JP2015035789A - Radio communication device and radio communication control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rapidly select an optimum antenna for transmitting/receiving signals even when a holding situation of a device changes according to an executed application.SOLUTION: A radio communication device comprises: a plurality of antennas; a storage unit; a determination unit; and a selection unit. The plurality of antennas are a plurality of antennas capable of being switched. The storage unit stores priority of each of the plurality of antennas, which is determined according to a reception characteristic of a signal received by each of the plurality of antennas when each of a plurality of applications to be execution targets is executed, in association with each of the plurality of applications. The determination unit determines an execution application, which is an application currently being executed by the radio communication device, of the plurality of applications. The selection unit selects an antenna to be used for transmitting/receiving signals from the plurality of antennas, on the basis of priority stored in the storage unit in association with the execution application.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus and a wireless communication control program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a wireless communication control technique for suppressing deterioration of communication quality due to the influence of a human body, a diversity technique for transmitting and receiving signals using a plurality of switchable antennas is known. In a radio communication apparatus to which diversity technology is applied, each of a plurality of antennas is sequentially switched, the received power of a signal received by the antenna is measured, and the antenna having the largest received power among the plurality of antennas is used for signal transmission / reception. Select as antenna. As a result, for example, even when any one of the plurality of antennas is affected by the human body, communication is ensured by the other antennas, so that deterioration in communication quality can be suppressed.

JP 2004-328172 A JP 2004-201188 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-191750 JP 2004-29795 A JP 2008-042582 A JP 2004-165826 A JP 2002-261665 A

  However, the above-described conventional technique has a problem that it is difficult to quickly select an optimum antenna for signal transmission / reception when the holding mode of the apparatus by the holder changes according to the application to be executed. It was.

  That is, the holder of the wireless communication device may change the holding mode of the wireless communication device according to the application to be executed. The holding mode of the wireless communication device refers to, for example, the orientation of the wireless communication device, the type of the handle for holding the wireless communication device, the type of finger for operating the wireless communication device, and the like. When the holding mode of the wireless communication device changes, the positional relationship between each of the plurality of antennas in the wireless communication device and the human body also changes, and the magnitude relationship of the received power of the signals received by each of the plurality of antennas also changes. When the magnitude relationship of the received power of the signals received by each of the plurality of antennas changes, in the conventional technology, each of the plurality of antennas is sequentially switched again to search for the antenna having the highest received power, and the searched antenna Are selected as antennas used for signal transmission and reception. For this reason, in the conventional technique, the processing time required for selecting the optimum antenna is prolonged as the switching of the antennas is repeated by the total number of antennas. As a result, in the related art, it is difficult to quickly select an optimal antenna for signal transmission / reception when the holding mode of the apparatus changes according to the application to be executed.

  The disclosed technology has been made in view of the above, and wireless communication that can quickly select an optimum antenna for signal transmission / reception even when the holding mode of the apparatus changes according to the application to be executed. An object is to provide a device and a wireless communication control program.

  In one aspect, a wireless communication device disclosed in the present application includes a plurality of antennas, a storage unit, a determination unit, and a selection unit. The plurality of antennas are switchable antennas. The storage unit is associated with each of a plurality of applications to be executed, and is determined according to reception characteristics of signals received by each of the plurality of antennas when each of the plurality of applications is executed. The priority of each antenna is stored. The determination unit determines an execution application which is an application currently being executed by the own apparatus among the plurality of applications. The selection unit selects an antenna to be used for transmission / reception of the signal from the plurality of antennas based on the priority stored in the storage unit in association with the execution application.

  According to one aspect of the wireless communication device disclosed in the present application, it is possible to quickly select an optimum antenna for signal transmission / reception even when the holding state of the device changes according to the application to be executed. Play.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the position of an antenna built in the wireless communication apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a holding mode of the wireless communication device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of antenna selection by a conventional diversity technique. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating an example of antenna selection by the antenna selection method according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the internal configuration of the wireless communication apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of the priority storage unit in the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the antenna selection process executed by the wireless communication apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the wireless communication device.

