JP2008153858A - Portable radio communication apparatus, radio communication quality collection system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio communication quality collection system for collecting location information whose reception electric field strength is deteriorated. <P>SOLUTION: Radio equipment 111 transmits and receives a radio signal, and measures the reception field strength of the radio signal. A controller 112 detects the deterioration of the reception field strength based on the measured reception field strength. When detecting the deterioration of the reception field strength, the controller 112 acquires the location information and time information of a portable telephone set 110 from a location information/time information acquisition device 113, and stores this in a storage device 114. The location information and time information stored in the storage device 114 is transferred through an interface part 115 for an external device to an external storage device 116. Thus, it is possible to acquire the generation distribution circumstances of the deterioration of the reception field strength by verifying the location information transferred to the external storage device with map data 121. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable radio communication device, a radio communication quality collection system, and a method, and more particularly, a portable radio communication device having a function of measuring a received electric field strength of a radio signal with a base station, and the method thereof The present invention relates to a wireless communication quality collection system and method using such a portable wireless communication device.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of mobile phones, expansion of base stations and adjustment of antenna specifications have been further promoted in order to improve the wireless environment. As preparations for the maintenance of this wireless environment, the operator confirms the call loss rate, etc. based on the traffic data in the target area, and measures the received electric field strength. At that time, if the measurement of the received electric field strength is performed in the entire range of a vast area, an enormous amount of time is required for the investigation of the electric field strength, which takes time and effort. Therefore, the business operator solicits information on places where mobile phone users experience “out of service area” and “difficult to connect”, and uses this information when considering the priority of wireless environment maintenance. is doing.

  However, in general, information received from a user is information on a very small area when viewed from the entire wireless area, and it is difficult to obtain information covering the entire wireless area from the user. In addition, since information received from users often contains ambiguous points, businesses need to scrutinize the contents of received information and have a great deal of labor for scrutiny. Will occur.

  As a technique for solving the above problem, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1. In the technique described in Patent Document 1, when a communication abnormality occurs, the terminal stores the cause of the communication abnormality in the storage device, and communication abnormality occurs when communication to the server side becomes possible. Send the cause to the server. At that time, the position where the communication abnormality has occurred is measured, and information on the position where the communication abnormality has occurred is also transmitted. By doing in this way, when a communication abnormality actually occurs on the terminal side, the server can collect accurate information on the location and the cause of the communication abnormality.

Further, as a technique for measuring electric field strength with a terminal and transmitting information on the measured electric field strength to the server side, there is a technique described in Patent Document 2. In the technique described in Patent Literature 2, when the user performs a position measurement operation, the terminal device performs position measurement by GPS or the like, and also measures the electric field strength, and stores the position and the electric field strength in association with each other. . Thereafter, the information on the stored electric field strength is transmitted from the terminal side to the base station together with the measurement position information. In Patent Document 2, since electric field strength is measured using a terminal device of a user who uses mobile communication, it is possible to reduce equipment costs, labor costs, moving costs, etc. necessary for investigating the electric field strength. Yes.
JP 2002-271833 A JP 2006-246032 A

  In Patent Literature 1, when a communication abnormality occurs, the factor and position are stored. For this reason, even if, for example, the reception electric field strength deteriorates and a communication abnormality is likely to occur, if no communication abnormality actually occurs, the information is not transmitted to the server side. In Patent Document 2, the measurement of electric field strength is triggered by a position measurement operation by a user. For this reason, it is impossible to collect information on the electric field strength at a point where the user does not perform position measurement, and whether or not a point where the electric field strength is weak can be found depends on whether the user performs a position measurement operation at that point. Will depend.

  The present invention provides a wireless communication quality collection system and method that solves the above-described problems of the prior art and enables a business operator to collect information on a point where reception field strength deterioration occurs in a portable wireless communication device. For the purpose. It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable wireless communication apparatus that can be used in such a wireless communication quality collection system.

  In order to achieve the above object, a portable radio communication apparatus according to the present invention transmits and receives radio signals to and from a base station of a radio communication system and measures radio field strength of radio signals received from the base station. A position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the mobile wireless communication device, and when the reception field strength deterioration is detected based on the reception field strength measured by the wireless unit, and the reception field strength deterioration is detected And a control unit that acquires position information of the portable wireless communication device from the position information acquisition unit and stores the position information in a storage unit.

