JP2015192375A - information notification system, server and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information notification system capable of greatly suppressing a connection disabled state of a terminal in a communication system including a base station and a server.SOLUTION: An information notification system includes: a base station 30 which includes communication channels having a first channel group and a second channel group to radio communicate with a mobile terminal 20; and a server 40, connected to the base station through a communication line, for notifying the mobile terminal of information which indicates the use state of the communication channels of the first channel group, using the second channel group, when the number of channels in the first channel group currently in use for radio communication exceeds a predetermined number.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information notification system, and more particularly to a server and a base station, a server, and a program constituting the notification system.

  Conventionally, a base station that performs wireless communication with a mobile terminal or the like has been proposed for a system that notifies the usage status of a channel in the cover area. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a communication system that provides a congestion status of an area designated by a user using a mobile station having a GPS function.

JP 2013-176012 JP

  For example, portable communication terminals such as mobile phones (cell phones) and smart phones have become indispensable tools for current life due to advances in information processing capabilities. For example, not only telephone calls but also data communication such as e-mail and web browsing have become mainstream using mobile terminals. In recent years, it has become common for one person to have one mobile terminal.

  Due to such a background, for example, in a densely populated area such as an urban area, the communication network line is temporarily congested, and the terminal may be unable to communicate. For example, when the number of connected terminals in the cover area (cell) of the base station exceeds a certain value, communication may be disabled even if the terminal attempts to connect thereafter. In addition, the cell range may change depending on the number of connected terminals (also referred to as cell breathing). Therefore, the actual cover area varies depending on the connection timing. For this reason, for example, a terminal communicating in the vicinity of a cell edge even in a cell may be unable to communicate due to an increase in the number of connected terminals.

  Such a situation where communication is not possible can occur not only in urban areas, but also in places where people gather temporarily, such as concert venues, and when almost all terminals in the cell at the time of a disaster try to communicate simultaneously . In this situation, since the user cannot communicate with the base station, the user cannot know the usage status of the network line. Moreover, since it is unclear how the connection with the base station is established, the user is greatly anxious.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information notification system in which it is greatly suppressed that a terminal cannot be connected in an information notification system including a base station and a server. . It is another object of the present invention to provide a notification system that can reliably notify the usage status to a terminal for which normal communication is not established. Also provided are a server and a server program for reliably notifying the use status and congestion avoidance information when a normal communication is not established, and a terminal program for displaying the notified congestion status. The purpose is to do.

  An information notification system according to the present invention is connected to a base station having a communication channel composed of a first channel group and a second channel group for wireless communication with a mobile terminal, and to the base station via a communication line. When the number of channels used for wireless communication in the channel group exceeds a predetermined number, the mobile terminal is notified of information indicating the use status of the communication channel of the first channel group using the second channel group. And a server that performs processing.

  The server according to the present invention includes a communication unit that performs communication with a base station having a communication channel including a first channel group and a second channel group for wireless communication with a mobile terminal, and a first channel group. When the number of channels currently used for wireless communication exceeds the first predetermined number, information indicating the usage status of the communication channels of the first channel group using the second channel group is provided to the mobile terminal. And a usage status management unit for transmission.

  In addition, the program according to the present invention includes a communication unit configured to communicate with a base station having a communication channel including a first channel group and a second channel group for wireless communication with a mobile terminal, When the number of channels currently used for wireless communication in the channel group exceeds the first predetermined number, the usage status of the communication channel of the first channel group is indicated to the mobile terminal using the second channel group. It is characterized by functioning as usage status management means for transmitting the information to be indicated.

  In addition, the program according to the present invention communicates a mobile terminal with a base station having a communication channel including a first channel group and a second channel group for wireless communication with the mobile terminal. Communication means for receiving information indicating the usage status of the communication channel of the first channel transmitted using the channel group, processing means for converting the information indicating the usage status into display information, and display information as character information or It is characterized by functioning as display means for displaying as mapping information.

(A) is a block diagram showing a configuration of the notification system according to the first embodiment, and (b) is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication channel in the base station of the notification system according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the service flow of the notification system which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart of the utilization condition notification process using a temporary channel group. (A) is a block diagram which shows the relationship between a base station and a server, (b) And (c) is a figure which shows the example of a structure of the base station information and the terminal information in a station respectively stored in the server . (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the display part of the portable terminal in the state which is displaying the notified utilization information. It is a flowchart which shows the periodic check of the channel condition which a server performs, and the processing flow with respect to the base station accompanying it. It is a flowchart which shows the processing flow of the base station and server in the periodic confirmation of a channel condition. It is a flowchart in the case of performing the normal connection process using a general purpose channel group. It is a flowchart in the case of performing the communication cutting process of a terminal. It is a flowchart which shows the processing flow of the server at the time of registration of a terminal and its deletion. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the notification system which concerns on the modification of Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the service flow of the notification system which concerns on a modification. It is a flowchart which shows the transmission flow of the utilization information using the internet in the notification system which concerns on a modification. (A) is a block diagram showing the mutual relationship between the server and the server program according to the second embodiment, and (b) is a block diagram showing the mutual relationship between the terminal and the terminal program according to the second embodiment.

  Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

  FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information notification system (hereinafter simply referred to as a notification system) 10 according to the first embodiment. The notification system 10 includes a base station 30 having a cover area including the position of the mobile terminal 20 and a server 40 connected to the base station 30. In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal (hereinafter also simply referred to as a terminal) 20 is an electronic device that performs wireless communication with the base station 30, such as a mobile phone (cell phone), a smartphone, and a tablet terminal. The terminal 20 includes a communication unit 21 that performs communication with the base station 30, a processing unit 22 that processes a signal from the communication unit 21, and a display unit 23 that displays information processed by the processing unit 22. ing. The terminal 20 has its own terminal information 24 such as its own number information and current location information as a database. In addition, the terminal 20 includes geographical information 25 such as direction information, roads, and building position information.

  The base station 30 performs wireless communication with the terminal 20 through the radio wave network within the coverage area. The base station 30 can communicate with a plurality of terminals including the terminal 20 at the same time. The base station 30 includes a communication unit 31 that communicates with the terminal 20 and the server 40, and a channel management unit 32 that manages a communication channel (hereinafter simply referred to as a channel) 33 within the base station 30. The base station 30 has its own station information 34 such as its own position information and cover area information as a database. The channel 33 is used for wireless communication with the mobile terminal.

  The server 40 is connected to the base station 30 through an Internet line (communication line) such as an optical cable, and communicates with the base station 30. The server 40 manages a plurality of base stations including the base station 30. The server 40 includes a communication unit 41 that communicates with the base station 30, a usage status management unit 42 that manages information indicating the usage status of the channel 33 in the base station 30, and information in the server 40 and received signals. And a processing unit 43 for processing. The server 40 also includes a base station management unit 42A that manages and controls the channel of the base station connected to the server 40 and connection processing. The base station management unit 42A may have the same function as the channel management unit 32 of the base station 30. That is, the base station management unit 42A may have a function of managing the channel 33 in the base station 30.

  The server 40 has base station information 44 such as position information of the base station 30, cover area information, and channel usage status as a database. Further, the server 40 has in-station terminal information 45 such as the number and position information of terminals communicating within the coverage area of the base station 30 as a database. The server 40 has geographical information 46 such as position information of the terminal 20 and the base station 30 and cover area information.

  FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the channel 33 of the base station 30. In this embodiment, a case where the base station 30 has 20000 channels 33 will be described. The channel 33 includes a general-purpose channel group (first channel group) 33A and a temporary channel group (second channel group) 33B. The general-purpose channel group 33A is a channel group used for normal communication such as voice call and electronic mail.

  The temporary channel group 33B is used when the number of free channels in the general channel group 33A is small (in the general channel group 33A, when the number of channels used for wireless communication with the terminal exceeds a predetermined number, that is, in a congested or emergency time) ) Is a channel group used in the above. That is, the temporary channel group 33B is used for notifying the terminal 20 of the usage status when the general channel group 33A has a small number of free channels and cannot receive a connection request from a new terminal 20. In this embodiment, of the 20000 channels, 19800 channels function as the general-purpose channel group 33A, and 200 channels function as the temporary channel group 33B. The number of channels 33 and the numbers of general-purpose and temporary channel groups 33A and 33B are adjusted (determined and increased / decreased) by the channel management unit 32 of the base station 30 and the base station management unit 42A of the server 40.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a service flow by the notification system 10. First, in step S10, a connection request from the terminal 20 is received. The notification system 10 performs a conditional branch J10 that determines processing for a connection request from the terminal 20. Specifically, in the step of conditional branch J10, processing is selected according to the number of empty general channel groups 33A (conditional branch J11) and the number of empty temporary channel groups 33B (conditional branch J12). When the number of free channels in the general-purpose channel group 33A of the base station 30 is small and the number of free channels in the temporary channel group 33B is large, the notification system 10 notifies the terminal 20 of the usage status using the temporary channel group 33B (step S20). ). Specifically, the server 40 of the notification system 10 determines that the base station if the number of channels used for wireless communication in the general-purpose channel group 33A exceeds a predetermined number X (first predetermined number, communication limit number) Information indicating the usage status of the channel 33 of the general-purpose channel group 33A is notified to the terminal 20 that has newly made a connection request to the terminal 30. The notification of information indicating the usage status (hereinafter sometimes referred to as usage information) is performed using the temporary channel group 33B.

  Note that the notification system 10 performs normal communication with the terminal 20 that has newly requested a connection when the number of available channels in the general-purpose channel 33 group A is large (normally, when the conditional branch J11 is Yes). It functions as a communication system. Specifically, the notification system 10 starts communication with the terminal 20 using the general-purpose channel group 33A, and the terminal information of the terminal 20 is registered in the server 40 (step S30). When the terminal 30 ends (disconnects) communication, the notification system 10 performs a disconnection process, and the terminal information of the registered terminal 30 is deleted from the server 40.

