JP2006094063A - Data communication method, server, and portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize facility investment and to efficiently utilize radio wave resources. <P>SOLUTION: Both a pager network 11 in which multicast is possible and a band is relatively small and an IP network 10 in which a band is relatively large to transmit and receive data including images are used. A server 50 of a data center 14 provided with a position database for storing position information of a portable terminal 16 periodically accesses the portable terminal 16 by multicast through the pager network 11. When the portable terminal 16 receives access through the pager network 11, the portable terminal 16 transmits information specifying its own position to the server 50 through the IP network 10. The server 50 stores the latest position of the terminal together with the information specifying the terminal in a position database, and specifies the latest position of the portable terminal of a transmission destination with reference to the position database to transmit data through the IP network 10 when the data has to be transmitted to the portable terminal 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for communicating data necessary for a mobile terminal, a server for transmitting / receiving data to / from the mobile terminal, and a mobile terminal.

  For example, a system that monitors facilities such as homes, stores, and offices with cameras and various sensors and notifies the owner or manager's mobile terminal of any abnormality should be realized. ing.

For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-15390, when a control server receives image data or the like from a monitoring device arranged in a facility or the like, the portable terminal is notified of the abnormality of the facility by e-mail and A system is disclosed in which a terminal downloads content including image data via the Internet.
JP 2002-15390 A

  As described above, when using e-mail, it is necessary for the user to receive the e-mail, refer to the e-mail, and then access the server by operating the mobile terminal. In addition, there is a problem in that image data cannot be received in a timely manner unless the server is accessed immediately after receiving the mail.

  Alternatively, it is conceivable that the position of the server is registered in a home agent or the like, the server transmits image data or the like to the terminal at that position, and the image is transmitted to the portable terminal in a timely manner. However, in this case, it is necessary to newly install various facilities and maintain the network, which requires enormous costs.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a data communication method, a server, and a portable terminal that can minimize capital investment and can efficiently use radio wave resources.

  An object of the present invention is a data communication method using a first network with a relatively small bandwidth capable of multicasting and a second network with a relatively large bandwidth for transmitting and receiving data including images. In a data center server having a location database for storing location information, a step of periodically calling a portable terminal by multicast via the first network, and a step of calling the portable terminal via the first network via the first network When receiving the call, the step of transmitting information identifying its own position to the server via the second network, and the server identifying the latest terminal position together with the information identifying the terminal in the server. Storing in the location database; and in the server, if it is necessary to transmit data to the mobile terminal, the location A data communication method comprising: referring to a database; identifying a latest location of a destination mobile terminal; and transmitting the data via the second network. Achieved.

According to the present invention, the first network having a relatively small bandwidth is used for the position confirmation inquiry, and the second network having a relatively large area is used for communicating data such as images and sounds. Thus, by using different networks according to functions, it is possible to use radio wave resources more efficiently than when one network is shared.
In a preferred embodiment, the second network includes an access point that wirelessly communicates with a mobile terminal, and further, information specifying the access point together with information specifying the position of the mobile terminal at the access point Is transmitted to the server via the second network.

  In another preferred embodiment, the server transmits information for allowing the mobile terminal to acquire data through the multicast via the first network, and the mobile terminal transmits the data via the first network via the first network. Receiving the information for acquiring the data, transmitting a data acquisition request to the server via the second network; and in the server, the data in the portable terminal, Transmitting via a network of two. This makes it possible to access the server in a timely manner and acquire data when the mobile terminal needs to acquire data.

  In a preferred embodiment, the server comprises an image database for storing image data, and receives image data from a facility previously associated with the mobile terminal via a second network; Storing image data in the image database; referencing the location database; identifying a latest location of a mobile terminal associated with the facility that transmitted the image data; and addressing the identified location And transmitting the image data stored in the image database via the second network.

  For example, a pager network can be used as the first network. Further, an IP network and / or a mobile phone network can be used as the second network. Thus, by using an existing network, it is possible to significantly reduce costs such as capital investment.

  Another object of the present invention is a portable terminal capable of communicating with a first network having a relatively small bandwidth capable of multicasting and a second network having a relatively large bandwidth for receiving data including images. A multicast receiving means for receiving a call from the server via the first network via the first network, and information identifying its position in response to the call by the multicast receiving means via the second network. And a position information transmitting means for transmitting to the server, and a data receiving means for receiving the data transmitted from the server via the second network based on the information for specifying the position. This is also achieved by a portable terminal characterized by this.