  A wireless communication quality collection system of the present invention includes a wireless unit that transmits and receives a wireless signal to and from a base station of a wireless communication system, and that measures a received electric field strength of a wireless signal received from the base station, and a portable wireless communication device A position information acquisition unit for acquiring the position information of the mobile radio communication device, and a position of the portable wireless communication device when the deterioration of the received electric field strength is detected based on the received electric field strength measured by the wireless unit A portable wireless communication device including a control unit that acquires information from the position information acquisition unit and stores the information in a storage unit, and an external device interface unit for connecting an external storage device, and is stored in the storage unit It has an external storage device that receives and stores position information via the interface unit for external device or the wireless unit.

  The wireless communication quality collection method of the present invention includes a step of measuring a received electric field strength of a radio signal transmitted / received between a portable wireless communication device and a base station of a wireless communication system, and based on the measured received electric field strength. A step of detecting deterioration of the received electric field strength; a step of storing position information of a point where the deterioration of the received electric field strength occurs in the storage unit in the portable radio communication device when detecting the deterioration of the received electric field strength; Transferring the position information stored in the storage unit to an external storage device outside the portable wireless communication device.

  In the portable wireless communication device, the wireless communication quality collection system, and the method of the present invention, the mobile radio when the reception electric field strength deterioration is detected based on the measurement result of the reception electric field strength and the reception electric field strength deterioration is detected. The position information of the communication device is acquired and stored in the storage unit. By collecting the position information stored in the storage unit in this way, it is possible to collect information regarding the point where the received electric field strength has deteriorated. Further, by comparing the collected position information with map data, it is possible to check the distribution situation of the reception electric field strength deterioration occurrence, which can be used for a wireless facility enhancement plan by a business operator.

  In the portable wireless communication device and the wireless communication quality collection system according to the present invention, when the control unit detects the deterioration of the reception electric field strength, the control unit instructs the quality alarm generation unit to notify the user of the decrease in the reception electric field strength. Configuration can be adopted. For example, when the deterioration of the received electric field strength is detected after the start of communication, an alarm can be generated to notify the user that the received electric field strength has deteriorated, that is, the communication may be interrupted.

  In the portable wireless communication device and the wireless communication quality collection system of the present invention, when the control unit detects deterioration of the received electric field strength, the control unit acquires time information together with the position information from the position information acquisition unit, and stores the time information in the storage unit Can be adopted. By storing information related to the time at which degradation of the received electric field strength is detected in addition to the position information in the storage unit, it is possible to know the occurrence position and the occurrence time of the received electric field strength degradation. Further, by referring to the time information, it is possible to grasp how often the received electric field strength is deteriorated.

  In the portable wireless communication device of the present invention, the position information acquisition unit can employ a configuration that acquires position information and time information using a positioning system that can acquire both position information and time information. Alternatively, the position information acquisition unit may be configured to acquire position information by a multiple base station positioning method or a cell-based positioning method and acquire time information from a clock function of the portable wireless communication device. When using a positioning method that can acquire both position information and time information such as a GPS positioning method, for example, the time information may be acquired simultaneously with the position measurement. In addition, when performing position measurement by a method such as a multiple base station positioning method or a cell-based positioning method, the position information may be measured by these positioning methods, and the time information may be obtained from the clock function of the portable wireless communication device.

  The portable wireless communication device of the present invention includes an external device interface unit for connecting an external storage device, and the control unit stores the position stored in the storage unit via the external device interface unit. A configuration in which information and time information are transferred to an external storage device can be employed. By transferring the position information and time information stored in the storage unit to the external storage device, the capacity of the storage unit inside the portable wireless communication device can be effectively utilized. Further, by accumulating position information and time information from a plurality of portable wireless communication devices in the external storage device, it is possible to widely collect information related to the position where the received electric field strength deterioration has occurred.

  In the portable wireless communication device and wireless communication quality collection system of the present invention, when the control unit detects that an external storage device is connected to the external device interface unit, the storage unit stores the storage in the connected external storage device. A configuration for transferring position information and time information stored in the unit can be employed. In this case, by connecting the external storage device to the external connection interface unit, the position information and the time information are automatically transferred, and the operation for transferring the position information and the time information can be simplified.

  In the portable wireless communication device and the wireless communication quality collection system of the present invention, when the network unit starts network data communication by the wireless unit, the control unit stores position information and time information stored in the storage unit by the wireless unit. Can be adopted for wireless transmission to the base station. In this case, when the user starts network data communication using the portable wireless communication device, the position information and time information are automatically transferred to the external storage device, and the operation for transferring the position information and time information is simplified. it can.

