JP2009044659A - Communication terminal and wireless connection method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption and also shorten time to take by the real use after a user is going to use wireless LAN. <P>SOLUTION: A position detection unit 202 detects a position of a communication terminal 101 based on field intensity of an input signal sent from a surrounding base station and acquired by a wide area communication wireless device 201. A control unit 206 detects a position of a connection point to a wireless local area network with communication sphere narrower than that of a cellular network based on the received signal field intensity and cell ID of one or more base stations stored in an AP position information storage unit 205. When connection to the detected connection point can be enabled, power supply of a short distance communication wireless device 204 is turned on and connection to the wireless local area network is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal and a wireless connection method including a wide-area communication wireless device connected to a cellular network such as a cellular phone and a short-range communication wireless device connected to a wireless local area network (LAN).

  In recent years, communication terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) equipped with a wireless LAN have been widely used. In addition, places where wireless LAN can be used in homes and stores are expanding, and opportunities for using wireless LAN in communication terminals are increasing.

  Unlike a cellular phone cellular network, a wireless LAN has a narrow wireless reach, so it cannot always be connected to the wireless LAN. Even when the wireless LAN is not connected, the power of the wireless LAN connector inside the communication terminal is always turned on, which consumes the battery of the communication terminal unnecessarily.

Therefore, a method for controlling the power supply of the wireless LAN connector inside the communication terminal based on the position of the communication terminal, the position of the access point (AP) of the wireless LAN, and the reachable range of the wireless LAN can be considered (for example, (See Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
JP 2004-320473 A JP 2004-165755 A

  However, the method described in Patent Document 1 cannot automatically perform power management or connection operation, and after receiving a connection request from a communication terminal, obtains position information of the communication terminal, and a wireless LAN connector. Power on and connect to the wireless LAN. For this reason, there is a problem that it takes time until the user can actually use the wireless LAN after the user tries to use the wireless LAN.

  On the other hand, in the method described in Patent Document 2, a GPS (Global Positioning System) is always operated, and an AP that can be connected from the position of the communication terminal acquired by the GPS and the AP position held in the communication terminal. Select and automatically turn on the power of the wireless LAN connector and connect to the wireless LAN. However, since the GPS is always operating, there is a problem that power consumption for the position information acquisition process is large.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and in a communication terminal including a wide area communication wireless device connected to a cellular network such as a mobile phone and a short-range communication wireless device connected to a wireless LAN, power consumption is reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication terminal and a wireless connection method that can reduce the time taken from the user's attempt to use a wireless LAN to the actual use while reducing the amount.

  A communication terminal according to the present invention is connected to a cellular network, and acquires a field strength of a received signal from a neighboring base station, and a wireless local area network having a communication range narrower than the cellular network. A range communication radio, a position detecting means for detecting the position of the own apparatus using the electric field strength of a received signal from the surrounding base station, a cell ID of one or more base stations of the cellular network, and the one When the storage means for storing the table including the electric field strength corresponding to the base station is compared with the table based on the position of the own apparatus, and the connection point to the wireless local area network is detected, And a control unit that performs control to turn on the power of the distance wireless communication device.

  The wireless connection method of the present invention is connected to a cellular network, obtaining the electric field strength of a received signal from a surrounding base station, connecting to a wireless local area network having a communication range narrower than the cellular network, Detecting the position of the device using the electric field strength of the received signal from the neighboring base station, and corresponding to the cell ID of the one or more base stations of the cellular network and the one or more base stations The step of storing a table including electric field strength and the table based on the position of the device itself, and when the connection point to the wireless local area network is detected, the short-range wireless communicator is turned on. And a step of performing control.

  According to the present invention, a communication terminal including a wide area communication wireless device connected to a cellular network and a short-range communication wireless device connected to a wireless LAN has a connectable AP without waiting for a connection request from a user. In this case, by automatically turning on the power of the short-range communication wireless device and performing connection processing, the time taken from the user trying to use the wireless LAN to the actual use can be reduced while reducing power consumption. Can do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main configuration of a radio communication system according to each embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a communication terminal 101 has a function of communicating with an AP 102 within a communication area 103 of the AP 102 for short-range wireless communication. Further, the communication terminal 101 has a function of communicating with the base stations 104 to 106 constituting the cellular network. When the communication terminal 101 determines that its own device is located in the communication area 103 based on received signals from a plurality of base stations (in FIG. 1, the base station 104, the base station 105, and the base station 106), It is possible to automatically connect to the AP 102.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of communication terminal 101 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The wide area communication wireless device 201 is connected to the cellular network to perform wide area communication, and acquires the electric field strength of the received signal from the surrounding base station.