  Further, when the number of free channels in the general-purpose channel group 33A is small and the number of free channels in the temporary channel group 33B is small (when the conditional branch J12 is No), the notification system 10 cannot function as a notification system or a communication system. This is because the number of channels used for wireless communication in the general-purpose channel group 33A exceeds a predetermined number X, and the number of channels used for transmission of usage information in the temporary channel group 33B is a predetermined number Y (the first number). This is a case where the predetermined number of 3 and the notification limit number) are exceeded. At this time, the base station 30 becomes unable to respond to the connection request from the terminal 20 (step S50). Therefore, the terminal 20 cannot be connected to the base station 30 and cannot be connected.

  However, the number of free channels in the temporary channel group 33B is very limited. Specifically, the time required for the notification system 10 to notify the usage status is very short. Therefore, the occupation time of the channel of the temporary channel group 33B while notifying the usage status is shorter than the occupation time of the channel of the general-purpose channel group 33A during normal communication. Thereby, it is unlikely that the temporary channel group 33B reaches the notification limit and cannot be connected.

  As described above, there is a low possibility that the number of free channels in the temporary channel group 33B will decrease, and even if the number of free channels in the temporary channel group 33B decreases, the period is short. In this embodiment, in this case, that is, the number of channels in use in the general-purpose channel group 33A exceeds the predetermined number X, and the number of channels in use in the temporary channel group 33B exceeds the predetermined number Y. In such a case, the base station management unit 42A of the server 40 can adjust the number of channels of the temporary channel group 33B (step S50).

  For example, when the state in which the number of channels in use in both channel groups exceeds a predetermined number continues for a predetermined time, the base station management unit 42A can increase the number of channels in the temporary channel group 33B. Specifically, the server 40 transmits a signal instructing the temporary increase of the temporary channel group 33B to the base station 30. As a result, the free channel of the general-purpose channel group 33A can be temporarily used as the channel of the temporary channel group 33B. Therefore, it is possible to perform the usage status notification process using more channels of the temporary channel group 33B. This further reduces the number of terminals 20 that cannot be connected.

  The notification system 10 periodically checks the usage status of the channel 33, for example, the number of free channels, in order to select a process in the conditional branch J10 (step S90). In this periodic confirmation step S90, the server 40 periodically confirms the channel information of the base station 30, and updates the base station information 44 and the in-station terminal information 45 as needed. Periodic confirmation of the channel usage status is performed regardless of the communication processing and usage status notification processing.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the terminal 20, the base station 30, and the server 40 in step S20 for notifying the usage status. In the present embodiment, a case where the terminal 20 attempts normal communication (such as a telephone call) will be described. As a step immediately before the notification step, when a connection request is transmitted from the communication unit 21 of the terminal 20, the base station 30 receives the connection request by the communication unit 31 (step 10). At this time, the general-purpose channel group 33A of the base station 30 has a small number of free channels (congested). Therefore, the notification system 10 performs usage status notification processing for the terminal 20 using the temporary channel group 33B of the base station 30.

  First, the base station 30 requests the location information of the terminal 20 from the terminal 20 through the communication unit 31 (step S21). The communication unit 21 of the terminal 20 that has received the request for the position information acquires the position information in the own terminal information 25 (Step S22A), and transmits the acquired position information to the base station 20 (Step S22). The communication unit 31 of the base station 30 that has received the position information of the terminal 20 sends a new connection notification to the server 40 and transmits the position information of the terminal 20 (step S23).

  The communication unit 41 of the server 40 that has received the new connection notification of the terminal 20 and its position information requests the usage status management unit 42 for information indicating the channel usage status (step S24). The usage status management unit 42 creates information on the usage status of the channel 33 to be transmitted to the terminal 20 using the temporary channel group 33B when the number of channels in use exceeds a predetermined number in the general-purpose channel group 33A. To do. The usage status management unit 42 transmits the usage information to the communication unit 41 (step S25). This transmitted usage information includes information on the position and coverage area of the base station and position information of other terminals in communication. The communication unit 41 of the server 40 that has received the usage information transmits the usage information to the base station 30 (step S26).