  In the portable wireless communication device and the wireless communication quality collection system of the present invention, when the control unit detects that the user has performed a power-off operation, the wireless unit stores the position information and time stored in the storage unit. A configuration in which information is wirelessly transmitted to the base station can be employed. The timing of transferring the position information and time information to the external storage device is arbitrary, but it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the position information and time information are transferred to the external storage device, for example, when the power is turned off.

  The wireless communication quality collection system of the present invention can employ a configuration further including a map data storage device that stores map data for collation with the position information. In this case, by collating the position information with the map data, it is possible to grasp the position where the received electric field strength has deteriorated.

  In the portable wireless communication device, the wireless communication quality collection system, and the method of the present invention, the mobile radio when the reception electric field strength deterioration is detected based on the measurement result of the reception electric field strength and the reception electric field strength deterioration is detected. The position information of the communication device is acquired and stored in the storage unit. When deterioration of the received electric field strength is detected, information on the position at that time is stored in the storage unit, and the stored position information is collected from the portable wireless communication device, resulting in the deterioration of the received electric field strength. You can collect information about points. Further, by comparing the collected position information with map data, it is possible to check the distribution situation of the reception electric field strength deterioration occurrence, which can be used for a wireless facility enhancement plan by a business operator.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a wireless communication quality collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless communication quality collection system 100 includes a mobile phone 110, external storage devices 116 and 120, and map data 121. The cellular phone 110 includes a wireless device 111, a control device 112, a position information / time information acquisition device 113, a storage device 114, an external device interface unit 115, a wireless communication antenna 117, a quality alarm generator 118, and position information / time information A time information acquisition antenna 119 is provided.

  The wireless device 111 communicates with a wireless device such as a base station through the wireless communication antenna 117. In addition, the wireless device 111 performs reception field strength measurement by a method designated in advance. The received electric field strength is measured when the user is making a call using the mobile phone 110, for example. The control device 112 receives the measurement result of the received electric field strength measured by the wireless device 111, and detects the deterioration of the received electric field strength based on the measurement result.

  When detecting the deterioration of the received electric field strength, the control device 112 gives a quality alarm generation instruction to the quality alarm generation device 118. Further, the position information / time information acquisition device 113 is requested for position information and time information. Upon receiving a quality alarm generation instruction from the control device 112, the quality alarm generation device 118 generates a quality alarm. When the quality alarm is generated, for example, a warning sound is sounded to notify the user that the received electric field strength has deteriorated.

  The position information / time information acquisition device 113 measures the position of the mobile phone 110 and acquires the current time. The position information / time information acquisition device 113 performs position measurement by, for example, a GPS positioning method using a GPS satellite. Alternatively, a multiple base station positioning method that calculates a position based on a synchronization signal from three or more base stations, or a cell base positioning method that calculates a position from cell information of a base station to which a mobile device is connected, Position measurement may be performed. When performing position measurement by GPS, time information can be acquired from GPS. When performing position measurement by a multiple base station positioning method or a cell-based positioning method, time information is acquired from a clock built in the mobile phone 110.

  When the position information and time information are requested from the control device 112, the position information / time information acquisition device 113 performs position measurement and time acquisition, and sends the measured position information and the acquired time information to the control device 112. return. Alternatively, the position information may be periodically measured, and the position measurement result at the most recent time when the position information is requested may be returned to the control device 112. The control device 112 stores the position information and time information received from the position information / time information acquisition device 113 in the storage device 114. The storage device 114 is a semiconductor memory built in the main body of the mobile phone 110, for example.

  The external device interface unit 115 is an interface for connecting the external storage device 116 to the mobile phone 110. The external storage device 116 is a storage device such as a hard disk. Alternatively, it may be a card-type semiconductor memory device that can be inserted and removed. The external storage device 116 is installed in, for example, a business office of a mobile phone communication company. When the external storage device 116 is connected to the external device interface unit 115, the control device 112 transmits the position information and time information stored in the storage device 114 to the external storage device 116. The external storage device 116 holds the transmitted position information and time information.

  The position information and time information stored in the storage device 114 are transmitted to the external storage device 120 via wireless communication in addition to being transmitted to the external storage device 116 via the external device interface unit 115. The external storage device 120 is a storage device such as a hard disk installed in the base station, for example. The control device 112 transmits the position information and time information stored in the storage device 114 to the external storage device 120 via the base station by the wireless device 111 at a specific timing. As the specific timing at this time, the timing at which the user starts wireless data communication, the timing at which the user performs a power-off operation, or the like can be considered. The external storage device 120 holds the transmitted position information and time information.