  When receiving the trigger from the position detection trigger generator 203, the position detector 202 detects the position of the communication terminal 101 using the electric field strength of the received signal from the surrounding base station acquired by the wide area communication radio 201. .

  The position detection trigger generation unit 203 generates a trigger that instructs the position detection unit 202 to start a position detection operation.

  The short-range communication wireless device 204 turns on the power under the control of the control unit 206 and performs short-range communication by connecting to a wireless LAN having a communication range narrower than that of the cellular network.

  The AP location information storage unit 205 holds AP location information including the location of the wireless LAN AP and information necessary for connection.

  The control unit 206 drives the position detection unit 202 using the electric field strength of the received signal from the surrounding base station acquired by the wide area communication radio 201 and the trigger generated by the position detection trigger generation unit 203. In addition, the control unit 206 uses the position of the communication terminal 101 detected by the position detection unit 202 to collate the AP position information held in the AP position information storage unit 205, and the communication terminal 101 can be connected. AP102 is detected. Further, the control unit 206 manages the power supply of the short-range communication wireless device 204 and controls the connection to the wireless LAN based on the detection result of the AP position information storage unit 205.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of AP position information held by the AP position information storage unit 205.

  The AP location information includes location information including information on one or more base stations of the cellular network and connection information for connecting to the AP.

  Among them, the position information is a set of the cell ID of the base station and the electric field strength of the received signal from the base station. Since the electric field strength of the received signal attenuates according to the distance from the base station, if there is information of at least three base stations, the AP position suitable for connection to the wireless LAN is estimated based on the position of the communication terminal 101 can do. That is, it stores a table in which connection points of cellular networks are determined based on cell IDs of one or more base stations and electric field strengths of received signals from these base stations. Note that the number of sets of cell IDs and electric field strengths is not limited to three because the accuracy of position estimation improves as the number of base station information to be stored increases.

  The connection information included in the AP location information is a set of information required when connecting to the AP. When the AP is compatible with IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n, ESSID, WEP key, and the like correspond to this set of information. In the present invention, since the short-range wireless communication method is not limited, the content of the connection information is not limited.

  The AP position information storage unit 205 can store a plurality of such AP position information. That is, the AP position information of one or more designated areas can be stored in the AP position information storage unit 205 using the wide area communication wireless device 201. By storing a plurality of pieces of AP position information in the AP position information storage unit 205, AP position information can be acquired without communication with the outside, so that the AP position information detection time can be shortened.

  Alternatively, the position of the communication terminal 101 may be transmitted to an external server via the wide area communication radio 201, and the calculation of the AP position and the creation of the AP position information may be performed by the server. The server feeds back the created AP position information to the communication terminal 101 and stores it in the AP position information storage unit 205. Thereby, the storage area of the AP position information storage unit 205 can be reduced.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the radio communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Here, only differences from FIG. 1 will be described. In FIG. 4, the communication terminal 101 acquires the AP position information from the position information server 402 that manages the AP position information. Specifically, the communication terminal 101 uses the wide area communication wireless device 201 to connect to the position information server 402 via the wide area communication network 401 and acquires the AP position information.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process for connecting the communication terminal 101 to the AP 102. The processing flow shown in FIG. 5 is controlled by the control unit 206 of the communication terminal 101.

  First, the position detection unit 202 of the communication terminal 101 waits for a trigger from the position detection trigger generation unit 203 (S501). The position detection trigger generation unit 203 detects a handover between base stations of the cellular network and generates a trigger, for example, in order to suppress trigger generation when the communication terminal 101 does not move. Alternatively, the position detection trigger generation unit 203 may generate a trigger by detecting that the electric field strength of a signal received from a base station connected to the cellular network is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. As a result, it is possible to detect that the communication terminal 101 has moved within the jurisdiction area of the same base station and a change in position has occurred. Alternatively, the position detection trigger generation unit 203 may generate a trigger by detecting that the average value of the electric field strength of the received signal from the base station connected to the communication terminal 101 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. good. Thereby, even if there is no change in position, it is possible to suppress unnecessary trigger generation when the electric field strength of the received signal varies due to fading. The position detection trigger generation unit 203 generates a position detection trigger using any one or a plurality of methods described above. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of position detection when the position is changed by utilizing the characteristics of each method.

