910). As a switching command, text content in which an optimal network type name, ie, PDC "and a cache ID are described (step 911). Then, the content of the HTTP Response message is replaced with the switching command and transferred to the client program 301. (Steps 804 and 912) Also, the content-type header of the HTTP Response message is rewritten by the relay computer 103 to “application / networkswitch”.
[0080]
Next, the client program 301 that has received the HTTP Response message determines from the content-type that the content cannot be processed by itself, and determines from the application table 303 that the content-type, ie, “application / networkswitch” can be processed. The application 304 is searched, and the switching command is passed by using the helper application API to activate the switching external application 304 (step 805).
[0081]
The switching external application 304 switches to the PDC of the optimum network by using the network control 309 (step 806).
[0082]
The portable terminal 101 specifies the content to be received by the cache ID, that is, the URL, and requests the relay computer 103 (step 807).
[0083]
The relay computer 103 finally transmits the content specified by the PDC to the switching external application 304, and the switching external application 304 uses the helper application common API to convert the content to the content display external application 302. (Step 808).
[0084]
The content display external application 302 displays the transmitted content (step 809).
[0085]
When the transmission by the PDC of the content, which had to be transmitted by highly confidential communication, ends, and the communication is switched to the communication by the hot spot, the client program 301 similarly uses the existing API for the helper application to switch to the external application 304 for switching. , And the external application 302 for content display can be called from the external application 304 for switching by the existing API for the helper application. Only by adding the switching external application 304 to the mobile terminal 101 and changing the setting of the application table 303, neither the existing client program 301 nor the existing content display external application software 302 needs to be changed. These programs can be used for this embodiment as they are. Even when the communication means is not switched, the relay computer 103 merely relays the message between the client program 301 and the server 102 by the client function unit 209 and the server function unit 208. Can be available.
[0086]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, an inexpensive and high-speed hotspot is normally used, but only when accessing sensitive data such as a customer information service, the optimum wide area wireless network is automatically set for the content. By switching, it is possible to reduce communication costs and improve security.
<Second Embodiment> In the second embodiment, when a user downloads a large-sized content via the PDC using the portable terminal 101 and a hot spot which is an optimal communication means for the content is out of the service area, the user When the user moves into the hot spot service area, the relay computer 103 automatically reserves the content so that the content can be automatically reacquired.
[0087]
FIG. 10 shows an example of an operation sequence of the present system according to the second embodiment.
[0088]
It is assumed that the user operates a mailer compatible with the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) on the portable terminal 101 to download the file attached to the mail. First, the mailer, that is, the client program 301 transmits an IMAP FETCH request message to the relay computer. Upon receiving the message, the relay computer 103 searches for the terminal information of the portable terminal from the transmission source IP address, and transfers the message to the mail server, that is, the server 102 (step 1001).
[0089]
The relay computer 103 receives the content from the server 102 together with the FETCH response message (step 1002).
[0090]
The message analyzing unit 207 extracts attribute information of the content. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the content size is 1 Mbyte as the attribute information of the content. Next, as in the first embodiment, the relay computer 103 specifies an optimal network for the content by using the switching determination script from the network information 609 and the attribute information of the content. According to the switching determination script of FIG. 5, the most suitable network for the content is a hot spot. Since it is known from the network information that a hot spot can be used in the portable terminal 101, the relay computer 103 registers the content in the content cache unit as in the first embodiment, and replaces the content of the FETCH response message with the switching command. To the portable terminal 101 (step 1003). At this time, similarly to the first embodiment, the content-type is also rewritten to “application / networkswitch”.
[0091]
The client program 301 receives a FETCH response message as the switching command (step 1004).
[0092]
The switching external application 304 is called in the same manner as in the first embodiment. The switching external application 304 issues a switching request to the network control unit 309 to switch to the hot spot (step 1005).
[0093]
However, since the hot spot is currently out of the service area, the network control unit 309 notifies the switching external application 304 that the hot spot is outside the service area (step 1006).
[0094]
The switching external application 304 makes a reservation to the reservation management unit 306 so as to re-acquire the content corresponding to the cache ID at the hot spot, and ends (step 1007).
[0095]
Next, it is assumed that the user has moved into the hot spot service area. Then, the network control unit 309 notifies the reservation management unit 306 that the hot spot is available, and the reservation management unit 306 issues a switching request to the network control unit 309 that could not be executed in step 1005 (step 1008). .
[0096]
Since it is within the service area of the hot spot, the communication means normally switches to the hot spot (step 1009).
[0097]
The reservation management unit 306 specifies the cache ID and requests the relay computer 103 to transmit the content via the hot spot (step 1010).