  Embodiments of a wireless communication apparatus and a wireless communication control program disclosed in the present application will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The disclosed technology is not limited by this embodiment.

  First, an antenna selection method executed by the wireless communication apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described in comparison with a conventional diversity technique as a premise. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the position of an antenna built in the wireless communication apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the example of FIG. 1, the portion where the operation unit 12 exists along the longitudinal direction of the display 11 is the lower part of the wireless communication device 10, and the portion opposite to the operation unit 12 along the longitudinal direction of the display 11 It is assumed that it is the upper part of the wireless communication device 10. Further, it is assumed that the two side surfaces along the short direction of the display 11 are the two side portions of the wireless communication device 10.

  The wireless communication apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c that are three antennas. The antenna 10 a is disposed on the lower side of the wireless communication device 10, the antenna 10 b is disposed on the upper side of the wireless communication device 10, and the antenna 10 c is one of the two side portions of the wireless communication device 10. It is arrange | positioned at the side part side. In the example of FIG. 1, an example in which the number of antennas is three is shown, but the number of antennas may be one, or may be four or more.

  Such a holder of the wireless communication device 10 may change the holding mode of the wireless communication device 10 in accordance with an application executed on the wireless communication device 10 from the viewpoint of improving convenience. The holding mode of the wireless communication device 10 refers to, for example, the orientation of the wireless communication device 10, the type of a handle for gripping the wireless communication device 10, the type of finger for operating the wireless communication device 10, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a holding mode of the wireless communication device according to the present embodiment. As an example, it is assumed that an application for browsing mail is executed. In this case, as shown in pattern A of FIG. 2, the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 is set to be vertical and upward, which is the orientation in which the upper side of the wireless communication device 10 matches the head side of the human body. 10 is gripped with both hands and operated with the thumb. As another example, a case is assumed where an application for executing a game is executed. In this case, as shown in the pattern E of FIG. 2, the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 is set to be horizontal and leftward so that the upper side of the wireless communication device 10 coincides with the left side of the human body. , Grasped with both hands and operated with thumbs. As another example, it is assumed that an application for browsing a browser is executed. In this case, as shown in pattern C of FIG. 2, the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 is set to be vertical and upward, which is the orientation in which the upper side of the wireless communication device 10 matches the head side of the human body. 10 is grasped with both hands and operated with the index finger.

  As described above, the holding mode of the wireless communication device 10 may change according to the application executed by the wireless communication device 10. When the holding mode of the wireless communication device 10 changes, the positional relationship between each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c in the wireless communication device 10 and the human body (holder) also changes and is received by each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c. The magnitude relationship of the received power of the signal varies. If the magnitude relationship of the received power of the signals received by each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c changes, the communication quality may deteriorate due to the influence of the human body. As a wireless communication control technique for suppressing such deterioration in communication quality due to the influence of the human body, there is a diversity technique.

  Here, an example of antenna selection by the conventional diversity technique will be described. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of antenna selection by a conventional diversity technique. In FIG. 3A, the horizontal axis is a time axis. As described with reference to FIG. 2, when the holding mode of the wireless communication device 10 changes, the conventional diversity technique performs antenna selection processing as shown in FIG. 3A. That is, in the conventional diversity technique, each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c is sequentially switched to measure the reception power of the signal received by each antenna, and the antenna having the maximum reception power among a plurality of antennas transmits and receives signals. Select the antenna to be used for In the example of FIG. 3A, after switching of all the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c is completed and the measurement of received power is completed, the antennas used for signal transmission / reception are selected from the three antennas.

  As described above, in the conventional diversity technique, the antenna switching is repeated by the total number of antennas, so that the processing time for selecting the optimum antenna is prolonged.