  When the position detection trigger generation unit 203 generates a trigger while the position detection unit 202 is waiting for a trigger (S502: YES), the position detection unit 202 receives the received signal from the surrounding base station acquired by the wide area communication radio 201. The position of the communication terminal 101 is detected using the electric field strength (S503).

  Next, the control unit 206 is adapted to connect to the wireless LAN by checking the AP position information stored in the AP position information storage unit 205 based on the position of the communication terminal 101 detected by the position detection unit 202. A correct AP position is detected. Alternatively, when AP position information is not stored in the AP position information storage unit 205, the control unit 206 transmits the position of the communication terminal 101 to the position information server 402 and is fed back from the position information server 402. By checking the information, the AP to the wireless LAN is detected. (S504).

  Next, based on the position of the AP detected in step S504 and the position of the communication terminal 101 detected by the position detection unit 202, the control unit 206 determines whether or not the communication terminal 101 is suitable for wireless LAN short-range communication. Determination is made (S505). When the communication terminal 101 does not exist at a position suitable for wireless LAN short-range communication, that is, when an AP suitable for connection to the wireless LAN cannot be detected in step S504 (S505: NO), the processing flow is as follows. Return to S501.

  On the other hand, if the communication terminal 101 is present at a position suitable for wireless LAN short-range communication, that is, if an AP suitable for connection to the wireless LAN is detected in step S504 (S505: YES), the control unit 206 Then, the power of the short-range communication wireless device 204 is turned on (S506).

  Next, the control unit 206 collates the AP position information held by the AP position information storage unit 205 to obtain connection information, and uses the obtained connection information to connect to the AP 102 via the short-range communication wireless device 204 ( S507).

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the communication terminal detects the position of the AP to the wireless LAN using the cell ID of the base station and the electric field strength of the received signal only when detecting a change in position, etc. Only when there is a connectable AP, the short-range communication wireless device 204 is automatically turned on to perform connection processing. Therefore, unnecessary AP position detection and connection operations can be suppressed, and the power consumption of the device itself can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the communication terminal 101 does not wait for a connection request from the user, and when detecting a change in the position of the own device, the communication terminal 101 performs AP position detection, power ON, and connection processing. It is possible to reduce the time taken from the actual use of the wireless LAN to the actual use.

  Moreover, according to this Embodiment, since the communication terminal 101 does not use GPS for a position detection, it can reduce the power consumption by continuous operation of GPS.

(Embodiment 2)
In Embodiment 2 of the present invention, a method different from Embodiment 1 will be described as an AP location information acquisition method.

  In the present embodiment, the communication terminal 601 acquires the AP position information when the short-range communication wireless device 204 is connected to the wireless LAN by the user setting and activation operation, stores the AP position information in the AP position information storage unit 205, and It is used for power ON and connection processing after the connection processing of the range communication radio 204. After the connection processing is completed, the power-on and connection processing of the short-range communication radio device 204 is as described in the first embodiment of the present invention, and thus description thereof is omitted (see FIG. 5).

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of communication terminal 601 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The communication terminal 601 has the same basic configuration as that of the communication terminal 101 (see FIG. 1) shown in the first embodiment, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. . The communication terminal 601 is different from the communication terminal 101 in that it further includes a connection history management unit 602.

  The connection history management unit 602 controls the wide area communication wireless device 201 when the short-range communication wireless device 204 is connected to the wireless LAN, and uses the cell ID of the neighboring base station and the electric field strength of the received signal as the AP position information. The information is stored in the information storage unit 205.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process for storing AP position information when the short-range communication wireless device 204 is connected to the wireless LAN. The process shown in FIG. 7 is a process subsequent to the connection process (see FIG. 5) of the short-range communication wireless device 204 to the AP 102 shown in the first embodiment. Therefore, FIG. 7 shows processing subsequent to S506 and S507 shown in FIG.