  The communication unit 31 of the base station 30 that has received the usage information transmits the usage information to the mobile terminal 20 through the radio wave network using the temporary channel group 33B (step S27). The communication unit 21 of the terminal 20 that has received the usage information transmits the usage information to the processing unit 22 (step S28). The processing unit 22 processes (converts) information indicating the usage status to create display information, and makes a display request to the display unit 23 (step S29). The display unit 23 that has received the display information displays display information (DS) indicating the usage status. In this way, the usage status management unit 42 of the server 40 notifies the terminal 20 of the temporary channel group when the number of channels currently used for wireless communication in the general-purpose channel group 33A exceeds a predetermined number (X). Information indicating the use status of the channel 33 of the general-purpose channel group 33A is notified (transmitted) using 33B.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the base station 30 and the server 40 of the notification system 10. The server 40 manages a plurality of base stations simultaneously. In FIG. 1A, only the base station 30 that accommodates the terminal 20 is shown for ease of understanding. In the present embodiment, a case where the server 40 is connected to five base stations 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E will be described. The server 40 is connected to each of the base stations 30A to 30E via the Internet line. The server 40 has information of each of the base stations 30 </ b> A to 30 </ b> E and usage status thereof as a database of base station information 44 and in-station terminal information 45. In the server 40, geographical information 46 such as directions, road information, and distance information is stored.

  FIG. 4B is a table showing details of the database of the base station information 44 in the server 40. In the server 40, as the base station information 44, a general-purpose channel group 33A for each base station, the number of channels in use, the number of temporary channel groups 33B, and the like are stored in a database. In addition, cover area (cell) information for each base station is stored as a spatial coordinate value. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the base station 30A has a general-purpose channel group 33A composed of 19800 channels and a temporary channel group 33B composed of 200 channels. Further, it can be seen that 15000 channels are used in the 19800 general-purpose channel group 33A of the base station 30A. In addition, the cover area of the base station 30A indicates that the base station 30A is formed of a circular region in a top view having a diameter that is a line segment connecting the positions of two coordinate values shown in the drawing.

  FIG. 4C is a table showing details of a database of in-station terminal information 45 in the server 40. In the server 40, information of communication terminals for each base station is stored in a database as in-station terminal information 45. In the figure, in-station terminal information 45 in the base station 30A is shown. As shown in FIG. 4C, the intra-station terminal information 46 includes terminal identification information (for example, a telephone number), a channel number assigned to the terminal, and position information of the terminal. For example, the terminal identified by the telephone number (090-1111-1111) is accommodated in the base station 30A, and channel 29 of the general-purpose channel group 33A is assigned for communication with this terminal. ing. Further, the position information of the terminal is stored as a spatial coordinate value.

  Note that the base station information 44 and the in-station terminal information 45 are updated each time the channel usage status is regularly checked (step S90). Since the channel usage status changes every moment, it is preferable that the regular confirmation step S90 is also performed during the usage status notification step S20 and the communication start step S30.

  FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of the usage status displayed on the display unit 23 of the terminal 20. The terminal 20 converts the information indicating the usage status received from the server 40 by the processing unit 22 and displays the information on the display unit 23. That is, the information indicating the usage status transmitted from the server 40 is character information indicating the usage rate of the communication channel 33. For example, the terminal 20 displays the usage status on the display unit 23 as character information. Specifically, the processing unit 22 converts the usage information into character information, and the display information as the character information is displayed on the display unit 23.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the display unit 23 displays that the line of the base station 30 in the area where the terminal 20 is located and the utilization rate of the channel. As a result, the user can grasp that the channel in the area is congested and the current normal communication is not possible. Also, by displaying the utilization rate, the user can recognize how much the line is busy. As a result, for example, it is possible to determine whether to try to connect again after a while. Note that the sentence shown in FIG. 5A is only an example, and may be various character information as long as it indicates to the user that the channel utilization rate is high. In addition, it is not necessary to display the congestion rate as a numerical value. For example, the utilization rate may be displayed in stages (eg, in three stages, high, medium, low, etc.).

  FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating another example of the usage status displayed on the display unit 23 of the terminal 20. The terminal 20 can also display the usage status on the display unit 23 as mapping information. That is, the usage information transmitted from the server 40 may be mapping information in which information indicating the usage status of channels in a plurality of base stations is mapped. This mapping information includes position information of the terminal 20 (for example, a terminal that is newly requesting a connection) and position information of other terminals that are communicating with the base station 30. Further, the mapping information may include information indicating the range of the cover area of the base station 30.

  The terminal 20 converts the parameter indicating the usage information received from the server 40 via the base station 30 into mapping information by the processing unit 22. Further, the terminal 20 displays the converted display information on the display unit 23. In this case, the parameters of the usage information transmitted by the server 40 include location information for each base station, location information of other terminals that are communicating in the cover area, and location information of the terminal 20 itself.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the display unit 23 includes the location of the base stations 30A to 30E and the cover areas 30A1, 30B1, 30C1, 30D1, and 30E1 of the base stations, the geographical information 25. It is mapped and displayed. For clarity of illustration, FIG. 5 shows only the direction information of the geographical information 25. In addition, the display unit 23 displays a dot shape by distinguishing the position of the other terminal accommodated in each base station 30 and communicating with the position of the own terminal. In this embodiment, other terminals in communication are indicated by black dots, and the own terminal is indicated by white squares. Note that the geographical information 25 is not necessarily displayed. Further, the display unit 23 may display a cover area set for each base station. Further, the actual cover area calculated from the position information of the other terminal in communication may be displayed on the display unit 23.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the user can see that his / her terminal 20 is located within the cover area of the base station 30A. Further, the user can clearly recognize that the base station 30A is congested. Therefore, the user can visually grasp that the user (self terminal) is in the congested area and the usage status thereof. In addition, the user can grasp the actual coverage area (cell) range at the time of the connection request. That is, the user can know the state of cell breathing.