  In a preferred embodiment, the multicast receiving means is configured to receive information for acquiring data from the server via the first network, and further receives information for requesting the data acquisition. In response to the data acquisition request transmitting means for transmitting the data acquisition request to the server via the second network.

  Further, an object of the present invention is a server capable of communicating with a first network having a relatively small bandwidth capable of multicasting and a second network having a relatively large bandwidth for transmitting and receiving data including images, A terminal calling unit that periodically calls the portable terminal via multicast via the first network, and a position for receiving information identifying the position of the portable terminal from the portable terminal via the second network An information receiving means, a position database for storing information for specifying the received position, and when the data needs to be transmitted, the latest position of the destination mobile terminal is specified by referring to the position database. Also achieved by a server comprising: a position specifying means; and a data transmitting means for transmitting the data to the specified position via a second network. It is.

  In a preferred embodiment, the information transmission means for transmitting information for acquiring data to the mobile terminal by multicast via the first network, and the second network from the mobile terminal via the second network Data acquisition request receiving means for receiving the data acquisition request.

  In another preferred embodiment, the image database stores image data, and the image data received from the facility previously associated with the portable terminal via the second network and stored in the image database. Receiving means, and when the image data is received by the image data receiving means, the position specifying means specifies the latest position of the related portable terminal, and the data transmitting means is at the specified position. The image data is transmitted to the destination via the second network.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the data communication method, server, and portable terminal which can use capital resources efficiently and can utilize a radio wave resource efficiently.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a data communication system according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, information on surveillance cameras, home appliances, and sensors arranged in homes, stores, and offices is transmitted from the remote device 12 to the data center 14 via the IP network 10. Yes. Further, data communication between the data center 14 and the portable terminal 16 is possible via the IP network 10 and the pager network 11. The mobile terminal can send data to the IP network 10 or receive data through the IP network 10 via the access point 15 connected to the IP network 10. In the data center 14, the terminal ID that specifies the mobile terminal is stored in advance in association with information (for example, a facility ID) that specifies the facility that the user of the mobile terminal wants to monitor. In the above embodiment, the IP network 10 is used, but a mobile phone network may be used.

  FIG. 2A is a block diagram of the mobile terminal according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2A, the portable terminal 16 includes a pager network communication unit 18 that controls data communication via the pager network 11 and an IP communication unit 20 that controls data communication via the IP network 10. Have. Further, as will be described later, the mobile terminal 18 includes an image processing unit 22 and an audio processing unit 24 for presenting voices and images (contents) received via the IP network 10 to the user. The IP communication unit 20 performs processing necessary for causing the mobile terminal 16 to function as a so-called IP phone, and the voice processing unit 24 may process voice packets transmitted via the IP network 10. it can.

  FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing the configuration of the remote device 12 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2B, the remote device 12 controls the image capture unit 26 that captures a video signal from the CCD camera 40 and the CCD camera 40, or includes a sensor 42, a home appliance 44, and a power supply device 46. And the like, and a control unit 28 that receives signals from these, a storage unit 30 that temporarily stores image data and the like, and an IP communication unit that controls data communication between the IP network 10 32. Note that the home appliance includes a door phone, a so-called handset, and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 50 of the data center 14. As shown in FIG. 3, the server 50 of the data center 14 includes a location registration unit 52 that registers the location of the mobile terminal 16, a location database (DB) 54 that stores location information of the mobile terminal 16, and remotely via an IP network. An image DB 56 that stores various information including image data transmitted from the device, a content generation unit 58 that generates content to be transmitted to the mobile terminal based on the image data in the image DB 56, and the pager network 11. A pager network communication unit 60 that controls communication and an IP communication unit 62 that controls data communication via the IP network 10 are provided.

  Processing in the remote device 12, the server 50 of the data center 14, and the mobile terminal 16 in the data communication system configured as described above, and processing executed between them will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing executed when the location of the mobile terminal 16 according to the present embodiment is registered. As shown in FIG. 4, the pager network communication unit 60 of the server 50 uses the pager network 11 to call CALLING (call) corresponding to the position confirmation request information for the mobile terminal 14 using a predetermined band. Then, broadcast transmission (multicast) is used (step 400). Note that CALLING by the server 50 is repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.