  In contrast, an example of antenna selection by the antenna selection method according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating an example of antenna selection by the antenna selection method according to the present embodiment. The antenna selection method according to the present embodiment is associated with each of a plurality of applications, and a plurality of antennas determined according to reception characteristics of signals received by each of the plurality of antennas when each of the plurality of applications is executed. Reference is made to a storage unit for storing the respective priorities. The antenna selection method according to the present embodiment selects an antenna to be used for signal transmission / reception from a plurality of antennas based on the priority stored in the storage unit in association with the currently executed application. Specifically, in the antenna selection method according to the present embodiment, when the signal reception characteristics are improved before and after switching while sequentially switching a plurality of antennas with a higher priority as the priority is higher, The antenna is selected as the antenna used for signal transmission / reception.

  In the example of FIG. 3B, the reception power of signals received by each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c during execution of a specific application among a plurality of applications to be executed is higher in the order of antennas 10a → 10b → 10c. Shall. In this case, the priority of each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c stored in the storage unit is higher in the order of the antennas 10a → 10b → 10c. For this reason, in the example of FIG. 3B, first, when the currently selected antenna is switched to the antenna 10a having the highest priority and the reception power of the signal is improved before and after switching, the antenna 10a after switching is signaled. This is selected as the antenna used for transmission / reception. As is clear from the comparison between FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the antenna selection method according to the present embodiment can suppress the number of repetitions of antenna switching more than the conventional antenna selection method based on the diversity technique, and is optimal. The processing time required for antenna selection can be shortened. As a result, the antenna selection method according to the present embodiment can quickly select the optimum antenna for signal transmission / reception even when the holding mode of the apparatus changes according to the application to be executed.

  Next, the internal configuration of the wireless communication apparatus 10 that executes the antenna selection method according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the internal configuration of the wireless communication apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, the display 11 and the operation unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 are not shown for convenience of explanation.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, the wireless communication device 10 includes antennas 10 a, 10 b, and 10 c, a wireless transmission / reception unit 13, a baseband processing unit 14, and an application processing unit 15. In addition, the wireless communication device 10 includes a priority storage unit 101, a received power measurement unit 102, an application determination unit 103, a direction detection unit 104, and an antenna selection unit 105.

  The antennas 10 a, 10 b, and 10 c are switchable antennas and are connected to the wireless transmission / reception unit 13. The antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c correspond to the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c illustrated in FIG.

  The wireless transmission / reception unit 13 includes PA (Power Amplifier) 131, 132, 133, DUP (DUPlexer) 134, 135, 136, SW (SWitch) 137, and RF-LSI (Radio Frequency-Large Scale Integration) 138. Have.

  Each of PAs 131, 132, and 133 amplifies the signal received from RF-LSI 138, and outputs the amplified signal to each of DUPs 134, 135, and 136. The signals output to each of the DUPs 134, 135, and 136 are transmitted via the SW 137 and the antenna 10a when the antenna 10a is selected as the signal transmission / reception antenna. In addition, signals output to each of the DUPs 134, 135, and 136 are transmitted via the SW 137 and the antenna 10b when the antenna 10b is selected as the signal transmission / reception antenna. The signals output to each of the DUPs 134, 135, and 136 are transmitted via the SW 137 and the antenna 10c when the antenna 10c is selected as the signal transmission / reception antenna.

  Each of the DUPs 134, 135, and 136 receives a reception signal via the antenna 10 a and the SW 137 and outputs the received signal to the RF-LSI 138 when the antenna 10 a is selected as an antenna for signal transmission / reception. Further, each of the DUPs 134, 135, and 136 receives a reception signal via the antenna 10 b and the SW 137 and outputs the received signal to the RF-LSI 138 when the antenna 10 b is selected as an antenna for signal transmission / reception. In addition, each of the DUPs 134, 135, and 136 receives a reception signal via the antenna 10 c and the SW 137 and outputs the received signal to the RF-LSI 138 when the antenna 10 c is selected as the signal transmission / reception antenna.