[0098]
The relay computer 103 selects a content from the content cache unit 206 based on the cache ID and transmits the content to the portable terminal 101 (step 1011).
[0099]
The content is displayed by the content display external application 302 (step 1012).
[0100]
As described above, the reservation management unit 306 of the mobile terminal 101 automatically downloads the content when the optimal network becomes available, so that the content can be acquired in the optimal wireless data communication network regardless of whether the area is within or outside the area. It becomes. Conventionally, the user determines the best network for the content to be downloaded, and when the network is not available, the user remembers this and when the network becomes available, the user manually obtains it again. I needed to. As described above, in the present embodiment, these are automated and user convenience is improved. As in the first embodiment, the conventional client program 301, server 102, and external application 302 for content display can be used in the present embodiment.
<Third Embodiment> In the third embodiment, when the user operates the portable terminal 101 to acquire the content from the server by using the PDC, when the data size of the content is equal to or larger than the threshold, the nearest hot spot location is notified to the user. By automatically recommending, a large content is actively acquired at a high-speed and inexpensive hot spot to reduce communication cost and communication time and improve user convenience.
[0101]
First, terminal information managed by the terminal information management unit 204 of the relay computer will be described. As in the first embodiment, when the network control unit 309 detects that the type of network used has changed and the IP address 604 has also changed, the terminal information transmission unit 307 sends a terminal information update request to the relay computer 103 by HTTP. Do. When the position positioning unit 308 detects that the mobile terminal 101 has moved a fixed distance, the terminal information transmitting unit 307 similarly requests the relay computer 103 to update terminal information by HTTP. Therefore, the terminal information managed by the terminal information management unit 204 of the relay computer 103 is kept up to date.
[0102]
FIG. 11 shows an example of an operation sequence of the present system of the third embodiment, and FIG. 12 shows an example of a flowchart of the control unit 205 of the relay computer 101 in the third embodiment.
[0103]
As in the second embodiment, it is assumed that the user operates a mailer compatible with the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) on the portable terminal 101 to download a file attached to the mail. First, the mailer, that is, the client program 301 transmits an IMAP FETCH request message to the relay computer 103, and the relay computer 103 receives the message (step 1201). The terminal information (network information 609, position information 606) of the terminal 101 is searched from the terminal information management unit 204 (step 1202). Next, the message is transferred to the mail server, that is, the server 102 (step 1101).
[0104]
The relay computer 103 receives the content from the server 102 together with the FETCH response message (step 1102, step 1203).
[0105]
The message analyzing unit 207 extracts attribute information of the content (step 1204). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the content size is 1 Mbyte as the attribute information of the content. Next, as in the first embodiment, the relay computer 103 specifies an optimal network for the content by using the switching determination script from the network information 609 and the attribute information of the content (steps 1103 and 1205). According to the switching determination script of FIG. 5, the most suitable network for the content is the hot spot (step 1206). The mobile terminal 101 can determine that the hot spot is available from the terminal information (step 1207). If the current position of the portable terminal 101 is outside the hot spot service area, the relay computer 103 obtains the hot spot service area closest to the user (step 1209). This can be obtained by making an inquiry to the hot spot service area management unit 201 using the position information 606 of the mobile terminal 101. Subsequently, the relay computer 103 obtains the distance from the portable terminal 101 to the service area, and checks whether the distance is within the permissible range of the user (step 1210). For example, assume that the allowable distance of the user stored in advance in the user information management unit 202 is 100 m. When the distance to the service area exceeds 100 m, the relay computer 103 transmits the content to the portable terminal 101 via the currently used network, that is, the PDC without switching (step 1211). On the other hand, if the service area is within 100 m, the relay computer 103 registers the content in the content cache unit and issues a cache ID of the content (step 1212).
[0106]
The content of the FETCH response message is replaced with a switching command and transferred to the portable terminal 101. At this time, similarly to the first embodiment, the content-type is also rewritten to “application / networkswitch”. The switching command is generated so as to further include not only the optimum network type name (hot spot in this embodiment) but also the cache ID and the coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the nearest service area (step 1213). ). The client program 301 receives a FETCH response message as the switching command (Step 1214).
[0107]
The client program 301 calls the switching external application 304 according to the switching command. The switching external application 304 issues a switching request to the network control unit 309 to switch to the hot spot (step 1105).
[0108]
However, in the present embodiment, the mobile terminal is currently out of the service area of the hot spot, and thus, as in the second embodiment, the switching external application makes a reservation to the reservation management unit 306 to automatically download the content acquisition at the hot spot. At the same time, the current position of the mobile terminal 101 and the coordinates of the service area are notified to the navigation unit 305 of the mobile terminal 101. The navigation unit 305 presents a user with a route to a hot spot optimal for acquiring the content (step 1106).