  The received usage information includes usage statuses in the coverage areas of the neighboring base stations 30B to 30E. Therefore, it is also possible to grasp an area that is not congested among the displayed coverage areas of the nearby base stations 30B to 30E. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, in addition to the current cover area 30A1 of the base station 30A, a large number of terminals are communicating within the cover area 30D1 of the base station 30D in the southwest direction. I understand. On the other hand, fewer terminals than the base station 30D are communicating with the base stations 30B, 30C, and 30E in the directions of northwest, northeast, and southwest, respectively. Therefore, the user can determine that normal communication is possible if the user moves in the direction of the base station 30E in the southeast direction, for example.

  In this embodiment, the communication channel 33 of the base station 30 is distinguished into a general-purpose channel group 33A and a temporary channel group 33B. Further, the server 40 (usage status management unit 42) of the notification system 10 uses the temporary channel group 33B to use the communication channel when the number of channels in use in the general-purpose channel group 33A exceeds a predetermined number. Is notified to the terminal 20. Further, the temporary channel group 33B is used for notification of usage status. Therefore, the situation where the terminal 20 cannot be connected is greatly suppressed. When the utilization rate of the general-purpose channel group 33A is high, the user can recognize that normal communication is not possible because the line for the terminal 20 is congested. Furthermore, by notifying the channel usage status in the coverage area of other base stations, it is possible to suggest a method for avoiding the congestion status to the user. As a result, it is possible to use the surplus general-purpose channel group 33A in the non-congested area and increase the number of terminals that can perform normal communication.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation routine of the server 40 (base station management unit 42A) after step S90 for regularly checking the channel usage status in the notification system 10 and step S90. As shown in FIG. 6, the periodic confirmation step S90 includes a periodic confirmation step S90A in a state where the usage status notification process is being performed (step S20) and a periodic confirmation in a state where the normal communication process is being performed (step S30). Step S90B is comprised. The contents specified for the base station 30 by the server 40 differ depending on which periodic confirmation step is executed.

  Specifically, after the regular confirmation step S90A during normal communication processing, if the number of channels in use in the general-purpose channel group 33A is equal to or less than the predetermined number X, the base station management unit 42A of the server 40 A process switching signal is not transmitted to the station 30 (step S90A1). That is, the server 40 does not perform processing. On the other hand, when the number of channels being used for communication exceeds a predetermined number (X), the base station management unit 42 </ b> A transmits a signal designating the base station 30 to perform usage status notification processing. (Step S90A2). The base station 30 that has received the signal for performing the usage status notification process opens the temporary channel group 33B and closes the general-purpose channel group 33A (step S90A3). Accordingly, for example, the server 40 notifies the terminal that has received a connection request thereafter, of the channel usage status via the base station 30.

  On the other hand, after the regular confirmation step S90B during the usage status notification process, if the number of channels in use in the general-purpose channel group 33A exceeds a predetermined number Z (second predetermined number, communicable number), the server The 40 base station management units 42A do not transmit a process switching signal to the base station 30 (step S90B1). That is, the server 40 does not perform processing. On the other hand, when the number of channels being used is equal to or less than the predetermined number Z, the base station management unit 42A transmits a signal designating normal communication to the base station 30 (step S90B2). This is a case in which the number of channels in communication use in the general-purpose channel group 33A decreases to the predetermined number Z (congestion is reduced) after exceeding the predetermined number X (congested). The base station 30 that has received the signal for performing the normal communication process opens the general-purpose channel group 33A and closes the temporary channel group 33B (step S90B3). Therefore, for example, for the terminal 20 that has received a connection request thereafter, the base station 30 starts normal communication using the general-purpose channel group 33A. In this way, the notification system 10 selects the designation process at the conditional branch J10.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the base station 30 and the server 40 in the periodic confirmation step S90 of the channel usage status. First, the server 40 requests the channel status from the base station 30 through the communication unit 41 (step S91). Receiving the channel status request, the communication unit 31 of the base station 30 requests the channel management unit 32 for information on the channel status (step S92). The channel manager 32 acquires information indicating the channel status (step S93). The channel management unit 32 transmits the channel status to the communication unit 31 (step S94). The communication unit 31 transmits the channel status to the server 40 (step S95).

  The communication unit 41 of the server 40 that has received the channel status from the base station 30 transmits the channel information to the usage status management unit 42 (step S96). The usage status management unit 42 updates the usage status based on the received new channel information (step S97). Specifically, the usage status management unit 42 updates (adds or deletes) the base station information 44 and the in-station terminal information 45. In this way, the server 40 periodically checks the channel usage status for each base station.