  First, the near field communication device 204 is turned on (S506). Next, connection to the AP 102 is attempted using the short-range communication wireless device 204 (S507). If the connection fails (S701: NO), the process ends. When the connection is successful (S701: YES), the wide area communication radio 201 acquires the cell ID of the surrounding base station and the electric field strength of the received signal (S702). The connection history management unit 602 stores the cell ID of the surrounding base station acquired by the wide area communication radio 201 and the electric field strength of the received signal in the AP location information storage unit 205 as AP location information (S703).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the AP position information when the short-range communication wireless device 204 is used in the communication terminal is stored and used for the second connection process, it is not necessary to set the position information in advance. In addition, communication with an external device is not required when acquiring position information. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the time required from the user trying to use the wireless LAN to the actual use. Further, since only the location information of the usable AP is recorded, the storage capacity can be reduced.

  The communication terminal and the wireless connection method according to the present invention can be applied to the use of a wireless terminal device capable of communicating with both a cellular network and a wireless LAN.

The figure which shows the main structures of the radio | wireless communications system which concerns on each embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the internal structure of the communication terminal which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of AP position information which the AP position information storage part which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention hold | maintains. The figure which shows the structural example of the radio | wireless communications system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The flowchart which shows the connection process to AP of the communication terminal which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention The block diagram which shows the internal structure of the communication terminal which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. The flowchart which shows the memory | storage process of AP position information at the time of the initial connection of the near field communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

101, 601 Communication terminal 102 AP for short-range wireless communication
103 AP 102 Communication Area 104, 105, 106 Base Station 201 Wide Area Communication Radio 202 Position Detection Unit 203 Position Detection Trigger Generation Unit 204 Near Field Communication Radio 205 AP Position Information Storage Unit 206 Control Unit 401 Wide Area Communication Network 402 Position Information Server 602 Connection history management unit

Claims (9)

A wide area communication radio that connects to a cellular network and acquires the electric field strength of received signals from surrounding base stations;
A near field communication wireless device connected to a wireless local area network having a communication range narrower than the cellular network;
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the device using the electric field strength of the received signal from the surrounding base station;
Storage means for storing a table including cell IDs of one or more base stations of the cellular network and electric field strengths corresponding to the one or more base stations;
When the table is collated based on the position of the own device and a connection point to the wireless local area network is detected, control means for controlling to turn on the short-range wireless communication device;
A communication terminal comprising: The position detecting means includes
Detecting the position of the own device when detecting a handover between the neighboring base stations,
The communication terminal according to claim 1. The position detecting means includes
Detecting the position of the own device when the electric field strength of the received signal from the surrounding base station is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold;
The communication terminal according to claim 1 or 2. The position detecting means includes
When the average value of the electric field strength of the received signals from the surrounding base stations in a predetermined time range is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the position of the own device is detected
The communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The position detecting means includes
When the change of the position of the own apparatus is detected based on the electric field strength of the received signal from the surrounding base station, the position of the own apparatus is detected.
The communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4. When the near field communication wireless device connects to a wireless local area network by a user operation, obtains a cell ID of the one or more base stations and an electric field strength of a received signal from the one or more base stations; Connection history management means for storing in the storage means together with information on connection points connected to the wireless local area network,
The communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: The wireless local area network conforms to the IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n standard.
The communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A communication terminal device connected to both a cellular network and a wireless local area network having a communication range narrower than the cellular network;
A server connected to the communication terminal device via the cellular network;
A wireless communication system comprising:
The communication terminal device
A wide area communication radio that connects to a cellular network and acquires the electric field strength of received signals from surrounding base stations,
A near field communication wireless device connected to the wireless local area network;
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the device using the electric field strength of the received signal from the surrounding base station;
Control means for transmitting the position of the own device to the server and controlling the short-range wireless communication device to be turned on when a connection point to the wireless local area network is fed back from the server; ,
Comprising
The server
Storing a table including cell IDs of one or more base stations of the cellular network and electric field strengths corresponding to the one or more base stations, and collating the table based on the position of the communication terminal device And detecting the connection point and feeding back to the control means.
Wireless communication system. Connecting to a cellular network, obtaining the electric field strength of received signals from surrounding base stations, and
Connecting to a wireless local area network with a communication range narrower than the cellular network;
Detecting the position of the device using the electric field strength of the received signal from the surrounding base station;
Storing a table including cell IDs of one or more base stations of the cellular network and field strengths corresponding to the one or more base stations;
Checking the table based on the position of the device itself, and detecting a connection point to the wireless local area network, controlling to turn on the short-range wireless communicator;
A wireless connection method comprising:

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