  The SW 137 switches the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c in accordance with the switching instruction from the antenna selection unit 105, and connects the switched antennas to the DUPs 134, 135, and 136, respectively. The SW 137 holds the connection between the switched antenna and each of the DUPs 134, 135, 136 in accordance with an antenna selection instruction from the antenna selection unit 105.

  The RF-LSI 138 receives a reception signal, performs predetermined reception radio processing, that is, down-conversion, analog-digital conversion, and the like on the received reception signal, and receives the reception signal after reception radio processing by the baseband processing unit 14 and the reception signal. Output to the power measuring unit 102. In addition, the RF-LSI 138 performs predetermined transmission radio processing, that is, digital-analog conversion, up-conversion, and the like on the baseband signal received from the baseband processing unit 14 and outputs a signal after the transmission radio processing.

  The baseband processing unit 14 performs predetermined reception baseband processing, that is, demodulation and decoding, on the baseband signal received from the wireless transmission / reception unit 13, and outputs the obtained reception data to the application processing unit 15. . Further, the baseband processing unit 14 performs predetermined transmission baseband processing, that is, encoding and modulation, on the transmission data received from the application processing unit 15, and sends the obtained baseband signal to the wireless transmission / reception unit 13. Output.

  The application processing unit 15 executes various applications included in a plurality of applications to be executed, and controls the entire wireless communication device 10. In addition, the application processing unit 15 outputs transmission data generated by the running application to the baseband processing unit 14. Further, the application processing unit 15 executes processing corresponding to the application on the received data received from the baseband processing unit 14.

  The priority storage unit 101 associates each of the plurality of applications to be executed by the application processing unit 15 with the combination of the direction of the wireless communication device 10 when each of the plurality of applications is executed, and the antennas 10a and 10b. , 10c is stored. The initial value of the priority of each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c stored in the priority storage unit 101 is the received power of the signal received by each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c when each of the plurality of applications is executed. Will be decided accordingly.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of the priority storage unit in the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the priority storage unit 101 stores an application, a direction, and a priority in association with each other.

  In FIG. 5, an application indicates each of a plurality of applications to be executed by the application processing unit 15.

  The direction indicates the direction of the wireless communication device 10 when each of the plurality of applications is executed. Examples of the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 include vertical and upward, vertical and downward, horizontal and rightward, and horizontal and leftward. The term “vertical and upward” refers to a direction in which the upper side of the wireless communication device 10 is aligned with the head side of the human body. The term “vertical and downward” refers to a direction in which the upper side of the wireless communication device 10 coincides with the foot side of the human body. Horizontal and rightward is an orientation in which the upper side of the wireless communication device 10 is aligned with the right side of the human body. Horizontal and leftward refers to a direction in which the upper side of the wireless communication device 10 matches the left side of the human body. Note that the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 is not limited to the above-described orientation, and the positional relationship between each of the plurality of antennas in the wireless communication device 10 and the body (a handle, a finger, etc.) of the holder of the wireless communication device 10. Any orientation may be used as long as the orientation is varied.

  The priority indicates the priority of each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c, which is determined according to the reception power of the signal received by each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c when each of the plurality of applications is executed. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the priority of each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c increases as the received power increases. Here, the received power is, for example, a received signal strength indication (RSSI), a reference signal code power (RSCP), or the like.