  Next, a connection processing flow when the notification system 10 functions as a normal communication system (step S30) will be described using FIG. Step S30 corresponds to the processing when there are many free channels in the general-purpose channel group 33A of the base station 30, that is, when the base station 30 is not congested. First, the terminal 20 transmits a connection request to the base station 20 via the communication unit 21, and the communication unit 31 of the base station 30 receives this connection request (step S10).

  When the communication unit 31 of the base station 30 receives a connection request from the terminal 20, connection processing such as terminal number authentication is performed between the terminal 20 and the base station 30 (step S31). When the connection process with the terminal 20 is completed and the connection is established, the communication unit 31 of the base station 30 notifies the channel management unit 32 of a new connection (step S32). The channel management unit 32 that has received the new connection notification transmits a signal requesting the location information of the connected terminal 20 to the communication unit 31 (step S33). The communication unit 31 of the base station 30 requests the terminal 20 for position information of the terminal 20 (step S34).

  The communication unit 21 of the terminal 20 that has received the request for position information from the base station 30 acquires its own position information from the database of its own terminal information 24 (step S35A), and transmits the position information to the base station 30 ( Step S35). The communication unit 31 of the base station 30 that has received the position information of the terminal 20 sends a new terminal connection notification to the server 40 (step S36). In step S36, terminal information such as the number of the newly connected terminal 20 and its position information is transmitted.

  Upon receiving the new connection notification, the communication unit 41 of the server 40 requests the processing unit 43 to register terminal information in the database (step S37). The processing unit 43 performs processing for registering the received terminal information in its own database (step S38). In step S38, the processing unit 43 updates the database of the base station information 44 and the in-station terminal information 45.

  Next, the terminal disconnection process flow (step S40) will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the terminal 20 that has performed normal communication using the general-purpose channel group 33A ends communication and requests the base station 30 to disconnect. That is, for example, this corresponds to the processing flow of the base station 30 and the server 40 when the terminal 20 ends the call.

  First, the terminal 20 transmits a disconnection request to the base station 30 through the communication unit 21, and the base station 30 receives the request (step S41). The communication unit 31 of the base station 30 that has received the disconnection request performs processing for disconnecting communication with the terminal 20 (step S42). When the disconnection process of the terminal 20 is completed, the communication unit 31 of the base station 30 notifies the channel management unit 32 and the server 40 of disconnection (step S43). The channel management unit 32 that has received the disconnection notification updates its own channel information 33 (S43A).

  The communication unit 41 of the server 40 that has received the disconnection notification from the base station 30 requests the processing unit 43 to delete the registration of the terminal 20 (step S44). The processing unit 43 that has received the deletion request performs a process of deleting the registration of the terminal 20 from its own database (step S45). In step S45, the processing unit 43 updates the database of the base station information 44 and the in-station terminal information 45.

  Next, the operation of the processing unit 43 of the server 40 in the connection process (step S30) and the disconnection process (step S40) will be described using FIG. First, when the registration request for the terminal 20 is received in step S37, the processing unit 43 registers (adds) the terminal information in the database of the in-station terminal information 45 in step S38. Further, the processing unit 43 updates the database of the base station information 44 (see FIG. 4B and the like). Next, the processing unit 43 adds the location information of the terminal 20 to the geographical information 46.

  Next, when the deletion request for the terminal 20 is received in step S44, the processing unit 43 deletes the terminal information from the in-station terminal information 45 database in step S45. Further, the processing unit 43 updates the database of the base station information 44 and deletes the position information of the terminal 20 in the geographical information 46. In this way, the processing unit 43 performs registration processing and registration deletion processing of the terminal 20 as needed.

  The server 40 updates the database of the base station information 44 and the in-station terminal information 45, and updates the geographical information 46. Therefore, when the server 40 and the terminal 20 are equipped with the same mapping application, the server 40 can generate the display information for the terminal and transmit the display information to the terminal 20. In this case, the terminal 20 does not need to create mapping information by the processing unit 22. Specifically, in the usage information transmission step (step S20), the processing unit 43 of the server 40 can convert information indicating the usage status into mapping information displayed by the terminal 20 and transmit the mapping information to the terminal 20. It is. On the other hand, when the terminal 20 has the geographical information 25 as in the present embodiment, the server 40 need only transmit parameters relating to usage information, that is, the base station information 44 and the in-station terminal information 45.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a notification system 10A according to a modification of the present embodiment. In this modification, the mobile terminal is connected to the Internet line via the wireless LAN access point 50 (terminal 20A). That is, the terminal 20A is connected to the base station 30 via the radio network of the base station 30, and is connected to the server 40 via the Internet line. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. The terminal 20A is a tablet terminal or a smartphone that can be connected to the Internet line by a wireless LAN such as Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity).