[0109]
The user arrives at the hot spot according to the route (step 1107).
[0110]
When the user moves into the hot spot service area, the network control unit 309 notifies the reservation management unit 306 that the hot spot is available (step 1108).
[0111]
The reservation management unit 306 issues a switching request to the network control unit 309 (step 11009).
[0112]
Since it is within the service area of the hot spot, the communication means normally switches to the hot spot (step 1110).
[0113]
The reservation management unit 306 specifies the cache ID and requests the relay computer 103 to transmit the content via the hot spot (step 1111).
[0114]
The relay computer 103 selects a content from the content cache unit 206 based on the cache ID, and transmits the content to the portable terminal 101 (step 1112).
[0115]
The content is displayed by the client program 101 (step 1113).
[0116]
Conventionally, the user has to predict the content to be downloaded, and if necessary, check the service area of the network optimal for acquiring the content one by one on a map, and when the user moves to the service area, the user has to manually download the service area. . On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the content is downloaded, the route to the optimal service area is automatically presented to the user, and at the same time, the download is automatically reserved, and when the user moves to the service area, the download is automatically performed. Since the download is performed at the same time, communication cost and communication time can be reduced and user convenience can be improved.
<Fourth Embodiment> In the fourth embodiment, when a user creates a moving route in advance in the navigation unit 305 of the portable terminal 101 and registers the moving route in the user information management unit 202 of the relay computer 103, It is automatically determined whether it is better to download with the PDC now or whether it is more efficient to download at a hot spot that passes later.
[0117]
First, the terminal information managed by the terminal information management unit 204 of the relay computer 103 is kept up to date as in the third embodiment.
[0118]
FIG. 13 shows an example of an operation sequence according to the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 14 shows an example of a flowchart in the control unit 205 of the relay computer 103.
[0119]
The user uses the navigation unit 305 of the mobile terminal 101 in advance to create a route to be moved. Since the current position of the user is obtained by the position positioning unit 308, if only the destination is specified, the navigation unit 305 automatically creates a route (step 1301). Note that the route information in the present embodiment is a list of branch points.
[0120]
The navigation unit 305 requests the relay computer 103 to register the route information (step 1302). The relay computer 103 receives the path information of the mobile terminal 101 (step 1401).
[0121]
Using the service area management unit 201, the relay computer 103 creates a list of service areas on the route for each network, and registers the list in the user information management unit (steps 1303 and 1402).
[0122]
As in the third embodiment, it is assumed that the user operates a mailer compatible with the IMAP protocol on the portable terminal 101 to download the file attached to the mail. First, the mailer, that is, the client program 301 transmits an IMAP FETCH request message to the relay computer 103, and the relay computer 103 receives the message (step 1403). Next, the message is transferred to the mail server, that is, the server 102 (step 1304).
The relay computer 103 analyzes the message by the message analysis unit 207, and converts the terminal information (network information 609, position information 606, moving speed 607) of the mobile terminal 101 from the IP address 604 of the mobile terminal 101 into the terminal information. A search is made from the management unit 204 (step 1404). The relay computer 103 receives the content together with the FETCH response message from the server 102 (steps 1305 and 1405).
The message analyzing unit 207 extracts attribute information of the content (step 1406). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the content size is 1 Mbyte as the attribute information of the content. Next, as in the first embodiment, the relay computer 103 specifies an optimal network for the content by using the switching determination script from the network information 609 and the attribute information of the content. According to the switching determination script of FIG. 5, the most suitable network for the content is the hot spot (step 1407). The mobile terminal 101 can determine that the hot spot is available from the terminal information (step 1408). The location information 606 of the mobile terminal 101 and the service area management unit 201 determine whether the route information of the user information management unit 202 is within or outside the hot spot. If it is within the range of the hot spot, a switch command is transmitted to the client, and switching to the hot spot is performed immediately, as in the previous embodiments. On the other hand, when the mobile terminal 101 is out of the range of the hot spot, the time required for the mobile terminal 101 to reach the next hot spot is compared with the time required for downloading the content on the PDC, and the content is acquired. Then, the timing to execute is determined (step 1306). The distance to the service area can be determined from the route information registered in the user information management unit 202 and the service area to be passed next based on the current position and the distance between the area and the current position. The time required to download the content with the currently used PDC can be calculated from the content size and the PDC transmission speed (1410). The time to reach the hot spot is obtained from the distance to the next service area to be passed and the moving speed of the portable terminal 101 (step 1411). If the former is shorter than the latter, it is better to perform data communication with the PDC as it is (step 1413). In the opposite case, it is better to switch to a hot spot for communication. The relay computer 103 registers the content in the content cache unit and issues a cache ID of the content (step 1414).