  For example, in FIG. 5, when an application for browsing the “browser” is executed and the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 is “vertical and upward”, the priority of the “antenna 10a” is the highest. The reception power of the signal corresponding to the antenna 10a "is the highest. Further, for example, in FIG. 5, when an application for browsing the “browser” is executed and the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 is “lateral and rightward”, the priority of the “antenna 10 c” is the highest. , The reception power of the signal corresponding to “antenna 10c” is the largest. Further, for example, in FIG. 5, when the application for executing the “game” is executed and the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 is “vertical and upward”, the priority of the “antenna 10 b” is the highest. , The reception power of the signal corresponding to “antenna 10b” is the largest. For example, in FIG. 5, when an application for viewing “One Seg” is executed and the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 is “vertical and upward”, the priority of the “antenna 10 c” is the highest. , The reception power of the signal corresponding to “antenna 10c” is the largest.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The received power measuring unit 102 measures the received power of the signal received by the antenna currently selected by the antenna selecting unit 105. Specifically, the received power measurement unit 102 measures the received power of the signal received by the currently selected antenna, using the received signal received from the RF-LSI 138. Here, the received power is, for example, RSSI, RSCP, or the like. Received power measuring section 102 then outputs the measured received power to antenna selecting section 105.

  The application determination unit 103 determines an application (hereinafter referred to as “execution application”) currently being executed by the application processing unit 15 from among a plurality of applications to be executed. The application determination unit 103 outputs the execution application as a determination result to the antenna selection unit 105.

  The direction detection unit 104 detects the direction of the wireless communication device 10. For example, the orientation detection unit 104 detects the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 using a sensor such as a geomagnetic sensor or an angular velocity sensor (not shown). The direction detection unit 104 outputs the detected direction of the wireless communication device 10 to the antenna selection unit 105 as a detection result.

  The antenna selection unit 105 receives an execution application as a determination result from the application determination unit 103. The antenna selection unit 105 receives the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 as a detection result from the orientation detection unit 104. The antenna selection unit 105 transmits and receives signals from the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c based on the priority stored in the priority storage unit 101 in association with the combination of the execution application and the direction of the wireless communication device 10. Select the antenna to be used.

  Specifically, the antenna selection unit 105 acquires the priority of each of the antennas 10 a, 10 b, and 10 c corresponding to the combination of the execution application and the direction of the wireless communication device 10 from the priority storage unit 101. The antenna selection unit 105 determines the priority order of antennas that increases as the acquired priority increases, and outputs an instruction to sequentially switch the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c to the SW 137 with the determined priority order. The antenna selection unit 105 measures the received power of the received power of the signal received by the antenna before switching and the received power of the signal received by the antenna after switching while sequentially switching the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c by the SW 137. Received from the unit 102. And the antenna selection part 105 compares the received power of the signal received by the antenna after switching, and the received power of the signal received by the antenna before switching. When the reception power of the signal received by the antenna after switching is improved from the reception power of the signal received by the antenna before switching, the antenna selection unit 105 performs the following processing. That is, the antenna selection unit 105 selects the antenna after switching as an antenna used for signal transmission / reception. Furthermore, the antenna selection unit 105 updates the priority storage unit 101 so that the priority of the antenna after switching is increased.

  On the other hand, when the reception power of the signal received by the antenna after switching is not improved from the reception power of the signal received by the antenna before switching, the antenna selection unit 105 performs the following processing. That is, if all of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c have not been switched, the antenna selection unit 105 switches the antenna after switching to the antenna with the next highest priority, and again compares the received power before and after switching. Do. If all of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c have been switched, the antenna selection unit 105 switches to the antenna having the highest received power among the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c, and uses the switched antenna for signal transmission / reception. Choose as.

  Further, the antenna selection unit 105 repeatedly executes a process of selecting an antenna to be used for signal transmission / reception when the reception power value of the signal received by the currently selected antenna falls below a predetermined threshold. . Alternatively, the antenna selection unit 105 repeatedly executes a process of selecting an antenna to be used for signal transmission / reception when at least one of the execution application and the direction of the wireless communication device 10 is changed.