  In this modification, the server 40 can transmit the usage status from the wireless LAN access point 50 to the terminal 20A using the Internet line. That is, the server 40 can transmit the usage information to the terminal 20A without using the radio network of the base station 30 and without passing through the base station 30.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a service flow in the notification system 10A of the present modification. The service flow of the notification system 10A is processed according to the same flow as that of the notification system 10 except for the processing when the number of free channels in both the general-purpose channel group 33A and the temporary channel group 33B is small (step S60).

  Notification when the number of empty channels in both the general-purpose channel group 33A and the temporary channel group 33B is small (that is, when the number of channels in use in the temporary channel group exceeds a predetermined number, the conditional branch J12 is No) The system cannot connect to the terminal 20 via the base station 30. However, in the present modification, as shown in step S60, the usage status is transmitted to the terminal 20A using the Internet line instead of using the communication channel 33 of the base station 30. Therefore, even when the number of free channels in the entire communication channel 33 is small, the terminal 20A can receive the channel usage status (for example, congestion status) via the Internet line. Specifically, the terminal 20A can receive the usage status by switching the connection format to the wireless LAN mode and accessing the server 40.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing flow of the use state notification step S60 using the Internet line in the notification system 10A. The processing flow of step S60 is performed in the same flow as step S20 except that the usage status transmission from the server 40 is performed not to the base station 30 but to the terminal 20A. First, the base station 30 receives a connection request from the terminal 20 (step S10).

  Receiving the connection request, the base station 30 requests the location information from the terminal 20A (step S61). The communication unit 21 of the terminal 20A that has received the request for the position information acquires the position information from the database of the own terminal information 25 (step S62A) and transmits it to the base station 30. The base station 30 that has received the position information sends a new connection notification to the server 40 and transmits the position information of the terminal 20A (step S62). The communication unit 41 of the server 40 that has received the new connection notification requests the usage status management unit 42 for information indicating the usage status (step S64). The usage status management unit 42 transmits usage information to the communication unit 41 (step S65).

  The communication unit 41 that has received the usage information transmits the usage information to the terminal 20 using the Internet line (step S66). At this time, since the terminal 20 is in a state where the connection with the base station 30 is not established (for example, out of service area), the terminal 20 switches the connection format to the wireless LAN mode. The terminal 20 receives the usage status from the server 40 via the wireless LAN access point 50.

  The communication unit 21 of the terminal 20 that has received the usage information transmits the usage information to the processing unit 22 (step S67). The processing unit 22 converts this into display information, and then issues a display request to the display unit 23 (step S67). S68). The display unit 23 displays the display information from the processing unit 22 as a usage status (DS). Thus, the server 40 can transmit the usage status to the terminal 20A using the Internet line.

  In the present modification, the case has been described in which the terminal 20A has both a connection method with the base station 30 via the radio network and the server 40 using the Internet line by the wireless LAN. However, the terminal 20A may have only a connection method using a wireless LAN, for example. For example, the terminal 20 </ b> A can request the usage status to the server 40, obtain usage information, and display the usage status on the display unit 23.

  Moreover, in the above, the case where the whole base station 30 and the server 40 operate | move as the notification system 10 or 10A was demonstrated. However, in the aspect in which the server 40 designates a process for notifying the base station 30 of normal communication and usage status, the problem of the invention can be solved even with the server 40 alone. Specifically, if the server 40 has the above-described function, the terminals that cannot be connected are suppressed, and the usage status can be notified to terminals that cannot establish a normal communication state. That is, the server 40 transmits a signal for notifying the usage status to the base station 30 as in the first embodiment, or transmits the usage information directly to the terminal 20A as in a modified example thereof when the line is congested. Is possible. Therefore, it is possible to take both aspects when the base station 30 and the server 40 function as a notification system and when the server 40 functions as a usage status notification (transmission) server.

  It should be noted that the server 40 may be arranged at any location as long as it is connected to the base station 30. For example, the server 40 may be provided in an existing wireless network control device. When the server 40 is provided in an existing radio network control device, the server 40 can easily cooperate with connection management processing (for example, handover processing and handoff processing of a base station) of the existing radio network control device. . For example, in cooperation with an existing wireless network control device, it is possible to perform processing for handing over a terminal to the base station 30 with many free channels in the general-purpose channel group. In this way, channel management in a plurality of base stations may be performed in cooperation with an existing radio network controller.

  In the present embodiment, the processing of the notification system 10 and the server 40 when the terminal 20 newly makes a connection request to the base station 30 at the time of congestion has been described, but the notification system 10 and the server 40 The terminal to be notified is not limited to the terminal 20 that newly makes a connection request to the base station 30. Similarly, when congestion is alleviated, the base station management unit 42A designates the start of communication, and the terminal from which communication is started is limited to the terminal 20 that has newly made a connection request to the base station 30. It is not something.