[0123]
The content of the FETCH response message is replaced with a switching command and transferred to the portable terminal 101. At this time, similarly to the first embodiment, the content-type is also rewritten to “application / networkswitch”. The switching command is generated so as to further include not only the optimum network type name (hot spot in this embodiment) but also the cache ID and the coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the nearest service area (step 1415). ). The client program 301 receives a FETCH response message as the switching command (Step 1416, Step 1307).
[0124]
The client program 301 calls the switching external application 304 according to the switching command. The switching external application 304 issues a switching request to the network control unit 309 to switch to the hot spot (step 1308).
[0125]
However, since the hot spot is currently out of the service area, the network control unit 309 notifies the switching external application 304 that the hot spot is outside the service area (step 1309).
[0126]
The switching external application 304 makes a reservation to the reservation management unit 306 so as to reacquire the content corresponding to the cache ID at the hot spot, and ends (step 1310).
[0127]
Next, it is assumed that the user has moved into the hot spot service area. Then, the network control unit 309 notifies the reservation management unit 306 that the hot spot has become available, and the reservation management unit 306 issues a switching request to the network control unit 309 that could not be executed in step 1005. Since it is within the service area of the hot spot, the communication means normally switches to the hot spot. The reservation management unit 306 specifies the cache ID and requests the relay computer 103 to transmit the content via the hot spot. The relay computer 103 selects a content from the content cache unit 206 based on the cache ID and transmits the content to the mobile terminal 101 (step 1311).
[0128]
The content is displayed by the client program 301 (step 1312).
[0129]
As described above, the time required to reach the next hot spot and the time required to download the content can be calculated. This is because, if the download by the expensive and pay-as-you-go PDC is not completed even at the stage where the hot spot is reached, it is more efficient to obtain the hot spot at a cheap price and the flat-rate charge at once. For a battery-powered mobile terminal, a hotspot in which downloading is completed in a short period of time has lower power consumption and is more efficient. On the other hand, when the latter is shorter than the former, the work efficiency is better if the data is directly acquired by the PDC without waiting for the arrival at the hot spot. This is because it is more efficient to complete the download before reaching the hot spot and proceed with the work immediately. Note that, in the present embodiment, in addition to comparing the magnitudes of the two times, if the download does not reach the hot spot even after the user's allowable time has elapsed after the download on the PDC is completed, the PDC acquires the information. Alternatively, user preference information may be reflected.
[0130]
In the present embodiment, the relay computer 103 can automatically instruct the mobile terminal to select the optimal location and timing without instructing the mobile terminal to download the content without specifying the timing of acquiring the content. It is possible to improve convenience.
<Fifth Embodiment> In the fifth embodiment, when a user downloads, for example, a bid material that is confidential information and a bidding material including a catalog image having a large data size from a server of a company, the bid price data is a highly confidential PDC. And download the image data at a cheap and fast hotspot.
[0131]
FIG. 15 shows an example of the operation sequence of the fifth embodiment, and FIG. 16 shows an example of a flowchart of the control unit in the relay computer.
[0132]
The user downloads the bidding material from a WWW server in the company intranet using a WWW browser. When the WWW browser, that is, the client program 301 transmits an HTTP Request message to the relay computer 103, the relay computer 103 receives this message (step 1601) and acquires the network information 609 of the portable terminal 101 in the message (step 1601). Step 1602), the message is transferred to the WWW server, that is, the server 102 (step 1501).
[0133]
The relay computer 103 receives the content from the server 102 (step 1502, step 1603).
[0134]
The relay computer 103 divides the content into portions optimal for each communication interface of the mobile terminal (step 1604). The number of divisions of the content is determined (step 1605). Next, if the number of divisions of the content is 0, the network currently in use is determined because no optimal network exists for any part of the content. To transfer the content to the client (step 1606). When the number of divisions is 1, an optimal network exists for the entire content, and the subsequent steps may be performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. On the other hand, if the number of divisions is two or more, each divided data is registered in the content cache unit 206, and a cache ID is issued for each divided data (step 1607). It is assumed that the divided data for which there is no optimum network is suitable for the currently used network. Next, the relay computer 103 replaces the content of the HTTP response message with the divided content # 1, using the divided data # 1, the network type name # 2, and the cache ID # 2 that are optimal for the currently used network as the divided content # 1. And transfer it to the client (step 1503, step 1504, step 1608, step 1609). The client program 301 transfers the divided content # 1 to the switching external application 304, the switching external application 304 switches to the network type # 2, and requests the divided data of the cache ID # 2 to the relay computer 103 (step S1). 1507, step 1611). The relay computer 103 creates a set of the network type name, the cache ID, and the divided data as divided contents (step 1612), and transmits the divided contents to the portable terminal 101 (step 1508, step 1613). Thereafter, the process is similarly repeated until all the divided data is acquired by the portable terminal (step 1610). When all of the divided data are prepared, the switching external application 304 merges and combines the data to return to the original content (step 1509), and the content display external application 302 displays the content (steps 1510 and 1511). ).
