JP2008109191A - Mobile telephone terminal and telephone control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide technique for improving convenience of a mobile phone terminal having communication function of a mobile phone network and a wireless LAN. <P>SOLUTION: The mobile phone terminal (101) includes a mobile phone interface (240) which performs speech communication processing for the mobile phone network, a wireless LAN interface (230) which performs speech communication processing for the wireless LAN, a means (201) of deciding whether the wireless LAN interface is actuated during origination processing by the mobile phone interface, and a means (241) of reporting the decision result to an origination destination. Consequently, the user at the origination destination can speedily grasp whether or not the terminal at the origination source can currently use the wireless LAN. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile phone terminal, and more particularly to a mobile phone terminal that can be connected to both a wireless LAN and a mobile phone network.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, mobile phone terminals that have a so-called IP phone function using a wireless LAN in addition to a call function using a general mobile phone network have been proposed. In general, IP telephones can reduce the call charge at a lower cost than when using a mobile phone network, and thus there is an increasing need for using a wireless LAN for calls on mobile phone terminals.

  By the way, even if a mobile phone terminal having a wireless LAN call function is possessed, in order to use the wireless LAN, it is necessary to go to a communication area where a wireless LAN service is provided. For this reason, many users, for example, examine the location of the communication area in advance or search for the vicinity of the current location in search of the communication area.

As a conventional technique in view of the inconvenience of the user as described above, for example, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1 described later. In this document, a mobile phone network system (WWAN) receiving device is provided in a wireless LAN system (WLAN), and the WWAN receiving device receives radio waves transmitted from the mobile terminal that can communicate with the WWAN and WLAN. The technology to do is described. As a result, the mobile terminal is notified via the WWAN base station that the mobile terminal exists within the WLAN service area.
JP 2004-23768 A

  According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to notify the user that the mobile terminal exists in a local communication service area of the WLAN such as a hot spot. However, for that purpose, a large-scale facility is required in which a WWAN receiving device is connected to the WLAN system. Therefore, there is a need for a technique that can be realized more simply.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving the convenience of a mobile phone terminal having a communication function of a mobile phone network and a wireless LAN.

  A mobile phone terminal according to the present invention is a mobile phone terminal that includes a mobile phone interface that executes a call process for a mobile phone network and a wireless LAN interface that executes a call process for a wireless LAN. Means for determining whether or not the wireless LAN interface is activated, and means for notifying the transmission destination of the result of the determination.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to know the activation status of the wireless LAN at the transmission source even for an incoming call from the mobile phone network. As a result, it is possible to easily switch to a cheaper wireless LAN call.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a first embodiment of a mobile phone terminal according to the present invention. The mobile phone terminal 101 of this embodiment includes a user interface unit 200 including operation keys, a display, and control software thereof, a wireless LAN interface unit 230 responsible for wireless LAN communication processing, and a mobile phone responsible for communication processing of a mobile phone network. A telephone network interface unit 240 and a control unit 210 that controls these interfaces are provided.

  In addition, the mobile phone terminal 101 includes a communication interface state determination unit 201 that determines the activation states of the wireless LAN interface unit 230 and the mobile phone network interface unit 240.

  The cellular phone network interface unit 240 includes a communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 that exchanges information regarding the activation state of the wireless LAN interface unit 230 with a terminal serving as a communication partner.

  Note that the control unit 210 controls the wireless LAN interface unit 230 to operate at low power when the current location is out of the communication range of the wireless LAN in order to save power of the terminal. That is, the wireless LAN interface unit 230 is controlled so as to enter a sleep state except for the timing of receiving a beacon from the wireless LAN base station. When it is detected that the terminal itself has entered the wireless LAN communication range due to the successful reception of the beacon, the wireless LAN interface unit 230 is shifted from the intermittent operation to the continuous operation.

  With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 2, the transmission operation of the mobile phone terminal 101 will be described. In the cellular phone terminal 101, when a call instruction to the cellular phone network based on a user operation is input by the user interface unit 200 (step S1), the communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 of the cellular phone network interface unit 240 is activated.

  The communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 inquires of the communication interface state determination unit 201 about the activation state of the wireless LAN interface unit 230. As a result, when the wireless LAN interface unit 230 is in a non-activated state (step S2: No), the mobile phone network interface unit 240 executes a calling process for the call partner terminal as usual (step S3).