  When the pager network communication unit 18 of the mobile terminal 16 receives CALLING (step 401), the IP communication unit 20 generates location confirmation reply data, and the access point 15 connected to the mobile terminal 16 is established. Then, the generated position confirmation reply data is transmitted (step 402). This location confirmation reply data includes a terminal ID registered in the data center 14 in advance.

  Upon receiving the location confirmation reply data, the access point 15 generates location registration request data including a terminal ID, an IP address attached to the terminal, information indicating the access point itself, and a time stamp indicating the current time. This is transmitted to the server 50 of the data center 14 via the IP network 10 (steps 404 and 405).

  When the IP communication unit 62 of the server 50 receives the location registration request data, the location registration unit 52 executes location registration processing for storing necessary data in the corresponding record of the location DB 54 based on the received data (step 406). FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of the location DB 54, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the location registration process.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the record (for example, reference numerals 501 and 502) in the position DB 54 includes, as items, a terminal ID, an IP address assigned to the terminal, access point (AP) information, and a time stamp. The location registration unit 52 searches the location DB 54 using the terminal ID in the location registration request data as a key (step 601), and determines whether there is a record including the terminal ID (step 602). If the record does not exist (No in step 602), the record including the terminal ID, the IP address of the terminal ID, the AP information, and the time stamp as the item values included in the position registration request data A new file is created in the DB 54 (step 603).

  On the other hand, if it is determined as Yes in step 602, the latest set of terminal ID, IP address, and AP information is specified with reference to the time stamp in the record, and these values and Then, the value in the location registration request data is compared, and it is determined whether or not the value (actually, a value other than the terminal ID) has changed (step 604). If it is determined as Yes in step 604, a set of IP address, AP information, and time stamp is added to the record (step 605). For example, in FIG. 5, when the mobile terminal moves and enters the new jurisdiction of the AP, the IP address and AP information change. Therefore, these values and a time stamp may be added. In this way, when the state of the portable terminal (IP address or AP under its control) changes, the information after the change is added to the corresponding record in the position DB 54.

  Next, processing executed when data is sent from the remote device 11 to the server 50 of the data center 14 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the sensor 42 is activated and a signal is transmitted to the control unit 28 (step 701), the image capturing unit 26 captures an image captured by the CCD camera 40 and generates image data (step 702). The control unit 28 may control the power supply device 46 as necessary to turn on the illumination around the imaging region of the CCD camera 40. The sensor 42 may be disposed on a door, window, etc., and may be activated when the door or window is opened, or disposed in a room or kitchen facility and exceeds a predetermined temperature. It may be a temperature sensor that operates automatically. The generated image data and sensor information are stored in the storage unit 30, and information specifying a facility is added to the server 50 in the data center 14 via the IP network 10 from the IP communication unit 20. (Step 703).

  When the server 50 of the data center 14 receives the image data, it stores it in the image DB 56 (step 704). The IP communication unit 62 of the server 50 specifies the terminal ID associated with the information specifying the facility added to the received image data, and searches the location DB 54 using the terminal ID as a key (step 705). When a record including the terminal ID is specified from the position DB, a combination of the IP address and AP information having the newest time stamp is found in the record, whereby the position of the mobile terminal 16 is specified ( Step 706).

  The content generation unit 58 generates necessary content based on the image data in the image DB 56 (step 706). The content includes an image and information indicating which sensor is activated. Or the audio | voice which shows the operating condition of a sensor may be added to the content. The IP communication unit 62 transmits the content to the location (IP address or the like) specified in step 706 via the IP network 10 (step 708). The portable terminal 16 receives the content transmitted via the IP network 10 and the access point 15, performs processing, and presents it to the user (step 709). For example, the image processing unit 22 displays an image based on the received image data on a display device (not shown). If the audio data is included, the audio processing unit 24 outputs audio based on the audio data from a speaker (not shown).