[0135]
As described above, it is possible to obtain the content not only in the content unit but also in the optimum wireless data communication network for each content portion. Further, similarly to the first embodiment, the present invention can be realized without changing the existing client program 301, server 102, and external application 302 for content display. Further, similarly to the second embodiment, even when the network optimal for certain divided data is out of the service area, the network is automatically downloaded when the network is in the service area.
[0136]
Although the present embodiment relates to communication between a mobile terminal and a server, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be used for communication between terminals.
[0137]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce communication time and communication cost and to ensure communication security by selecting an optimal communication means according to communication contents.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a relay computer according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a mobile terminal according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an example of a switching determination script according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an example of terminal information storage in a terminal information management unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a terminal information update sequence according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a sequence according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a floor chart of the relay computer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a sequence according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a sequence according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a floor chart of the relay computer according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a sequence according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a floor chart of the relay computer according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a sequence according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is a floor chart of the relay computer according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a conventional example according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Mobile terminal
102 server
103 Relay computer
104 communication network
105 Wireless data communication network
201 Service Area Management Department
202 User information management unit
203 Switching judgment script part
204 Terminal information management unit
205 control unit
206 Content Cache Unit
207 Message analysis unit
208 Server Function Unit
209 Client function unit
301 Client program
302 External application for content display
303 Application Table
304 Switching external application
305 Navigation section
306 Reservation Management Department
307 Terminal information management unit
308 Positioning unit
309 Network control unit
310 Speed positioning unit
401 Internet
402 PDC network
403 PDC base station
404 IEEE 802.11g base station
405 Company intranet
601 terminal ID
602 communication interface
603 Net type used
604 IP address
605 Transmission speed
606 Location information
607 Moving speed
608 User ID

Claims (8)

In a relay computer for relaying data communication between communication devices using a plurality of communication means,
A message analysis unit for analyzing data communication contents;
A switching determination script unit for selecting a communication means according to the content,
A relay computer instructing a communication device to switch to the communication means selected by the switch determination script unit in accordance with the content analyzed by the message analysis unit. The relay computer according to claim 1,
A relay computer comprising a terminal information management unit that manages information on a plurality of communication devices that perform data communication. The relay computer according to claim 1 or 2,
If the data size of the content is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, the switching determination script unit selects a faster communication means. The relay computer according to claim 1 or 2,
The relay computer, wherein if the communication of the content requires confidentiality, the switching determination script unit selects a communication means having higher confidentiality. The relay computer according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A service area management unit that stores a service area for each communication means,
A user information management unit that stores user preferences of the communication device,
When the communication means selected by the switching determination script unit is not available, calculating the distance between the position of the service area nearest to the communication means and the position information and determining that the user can move from the user's preference The relay computer instructs the communication device to perform communication of the content when the communication device moves into the service area. The relay computer according to claim 3,
A service area management unit that stores a service area for each communication means,
A user information management unit that stores route information of a user of the communication device,
Further storing the moving speed of the communication device in the terminal information management unit,
When the communication means selected by the switching determination script unit is not available, the message analysis unit detects the data size of data communication and measures the communication time of the data amount from the communication speed of the currently used communication means. Calculating the travel distance between the position of the service area of the communication means that arrives next from the route information and the current position stored in the position information, and calculating the travel time from the travel speed to the service area. When the communication time is shorter than the movement time, the data communication by the communication means currently used is continued, and when the movement time is shorter than the communication time, the communication device moves to the service area. A relay computer that issues an instruction to perform the communication of the content when the content is transmitted. The relay computer according to claim 4,
When it is necessary to use highly confidential communication for a part of the content, the communication device divides the content and instructs the communication device to perform the division using the communication unit selected by the switching determination script unit for each of the divided content. A relay computer. The relay computer according to any one of claims 3 to 7,
A content cache unit that temporarily stores the content,
A relay computer, wherein when the communication means selected by the switching determination script unit cannot be used, the content is stored in the content cache unit until the communication device can use the communication unit.

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