  On the other hand, when the wireless LAN interface unit 230 is currently activated (step S2: Yes), the cellular phone network interface unit 240 performs the call processing for the terminal of the other party of the call, while the communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 performs the call processing. A process of notifying that the wireless LAN interface unit 230 of the terminal is in the activated state is performed (step S4). The processing has the following forms.

  One form of notification regarding the activation state of the wireless LAN interface unit 230 is a form in which a telephone number of the wireless LAN is described in a signal transmitted to a communication partner at the time of outgoing call, in addition to the telephone number of the terminal relating to the cellular phone network. is there. In this case, for example, the telephone number of the wireless LAN may be described following the self address of the mobile phone network.

  In addition, a telephone number of the wireless LAN may be described as an additional dial (additional dial) in the signal at the time of transmission. Furthermore, it may be notified that the wireless LAN interface unit 230 of its own terminal is in an activated state by transmitting a predetermined voice guidance, tone signal, ringing melody, or the like.

  In the above procedure, the communication partner is notified only when the wireless LAN interface unit 230 is in an activated state, but a more detailed activated state or a non-activated state may also be notified. In this case, for example, a predetermined value is added immediately after the telephone number of the terminal set in the signal at the time of transmission. Specifically, when the value added immediately after the telephone number is “1”, it represents “wireless LAN: activated state”, and when it is “2”, it represents “wireless LAN: activated state and VoIP server authenticated”. In the case of “0”, there is provided a rule indicating “wireless LAN: non-activated state”.

  Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, the operation when the mobile phone terminal 101 receives an incoming call will be described. When the mobile phone network interface unit 240 of the mobile phone terminal 101 detects an incoming call (step S11), the communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 obtains information on the state of the wireless LAN interface unit 230 at the transmission source from the received signal. It detects (step S12). This information is the telephone number of the wireless LAN described above.

  As a result, when the source terminal recognizes that the wireless LAN interface unit 230 is in an activated state (step S13: Yes), the mobile phone terminal 101 displays a screen to that effect on the user interface unit 200 (step S13). S14). Specifically, for example, a content to be notified of whether or not the transmission source can use the wireless LAN, such as “Currently, the wireless LAN function of the transmission source is valid”, is displayed as appropriate.

  With the screen display as described above, the user of the mobile phone terminal 101 can immediately recognize that the caller is in a state where the wireless LAN can be used. When the user wishes to make a wireless LAN call, the user temporarily disconnects the incoming call and issues a call instruction to the wireless LAN interface unit 230 of the terminal. That is, the telephone is re-called by the wireless LAN to the previous caller.

  According to the above-described embodiment, even if the incoming call is from the mobile phone network, it is possible to know the activation status of the wireless LAN at the transmission source. As a result, it is possible to easily switch to a cheaper wireless LAN call.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration of a second embodiment of the mobile phone terminal according to the present invention. In addition to the user interface unit 200, the communication interface state determination unit 201, the control unit 210, the wireless LAN interface unit 230, and the mobile phone network interface unit 240, the mobile phone terminal 102 according to the present embodiment includes a WEB interface unit that handles Internet connection processing. 250.

  The communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 according to the present embodiment transmits a communication message having a preset content related to whether or not the wireless LAN can be used via the WEB interface unit 250 at the time of outgoing call processing. This communication message uses a conventionally known data communication function such as a so-called short message or chat using WEB.

  The operation procedure of the mobile phone terminal 102 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that both the calling side and the receiving side of a call have the function of the mobile phone terminal 102, and an operation procedure based on communication between the two will be described.

  When the call instruction to the mobile phone network based on the user operation is input by the user interface unit 200 (step S21), the mobile phone network interface unit 240 holds the actual outgoing call. The communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 is activated.

  The activated communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 sends a communication message such as the above-mentioned short message to the terminal serving as the receiving side in the current call via the WEB interface unit 250 to inquire about the activation status of the wireless LAN interface unit 230. Transmit (step S22).

  When receiving the communication message from the caller side, the communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 determines whether or not the caller terminal 102 receives the communication message from the caller side. As a result of the determination, if it is not a prescribed message (step S24: No), it is processed as a general communication message.

  As a result of the determination, if the message is a specified message (step S24: Yes), the communication interface state determination unit 201 determines the status of the wireless LAN interface unit 230 of the own terminal (step S25). Then, the communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 transmits a communication message describing the determination result to the terminal on the transmission side (step S26).