  Here, an example of a process in which the antenna selection unit 105 selects an antenna used for signal transmission / reception will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that the execution application is an application for browsing “browser” and the orientation of the wireless communication apparatus 10 is changed from “horizontal and rightward” to “vertical and upward”. When the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 is changed from “horizontal and rightward” to “vertical and upward”, the antenna selection unit 105 executes the following processing. That is, the antenna selection unit 105 refers to the priority storage unit 101. The antenna selection unit 105 then sets the antennas 10a and 10b based on the priority stored in the storage unit in association with the combination of the execution application “browser” and the orientation “vertical and upward” of the wireless communication device 10. , 10c, the antenna used for signal transmission / reception is selected. Specifically, the antenna selection unit 105 determines the priority of each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c as “1”, “2”, and “3” because the priority is higher in the order of the antennas 10a → 10b → 10c. To do. The antenna selection unit 105 switches the currently selected antenna 10c to the antenna 10a having the highest priority, and when the reception power of the antenna 10a is improved over the reception power of the antenna 10c, the antenna selection unit 105 transmits and receives signals. Select the antenna to be used for Furthermore, the antenna selection unit 105 updates the priority storage unit 101 so that the priority of the antenna 10a after switching is greater than the current value.

  Next, the procedure of the antenna selection process executed by the wireless communication apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the antenna selection process executed by the wireless communication apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the antenna selection unit 105 has a received power value of a signal received by the currently selected antenna that is equal to or greater than a threshold value, and the direction of the execution application and the wireless communication device 10 is changed. If not (No at step S101), the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the value of the received power of the signal received by the currently selected antenna falls below the threshold, or when at least one of the execution application and the direction is changed (step S101), the antenna selection unit 105 (Yes), proceed.

  That is, the application determination unit 103 determines an execution application (step S102). The application determination unit 103 outputs the execution application to the antenna selection unit 105 as the latest determination result. The antenna selection unit 105 receives the execution application as the latest determination result from the application determination unit 103.

  The direction detection unit 104 detects the direction of the wireless communication device 10 (step S103). The detection unit 104 outputs the detected orientation of the wireless communication device 10 to the antenna selection unit 105 as the latest detection result. The antenna selection unit 105 receives the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 as the latest detection result from the orientation detection unit 104.

  The antenna selection unit 105 refers to the priority storage unit 101 (step S104), and determines the priority of each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c corresponding to the combination of the execution application and the direction of the wireless communication device 10 as the priority. Obtained from the storage unit 101 (step S105).

  The antenna selection unit 105 determines the priority of the antenna that is higher as the acquired priority is higher (step S106).

  The antenna selection unit 105 switches the currently selected antenna to the antenna with the highest priority (step S107).

  When the reception power of the signal received by the antenna after switching is improved from the reception power of the signal received by the antenna before switching (Yes at Step S108), the antenna selection unit 105 performs the following processing. That is, the antenna selection unit 105 selects the antenna after switching as an antenna used for signal transmission / reception (step S109). Further, the antenna selection unit 105 updates the priority storage unit 101 so that the priority of the antenna after the switching is increased (step S110).

  On the other hand, when the reception power of the signal received by the antenna after switching is not improved from the reception power of the signal received by the antenna before switching (No at Step S108), the antenna selection unit 105 performs the following processing. Do. That is, if all of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c have not been switched (No at Step S111), the antenna selection unit 105 switches the antenna after switching to the antenna with the next highest priority (Step S112), and performs the processing step. Return to S108. If all of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c have been switched (Yes at Step S111), the antenna selection unit 105 switches the antenna after switching to the antenna having the highest reception power among all the antennas (Step S113). Advances to step S109.

  As described above, in the wireless communication device 10 according to the present embodiment, the priority storage unit 101 associates each of the plurality of applications with the combination of the orientation of the wireless communication device 10 when each of the plurality of applications is executed. Each priority of 10a, 10b, 10c is stored. The application determination unit 103 determines an execution application that is currently being executed by the wireless communication device 10 from among a plurality of applications. The direction detection unit 104 detects the direction of the wireless communication device 10. The antenna selection unit 105 transmits and receives signals from the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c based on the priority stored in the priority storage unit 101 in association with the combination of the execution application and the direction of the wireless communication device 10. Select the antenna to be used.