  For example, for the terminal 20 already connected by the general-purpose channel group 33A (that is, a terminal already communicating with the base station 30), the notification system 10 and the server 40 are information related to the usage status of the base station 30. May be notified. In addition, the notification system 10 and the server 40 send information related to the use status to the unconnected terminal 20 (that is, a terminal that is not communicating with the base station 30 and that is not newly requesting a connection). You may be notified. Further, the information may include information desired to be notified to the terminal 20 according to communication congestion.

  FIG. 14A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a server program according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 14B is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal program. In the present embodiment, the program PS causes the server to function as the server 40 of the first embodiment. Further, the program PT causes the mobile terminal to function as the terminal 20 of the first embodiment or the terminal 20A of the modified example.

  Specifically, when the program PS is installed in a server, the server includes a communication unit (communication unit) 41, a usage state management unit (use state management unit) 42, a base station management unit (base station management) of the server 40. Means) 42A and a processing unit (processing means) 43. Further, when the program PT is installed in the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal functions as the communication unit (communication unit) 21, the processing unit (processing unit) 22, and the display unit (display unit) 23 of the terminal 20. Note that, as described above, the server functioning as the processing unit 43 by the program PS can convert information indicating the usage status into display information (for example, character information or mapping information) displayed by the terminal.

  Specifically, the terminal functions as the communication unit 21 that communicates with the base station 30 and receives information indicating the usage status of the communication channel 33 in the base station 30 transmitted from the server 40 by the program PT. Further, the terminal functions as a processing unit that converts information indicating the usage status of the general-purpose channel 33A received using the temporary channel 33B into display information. The terminal 20 functions as a display unit that displays the display information as character information or mapping information. Therefore, the programs PS and PT enable various servers and portable terminals to function as usage status notification (transmission) means and usage status reception (display) means.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Information notification system 20, 20A Portable terminal 21 Communication part 22 Processing part 23 Display part 30, 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, 30E Base station 31 Communication part 32 Channel management part 33 Communication channel 33A General purpose channel group (1st channel) group)
33B Temporary channel group (second channel group)
40 Server 41 Communication Unit 42 Usage Status Management Unit 42A Base Station Management Unit 43 Processing Unit

Claims (15)

A base station having a communication channel including a first channel group and a second channel group for wireless communication with a mobile terminal;
When the number of channels that are connected to the base station via the communication line and are used for the wireless communication in the first channel group exceeds a predetermined number, the second channel group is used for the mobile terminal. And a server for notifying information indicating the usage status of the communication channels of the first channel group.   The information notification system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile terminal that newly makes a connection request to the base station. A communication unit that performs communication with a base station having a communication channel including a first channel group and a second channel group for wireless communication with a mobile terminal;
When the number of channels being used for the wireless communication in the first channel group exceeds a first predetermined number, the first channel group is used for the mobile terminal using the second channel group. And a usage status management unit for transmitting information indicating the usage status of the communication channel.   The server according to claim 3, wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile terminal that newly makes a connection request to the base station.   The server according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the information indicating the usage status includes character information indicating a usage rate of a communication channel of the first channel group.   The information indicating the usage status includes mapping information in which position information of the mobile terminal and position information of other terminals communicating with the base station are mapped. Server described in.   The server according to claim 6, wherein the mapping information includes information indicating a coverage area of the base station and a plurality of adjacent base stations. A base station management unit for managing the base station;
The base station management unit, when the number of channels being used for the wireless communication in the first channel group exceeds the first predetermined number and then becomes less than a second predetermined number, The server according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein a signal designating start of communication using the first channel group is transmitted to the base station.   The server according to claim 8, wherein the mobile terminal whose communication is started by the base station management unit is a mobile terminal that newly makes a connection request to the base station.   The base station management unit, when the number of channels currently used for transmitting the information indicating the usage status exceeds the third predetermined number in the second channel group, the number of channels of the second channel group The server according to claim 8, wherein the server is adjusted.   The server, when the number of channels currently used for transmitting the information indicating the usage status in the second channel group exceeds a third predetermined number, the mobile station newly making a connection request to the base station The server according to any one of claims 3 to 10, wherein information indicating the usage status is transmitted to a terminal using an Internet line.   The server according to any one of claims 3 to 11, wherein the congestion information management unit periodically checks the usage status of the communication channel. Server
A communication means for performing communication with a base station having a communication channel including a first channel group and a second channel group for wireless communication with a mobile terminal;
When the number of channels being used for the wireless communication in the first channel group exceeds a first predetermined number, the first channel group is used for the mobile terminal using the second channel group. A program characterized by functioning as usage status management means for transmitting information indicating the usage status of a communication channel.   The program according to claim 13, wherein the server causes the server to function as a processing unit that converts information indicating the usage state into display information displayed on the mobile terminal. Mobile device
The first channel group communicates with a base station having a communication channel composed of a first channel group and a second channel group for wireless communication with a portable terminal, and is transmitted from a server using the second channel group. A communication means for receiving information indicating a use status of a communication channel of one channel;
Processing means for converting the information indicating the usage status into display information;
A program that functions as display means for displaying the display information as character information or mapping information.

Images