  When the mobile phone terminal 102 on the calling side receives the communication message from the receiving side (step S27), it confirms the content of the response to the inquiry. As a result, if the wireless LAN is not available on the receiving side at this time (step S28: No), the outgoing call processing by the mobile phone network interface unit 240 that has been put on hold is resumed, and the outgoing call is made via the mobile phone network. (Step S29).

  On the other hand, when the wireless LAN is available on the receiving side (step S28: Yes), the communication interface state transmission / reception unit 241 asks whether or not to switch the communication network used for the current call from the cellular phone network to the wireless LAN. A screen is displayed (step S30). As the screen, for example, a content such as “Currently, the wireless LAN function of the destination is valid. Do you want to switch the transmission to the wireless LAN?” Is displayed.

  As a result, when the user interface unit 200 inputs that the wireless LAN is not used (step S31: No), the call processing by the mobile phone network interface unit 240 is continued (step S29).

  If it is input that the wireless LAN is used (step S31: Yes), the processing of the cellular phone network interface unit 240 is stopped, and the outgoing call processing is executed by the wireless LAN interface unit 230 (step S32). As a result, the current transmission is performed via the wireless LAN.

  According to the second embodiment, the activation status of the wireless LAN on the receiving side can be confirmed prior to actual transmission. As a result, it is not necessary to make a call over the wireless LAN from the incoming side, so that convenience is further enhanced.

  In the above embodiment, the transmission of the communication message is automatically executed during the outgoing call process. However, the message may be transmitted after confirming the necessity of the message with the user. That is, when there is a call instruction, for example, “Do you want to confirm the wireless LAN function of the callee?” Is displayed on the screen, and when there is an input of “Confirm”, a communication message is transmitted. It is.

  Also, as a result of the inquiry by the message, when the wireless LAN is usable on the receiving side, in the above embodiment, the user is confirmed as to whether or not the communication network needs to be switched. You may make it switch to the transmission by.

  FIG. 6 shows a configuration of a third embodiment of the mobile phone terminal according to the present invention. The mobile phone terminal 103 of the present embodiment is similar to the mobile phone terminal 101 shown in FIG. 1 in that the user interface unit 200, the communication interface state determination unit 201, the control unit 210, the wireless LAN interface unit 230, and the mobile phone network interface The unit 240 is provided.

  The wireless LAN interface unit 230 according to the present embodiment includes a history recording unit 231 that records a connection history of the wireless LAN, and a timer unit 232 that performs a timer process to be described later at the time of transmission by the wireless LAN. The history recording unit 231 records information indicating whether or not the connection with the transmission destination is successful for each transmission by the wireless LAN.

  The operation of the mobile phone terminal 103 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When a call instruction to the mobile phone network is input from the user interface unit 200 to the mobile phone terminal 103 (step S41), the control unit 210 suspends the call to the mobile phone network and the history of the wireless LAN interface unit 230 is stored. The recording unit 231 is referred to. Then, it is determined whether or not the current call destination is a call destination for which a wireless LAN connection has been successful in the past (step S42). In this determination, it is possible to speed up the processing by setting a period to be determined in advance, such as the past week or one month.

  If the result of the determination is that the wireless LAN connection in the past has failed, or if there is no history of the target call destination, call processing for the suspended mobile phone network is executed (step S43). Subsequent operations may be the same as those in the above-described embodiment (FIG. 2: Step S1 or FIG. 5: Step S21).

  On the other hand, if the current call destination has been successfully connected to the wireless LAN in the past, the call to the mobile phone network that has been put on hold is canceled, and the wireless LAN interface unit 230 executes the call processing (step S44). At this time, the wireless LAN interface unit 230 starts timer processing for a predetermined period by the timer unit 232 (step S45).

  Thereafter, when a response of the wireless LAN is detected before the timer expires (step S46: Yes), the timer process is canceled and the process proceeds to a call process using the wireless LAN (step S47). If the timer process expires without a response to the call (step S48: Yes), the call process on the wireless LAN is stopped and switched to the call process on the mobile phone network (step S49).

  According to the mobile phone terminal 103 described above, it is possible to perform control so that a cheaper wireless LAN is preferentially used, and more promptly because confirmation with a call partner regarding the availability of the wireless LAN is omitted. You can start a call.