  For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the number of times of antenna switching as compared with the conventional diversity technique in which switching of all antennas is performed when the holding mode of the wireless communication device 10 is changed. The processing time required for selecting an appropriate antenna can be shortened. Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, an optimal antenna that suppresses deterioration in communication quality due to the influence of the human body by following the diversity of combinations of the application to be executed and the direction of the wireless communication device 10 at the time of application execution. You can choose. As a result, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to quickly select an optimum antenna for signal transmission / reception even when the holding mode of the apparatus changes according to the application to be executed.

  Further, in the wireless communication device 10 of the present embodiment, the antenna selection unit 105 sequentially switches the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c in a priority order that increases as the priority of the antenna increases. The antenna selection unit 105 sequentially switches the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c, and when the received power of the signal received by the antenna after switching is improved over the received power before switching, the antenna selecting unit 105 Select the best antenna for transmission and reception.

  For this reason, according to the present embodiment, an antenna with improved reception power can be quickly selected as an antenna used for signal transmission / reception.

  Further, in the wireless communication device 10 of the present embodiment, the antenna selection unit 105 prioritizes the antenna after switching when the reception power of the signal received by the antenna after switching is improved over the reception power before switching. The priority storage unit 101 is updated so as to increase the degree.

  For this reason, according to the present embodiment, the priorities of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c stored in the priority storage unit 101 can be held in the latest state. As a result, according to this embodiment, even when the correspondence between the combination of the application and the orientation of the device and the priority of each of the plurality of antennas changes with the change of the holder of the wireless communication device 10. Based on the latest priority, the optimum antenna for signal transmission / reception can be quickly selected.

  Further, in the wireless communication device 10 according to the present embodiment, the antenna selection unit 105 selects an antenna to be used for signal transmission / reception when the reception power of the signal received by the currently selected antenna falls below a threshold value. Repeat the process. Alternatively, the antenna selection unit 105 repeatedly executes a process of selecting an antenna to be used for signal transmission / reception when at least one of the execution application and the direction of the wireless communication device 10 is changed.

  For this reason, according to the present embodiment, the selection of the antenna can be dynamically repeated with an appropriate opportunity.

[Other embodiments]
(1) Data structure example of priority storage unit In the above-described embodiment, the priority storage unit 101 associates each of a plurality of applications with the orientation of the wireless communication device 10, and the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c. Although the example which memorize | stores each priority of this was demonstrated, a disclosed technique is not restricted to this. For example, the priority storage unit 101 may store the priority of each of the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c in association with each of a plurality of applications. In this case, the antenna selection unit 105 selects an antenna to be used for signal transmission / reception from the antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c based on the priority stored in the priority storage unit 101 in association with the execution application.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to select an optimal antenna that suppresses deterioration of communication quality due to the influence of the human body following the variety of applications to be executed. As a result, similarly to the embodiment, even when the holding mode of the apparatus changes according to the application to be executed, the optimum antenna for signal transmission / reception can be quickly selected.

(2) Selection of matching circuit In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the wireless communication apparatus 10 selects an antenna to be used for signal transmission / reception from a plurality of antennas has been described, but the disclosed technology is not limited thereto. For example, as a modification of the embodiment, a plurality of matching circuits capable of switching the connection to the antenna may be provided, and a matching circuit connected to the antenna may be selected from the plurality of matching circuits. Such a configuration will be described below as a modification of the embodiment.

  The wireless communication apparatus according to the modification includes one antenna and a plurality of matching circuits that can switch connection to the one antenna. In addition, the wireless communication device according to the modification is determined in accordance with reception power of a signal received by each of the antenna and the plurality of matching circuits in association with each of the plurality of applications when each of the plurality of applications is executed. The priority of each of the plurality of matching circuits is stored. The wireless communication device according to the modification includes a matching circuit connected to the antenna from a plurality of matching circuits based on the priority stored in association with the execution application, that is, a matching circuit used for matching the impedance of the antenna. select.