  The user can remotely control the remote device 12 from the portable terminal 16 via the IP network 10 by operating the portable terminal 16 as necessary from the displayed image or reproduced sound. For example, it is possible to pan the CCD camera 40, take an image, turn on / off a light at a desired position, and control home appliances (for example, turn on a door phone or a handset).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in response to periodic CALLING (calling) in the pager network, the mobile terminal 14 sends the location information of the mobile terminal 14 to the data center 14 via the IP network. sign up. Accordingly, the position of the mobile terminal can be grasped easily and even when the mobile phone moves and the access point under its control is changed.
In this embodiment, a pager network with a narrow bandwidth is used for multicast, and an IP network with a relatively wide bandwidth is used for actual data transmission and the like. As a result, an increase in traffic due to heavy use of multicast in the IP network can be suppressed.

  The content may be transmitted from the server 50 to the mobile terminal 16 by the method shown in FIG. Note that the process is the same as steps 701 to 707 in FIG. 7 until data is transmitted from the remote device 11 to the server 50 and content is generated.

  When the content is generated, in the server 50, the pager network communication unit 60 is activated to use the pager network 11 to request content acquisition for the mobile terminal 14 (content notification information). CALLING (calling) including the message is transmitted by broadcast communication using a predetermined band (step 800). When the pager network communication unit 18 of the portable terminal 16 receives the CALLING including the content notification information via the pager network 11 (step 801), the IP communication unit 20 is activated and sends a content acquisition request to the server 50. Transmit (step 802). The content acquisition request is transmitted to the server 50 via the access point 15 and the IP network 10 with which the connection with the portable terminal 16 is established (step 803). The IP communication unit 62 of the server 50 transmits the generated content to the specified terminal position in response to the content acquisition request (step 804). The transmitted content is received by the mobile terminal 14 via the IP network 10 and the access point 15 (step 805). Thereby, the received content is presented on the portable terminal (step 806).

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the pager network is used for multicasting CALLING (call), but the present invention is not limited to this, and other networks may be used. Note that this is separate from the network used for data communication, and the bandwidth may be sufficiently smaller than the network used for data communication.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the content based on the image by the CCD camera from the remote device and the operating state of the sensor is generated, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the content is transmitted to the mobile terminal via the IP network 10, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be via the mobile phone network, or the IP network and configuration. It may be transmitted to the mobile terminal via both telephone networks.

  Further, in the above embodiment, even if the server periodically calls the mobile terminal by multicast using the pager network and the position of the mobile terminal is changed, the content is addressed to the position of the mobile terminal without interruption. Are configured so that they can be transmitted. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and when content is transmitted, the mobile terminal to which the content is to be transmitted may be called, the position of the mobile terminal may be specified, and the content may be transmitted to the mobile terminal. .

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a process of content transmission from the server to the mobile terminal in such another embodiment. In this embodiment, the process of FIG. 9 is executed in response to the server 50 receiving image data or the like from the remote device 12.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the pager network communication unit 60 of the server 50 uses the pager network 11 to call CALLING (call) corresponding to the position confirmation request information for the portable terminal 14 using a predetermined band. Then, broadcast transmission (multicast) is used (step 900). This call includes content notification information as in the example of FIG.

  When the pager network communication unit 18 of the mobile terminal 16 receives CALLING (step 901), the mobile terminal 16 generates location confirmation reply data and a content acquisition request, and the IP communication unit 20 accesses the connection established. Send to point 15. When the access point 15 receives the position confirmation reply data and the content acquisition request (step 903), the access point 15 receives the terminal ID, the IP address assigned to the terminal, information indicating the access point itself, and a time stamp indicating the current time. The location registration request data is generated, and the location registration request data and the content acquisition request are transmitted to the server 50 of the data center 14 via the IP network 10 (steps 904 and 905).

  When the location registration request data and the content acquisition request are received by the server 50, the location of the mobile terminal 14 is specified based on the location registration request data (step 906). It goes without saying that the value of the location registration request data may be registered in the location DB 54 by location registration processing (see FIG. 6).

  The content generation unit 58 generates predetermined content including image data, and the IP communication unit 62 transmits it to the specified position (step 907). As a result, the content is transmitted to the portable terminal 14 via the IP network 10 and the access point 15 (step 908). Thereby, the content is presented on the portable terminal (step 909).