  Map data 121 is map information to be collated with position information. The map data 121 is stored in, for example, a storage device in a quality control center for performing quality control of wireless communication. By comparing the map data 121 with the position information and time information stored in the external storage device 116 or the external storage device 120, it is possible to grasp the occurrence distribution status and occurrence frequency of the quality alarm. Note that the external storage device 116 and the external storage device 120 may be physically or logically the same storage device. Alternatively, the external storage device 116 and the external storage device 120 may transmit / receive position information and time information stored with each other to match the stored contents.

  FIG. 2 shows an operation procedure of the wireless communication quality collection system. The wireless device 111 measures the received electric field strength by a predetermined method during a call (step S11). The wireless device 111 reports the measurement result to the control device 112 as needed. The control device 112 detects the deterioration of the received electric field strength based on the measurement result of the received electric field strength reported from the wireless device 111 (step S12). For example, when the received electric field strength measured by the wireless device 111 is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the control device 112 determines that the received electric field strength has deteriorated.

  When detecting deterioration of the received electric field strength, the control device 112 instructs the quality alarm generation device 118 to generate an alarm and requests the position information / time information acquisition device 113 for position information and time information (step S13). . The position information / time information acquisition apparatus 113 returns information regarding the position of the mobile phone 110 and the current time to the control apparatus 112 as a response to the request. When the position information and time information are acquired from the position information / time information acquisition device 113, the control device 112 stores the acquired position information and time information in the storage device 114 (step S14). The mobile phone 110 executes step S11 to step S14 as appropriate, and accumulates the location information and time information of the mobile phone 110 at the timing when the communication quality deteriorates in the storage device 114.

  The control device 112 determines whether or not the external storage device 116 is connected to the external device interface unit 115, whether or not the user has connected to the Internet, and whether or not a power-off operation has been performed (step S15). , Step S17, Step S19). When the control device 112 detects that the external storage device 116 is connected, the control device 112 transmits the position information and time information stored in the storage device 114 to the external storage device 116 via the external device interface unit 115. (Step S16). The external storage device 116 holds the received position information and time information.

  When the user connects the mobile phone 110 to the Internet, the control device 112 wirelessly transmits the position information and time information stored in the storage device 114 to the external storage device 120 by the wireless device 111 (step S18). The external storage device 120 holds the received position information and time information. When the power-off operation is performed, the control device 112 wirelessly transmits the position information and time information stored in the storage device 114 to the external storage device 120 by the wireless device 111 prior to the power-off (step S20). . The external storage device 120 holds the received position information and time information, and notifies the control device 112 of completion of reception. Upon receiving the reception completion report, the control device 112 proceeds with the power-off process.

  In the external storage device 116 and the external storage device 120, information on the position and time at which the received electric field intensity is generated, stored in the storage device 114 of the mobile phone 110, is accumulated by the above procedure. By transmitting position information and time information from the plurality of mobile phones 110 to the external storage device 116 and the external storage device 120, it is possible to acquire information related to the position where the received electric field strength degradation occurs at various points. Thereafter, the business operator collates the position information accumulated in the external storage device 116 and the external storage device 120 with the map data 121 (step S21). The operator can know the distribution status of the points where the degradation of the received electric field strength occurs by this collation. Further, by referring to the time information together, it is possible to grasp the frequency of occurrence of deterioration of the received electric field strength.

  In the present embodiment, the mobile phone 110 stores information on the position and time at which the deterioration of the received electric field strength occurs in the storage device 114 when the condition for generating the quality alarm is satisfied, that is, when the deterioration of the received electric field strength is detected. Remember. By transferring this information to the external storage device 116 or the external storage device 120 and collating it with the map data 121, the operator grasps the distribution status and occurrence frequency of the points where the received electric field strength has deteriorated. be able to. Further, since the location information acquired from the user's mobile phone 110 is location information where the reception field strength actually deteriorates, the operator needs to carefully examine the information content obtained from the user one by one. This reduces the amount of labor required for scrutinizing information.

  In the above embodiment, when the deterioration of the received electric field strength is detected, the quality alarm is generated and the location information and the time information are stored in the storage device 114. However, without notifying the user of the quality alarm, The storage device 114 may be configured to store position information and time information. Further, the transfer of position information and time information from the storage device 114 to the external storage device 116 and the external storage device 120 is not limited to the timing and method described above, and the position information and time information are transferred at an arbitrary timing and method. can do. In the above embodiment, the mobile terminal in the mobile communication system has been described as the mobile phone 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any mobile wireless communication device can be adopted.