  According to the wireless communication device of the modification, it is possible to select an optimum matching circuit that suppresses deterioration of communication quality due to the influence of the human body, following the variety of applications to be executed. As a result, even when the holding mode of the device changes according to the application to be executed, it is possible to quickly select a matching circuit optimal for signal transmission / reception.

[Hardware configuration]
The wireless communication device 10 of the above embodiment can be realized by a hardware configuration as shown in FIG. 7, for example. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the wireless communication device.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the wireless communication apparatus 10 includes antennas 10a, 10b, and 10c, an RF circuit 21, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 22, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 23 as hardware components. And a memory 24. In addition, the wireless communication device 10 includes a display 11 with a touch panel function and an operation unit 12.

  The radio transmission / reception unit 13 illustrated in FIG. 4 is realized by the RF circuit 21, for example. The baseband processing unit 14 and the application processing unit 15 illustrated in FIG. 4 are realized by the DSP 22, for example. Further, the received power measurement unit 102, the application determination unit 103, the orientation detection unit 104, and the antenna selection unit 105 illustrated in FIG. 4 are realized by the CPU 23, for example. Further, the priority storage unit 101 illustrated in FIG. 4 is realized by the memory 24, for example.

  The various processes described in the above embodiments can be realized by executing a prepared program on a computer. In this case, a wireless communication control program corresponding to each process executed by the received power measurement unit 102, the application determination unit 103, the direction detection unit 104, and the antenna selection unit 105 is recorded in the memory 24. The wireless communication control program is read by the CPU 23 and functions as a process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Radio communication apparatus 10a, 10b, 10c Antenna 101 Priority memory | storage part 102 Reception power measurement part 103 Application determination part 104 Direction detection part 105 Antenna selection part

Claims (6)

Multiple switchable antennas,
Each of the plurality of antennas is determined according to reception characteristics of signals received by each of the plurality of antennas when each of the plurality of applications is executed in association with each of the plurality of applications to be executed. A storage unit for storing the priority of
A determination unit that determines an execution application that is an application that is currently being executed by the own device among the plurality of applications;
And a selection unit that selects an antenna used for transmission / reception of the signal from the plurality of antennas based on the priority stored in the storage unit in association with the execution application. apparatus. A detector that detects the orientation of the wireless communication device;
The storage unit stores the priority of each of the plurality of antennas in association with a combination of each of the plurality of applications and the orientation of the wireless communication device when each of the plurality of applications is executed.
Based on the priority stored in the storage unit in association with the combination of the execution application and the orientation of the wireless communication device detected by the detection unit, the selection unit from the plurality of antennas The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an antenna used for transmission / reception of the signal is selected. The selection unit sequentially switches the plurality of antennas with a priority higher as the priority is higher, and the reception characteristics of the signal received by the antenna after switching are received by the antenna before switching. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the reception characteristic is improved, the antenna after switching is selected as an antenna used for transmission / reception of the signal. The selection unit may prioritize the antenna after switching when the reception characteristic of the signal received by the antenna after switching is improved than the reception characteristic of the signal received by the antenna before switching. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the storage unit is updated so as to increase the degree. The selection unit is triggered by the reception characteristic value of the signal received by the currently selected antenna being lower than a predetermined threshold, or the execution application and the detection unit determined by the determination unit The process of selecting an antenna to be used for transmission / reception of the signal is repeatedly executed when at least one of the orientations of the wireless communication device detected by the change is changed as a trigger. The wireless communication device according to any one of the above. On the computer,
Determining an execution application that is an application currently being executed by the computer from among a plurality of applications to be executed;
Each of the plurality of antennas is determined according to reception characteristics of a signal received by each of the plurality of switchable antennas when executing each of the plurality of applications in association with each of the plurality of applications. Processing for selecting an antenna to be used for transmission / reception of the signal from the plurality of antennas based on the priority stored in the storage in association with the execution application. A wireless communication control program for executing

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