  In this example, if the mobile terminal 14 moves during content reception, the content reception may be interrupted, but the number of calls using the pager network 11 by the server 50 can be reduced, and the processing load on the server 50 is reduced. As well as the amount of communication in the pager network 11 can be significantly reduced.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a data communication system according to the present embodiment. 2A is a block diagram of the mobile terminal according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing the configuration of the remote device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server of the data center according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing executed when registering the location of the mobile terminal according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of the position DB according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the location registration process according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed when data is sent from the remote device according to the present embodiment to the server of the data center. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of processing executed when data is sent from a remote device to a server in the data center. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing of content transmission from a server to a mobile terminal in another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 IP network 11 Pager network 12 Remote device 14 Data center 15 Access point 16 Mobile terminal 18 Pager network communication unit 20 IP communication unit 22 Image processing unit 24 Voice processing unit 50 Server 52 Location registration unit 54 Location DB
56 Image DB
58 content generation unit 60 pager network communication unit 62 IP communication unit

Claims (12)

A data communication method using a first network with a relatively small bandwidth capable of multicasting and a second network with a relatively large bandwidth for transmitting and receiving data including images,
In a data center server having a location database that stores location information of mobile terminals, periodically calling the mobile terminals by multicast via the first network;
When the mobile terminal receives a call via the first network, the mobile terminal transmits information identifying its own position to the server via the second network;
In the server, together with information identifying the terminal, storing the latest terminal position in the position database;
In the server, when it is necessary to transmit data to the portable terminal, referring to the position database, the latest position of the destination portable terminal is specified;
Transmitting the data via the second network. A data communication method comprising: The second network includes an access point for wireless communication with a mobile terminal,
The access point further comprises a step of transmitting information for specifying the access point to the server via the second network together with information for specifying the position of the mobile terminal. Item 2. The method according to Item 1. In the server, transmitting information for causing the mobile terminal to acquire data through the multicast via the first network;
When receiving information for acquiring the data via the first network in the portable terminal, transmitting a data acquisition request to the server via the second network;
The method according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting the data via the second network in the server at the mobile terminal. The server includes an image database for storing image data;
Receiving image data from a facility previously associated with the mobile terminal via a second network;
Storing the image data in the image database;
Referring to the location database, identifying the latest location of the mobile terminal associated with the facility that transmitted the image data;
4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting image data stored in the image database to the identified position via the second network. The method according to item. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first network is a pager network. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second network is an IP network. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second network is a mobile phone network. A mobile terminal capable of communicating with a first network having a relatively small bandwidth capable of multicasting and a second network having a relatively large bandwidth for receiving data including images,
Multicast receiving means for receiving a call by multicast via the first network from a server;
In response to the call by the multicast receiving means, position information transmitting means for transmitting information for specifying the position of the mobile station to the server via the second network;
A portable terminal comprising: a data receiving unit configured to receive the data transmitted from the server via the second network based on the information specifying the position. The multicast receiving means is configured to receive information for acquiring data from the server via the first network;
9. The data acquisition request transmitting means for transmitting a data acquisition request to the server via the second network in response to reception of the information for requesting the data acquisition. Mobile devices. A server capable of communicating with a first network having a relatively small bandwidth capable of multicasting and a second network having a relatively large bandwidth for transmitting and receiving data including images,
A terminal calling means for periodically calling the mobile terminal by multicast via the first network;
Position information receiving means for receiving information specifying the position of the portable terminal from the portable terminal via the second network;
A location database storing information identifying the received location;
When it is necessary to transmit data, referring to the position database, the position specifying means for specifying the latest position of the destination mobile terminal;
A server comprising: data transmission means for transmitting the data to the specified location via a second network. Furthermore, information transmitting means for transmitting information for acquiring data to the mobile terminal by multicast via the first network;
The server according to claim 10, further comprising: a data acquisition request receiving unit that receives a data acquisition request from the portable terminal via the second network. And an image database for storing image data;
Image data receiving means for receiving image data from a facility previously associated with the portable terminal via a second network and storing the image data in an image database;
When the image data is received by the image data receiving means, the position specifying means specifies the latest position of the related portable terminal, and the data transmitting means is directed to the specified position, and the image data The server according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the server is transmitted via the second network.

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