  As described above, the present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiments. However, the portable wireless communication device, the wireless communication quality collection system, and the method of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments. Those in which various modifications and changes are made from the configuration of the embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the wireless communication quality collection system of one Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of a radio | wireless communication quality collection system.

Explanation of symbols

100: wireless communication quality collection system 110: mobile phone 111: wireless device 112: control device 113: position information / time information acquisition device 114: storage device 115: external device interface unit 116, 120: external storage device 117, 119: Antenna 118: Quality alarm generator 121: Map data

Claims (17)

A radio unit that transmits and receives a radio signal to and from a base station of a radio communication system, and measures a received electric field strength of a radio signal received from the base station;
A location information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of the portable wireless communication device;
Based on the received electric field strength measured by the wireless unit, the received electric field strength deterioration is detected, and the position information of the portable wireless communication device when the received electric field strength deterioration is detected is acquired from the position information acquiring unit and stored. A portable wireless communication apparatus, comprising: a control unit that stores data in the unit;   The portable wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein when the control unit detects deterioration of the reception electric field strength, the control unit instructs the quality alarm generation unit to notify the user of the decrease of the reception electric field strength.   3. The portable wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires time information together with the position information from the position information acquisition unit and stores the time information in the storage unit when detecting deterioration in received electric field strength.   The portable wireless communication device according to claim 3, wherein the position information acquisition unit acquires position information and time information using a positioning system capable of acquiring both position information and time information.   The portable wireless communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the position information acquisition unit acquires position information by a multiple base station positioning method or a cell-based positioning method, and acquires time information from a clock function of the portable wireless communication device.   An external device interface unit for connecting an external storage device is provided, and the control unit receives position information and time information stored in the storage unit via the external device interface unit. The portable wireless communication device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the portable wireless communication device is transferred to the mobile phone.   When the control unit detects that an external storage device is connected to the external device interface unit, the control unit transfers position information and time information stored in the storage unit to the connected external storage device. Item 7. The portable wireless communication device according to Item 6.   The control unit wirelessly transmits position information and time information stored in the storage unit to the base station when network data communication is started by the wireless unit. The portable wireless communication device according to any one of 7.   The control unit, when detecting that the user performs a power-off operation, wirelessly transmits the position information and time information stored in the storage unit to the base station by the wireless unit. The portable wireless communication device according to any one of? A radio unit that transmits / receives radio signals to / from a base station of a radio communication system and that measures a received electric field strength of a radio signal received from the base station, and a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of a portable radio communication device And detecting the deterioration of the received electric field strength based on the received electric field strength measured by the wireless unit, and acquiring the position information of the portable wireless communication device when the received electric field strength deterioration occurs from the position information acquiring unit. A portable wireless communication device comprising a control unit for storing in the storage unit and an external device interface unit for connecting the external storage device;
A wireless communication quality collection system comprising: an external storage device that receives and stores position information stored in the storage unit via the external device interface unit or the wireless unit.   11. The wireless communication quality collection system according to claim 10, wherein, when the deterioration of the received electric field strength is detected, the control unit instructs the quality alarm generation unit for notifying the user of the decrease in the received electric field strength to generate an alarm.   The wireless communication quality collection system according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising a map data storage device that stores map data for collation with the position information.   The wireless communication according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein when the control unit detects deterioration in received electric field strength, the control unit acquires time information together with the position information from the position information acquisition unit, and stores the time information in the storage unit. Communication quality collection system.   The control unit, when detecting that the external storage device is connected to the interface unit for external device, transmits the position information and time information stored in the storage unit to the external storage device. The wireless communication quality collection system described in 1.   15. The control unit wirelessly transmits position information and time information stored in the storage unit to the external storage device by the wireless unit when network data communication is started by the wireless unit. The wireless communication quality collection system described in 1.   The control unit, when detecting that the user has performed a power-off operation, wirelessly transmits the position information and time information stored in the storage unit to the external storage device by the wireless unit. 15. The wireless communication quality collection system according to any one of 15. Measuring the received field strength of radio signals transmitted and received between the portable radio communication device and the base station of the radio communication system;
Detecting degradation of received field strength based on the measured received field strength;
When detecting the deterioration of the received electric field strength, storing the position information of the point where the deterioration of the received electric field strength occurs in the storage unit in the portable wireless communication device;
Transferring the position information stored in the storage unit to an external storage device outside the portable wireless communication device.

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