  In the above embodiment, the wireless LAN activation status is inquired to the terminal on the incoming side. The inquiry destination is, for example, a device other than the terminal, such as a PBX or a proxy server in which the terminal on the incoming side is accommodated. Also good.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the transmission in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the incoming call in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the outgoing / incoming call in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the transmission / receipt in 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

101, 102 Cellular phone terminal 200 User interface unit 201 Communication interface state determination unit 210 Control unit 230 Wireless LAN interface unit 231 History recording unit 232 Timer unit 240 Cellular telephone network interface unit 241, 241 Communication interface state transmission / reception unit 250 WEB interface unit

Claims (16)

A mobile phone terminal having a mobile phone interface for executing a call process for a mobile phone network and a wireless LAN interface for executing a call process for a wireless LAN,
Means for determining whether or not the wireless LAN interface is activated at the time of outgoing call processing by the mobile phone interface;
And a means for notifying the destination of the result of the determination.   2. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 1, wherein when notifying that the wireless LAN interface is in an activated state, the telephone number of the terminal in the wireless LAN is notified to the destination.   3. The cellular phone terminal according to claim 2, wherein the telephone number of the wireless LAN is notified as an additional diagram of the telephone number of the terminal in the cellular phone network.   3. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 2, wherein a voice signal representing the telephone number of the wireless LAN is transmitted to the destination.   5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a unit configured to determine whether or not the wireless LAN interface is activated at the transmission source and to display a result of the determination at the time of incoming call processing by the mobile phone interface. Mobile phone terminal.   2. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 1, further comprising means for transmitting a communication message for inquiring whether or not the wireless LAN interface is activated to the destination at the time of outgoing call processing by the mobile phone interface.   When receiving a communication message inquiring whether or not the wireless LAN interface is activated, it is determined whether or not the wireless LAN interface of its own terminal is activated, and a result of the determination is notified to a transmission source of the communication message. Item 7. The mobile phone terminal according to Item 6. A mobile phone terminal having a mobile phone interface for executing a call process for a mobile phone network and a wireless LAN interface for executing a call process for a wireless LAN,
Means for recording whether or not the connection to the destination is successful for each outgoing call processing by the wireless LAN interface;
Means for switching the call origination process to the call origination process via the wireless LAN interface when the destination at the time of the call origination process via the mobile phone interface has been successful in the past wireless LAN connection;
Means for starting timer processing at the time of switching;
And a means for switching the call origination process to a call origination process via the cellular phone interface when there is no response before the timer process expires in the call origination process via the wireless LAN interface by the switching. A mobile phone terminal including a mobile phone interface that executes a call process for a mobile phone network and a wireless LAN interface that executes a call process for a wireless LAN,
A telephone control method comprising: determining whether or not the wireless LAN interface is activated at the time of outgoing call processing by the mobile phone interface, and notifying a result of the determination to the destination.   10. The telephone control method according to claim 9, wherein when the mobile phone terminal notifies that the wireless LAN interface is in an activated state, the mobile telephone terminal notifies the destination of the telephone number of the terminal in the wireless LAN.   11. The telephone control method according to claim 10, wherein the mobile phone terminal notifies the telephone number of the wireless LAN as an additional diagram of the telephone number of the own terminal in a mobile phone network.   11. The telephone control method according to claim 10, wherein the mobile phone terminal transmits a voice signal representing the telephone number of the wireless LAN to the destination. The mobile phone terminal is
The telephone control method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein during the incoming call processing by the mobile phone interface, the presence or absence of activation of the wireless LAN interface at the transmission source is determined and a result of the determination is displayed. . The mobile phone terminal is
10. The telephone control method according to claim 9, wherein a communication message for inquiring whether or not the wireless LAN interface is activated is transmitted to the destination at the time of outgoing call processing by the mobile phone interface.   When the mobile phone terminal receives a communication message inquiring whether or not the wireless LAN interface is activated, it determines whether or not the wireless LAN interface of the terminal is activated and notifies the transmission source of the communication message The telephone control method according to claim 14. A mobile phone terminal including a mobile phone interface that executes a call process for a mobile phone network and a wireless LAN interface that executes a call process for a wireless LAN,
Records whether or not the connection to the destination is successful for each outgoing processing by the wireless LAN interface, and the outgoing processing when the destination at the outgoing processing by the cellular phone interface has succeeded in the past wireless LAN connection Is switched to transmission processing by the wireless LAN interface, timer processing is started at the time of switching, and when there is no response before expiration of the timer processing in transmission processing by the wireless LAN interface by the switching, the transmission processing is switched to the mobile phone interface The telephone control method characterized by switching to the outgoing call processing by.

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