JP2018007001A - Communication device, subscriber information control server, connection control method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably provide a realtime application service such as VoIP and TV telephone.SOLUTION: A communication device includes: a communication unit including a plurality of radio interfaces for performing communication; a state monitoring unit for monitoring deterioration in a state of communication via the radio interfaces; and a connection control unit for performing reconnection of the radio interfaces if deterioration in the state of communication is detected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a connection control technique for a communication device.

  Conventionally, in mobile terminals represented by smartphones, wireless access IF (3G (3rd Generation) or LTE (Long Term Evolution)) for connecting to a mobile phone carrier as wireless access IF (Interface), wireless LAN (Local Area Network) IF. Although the mobile terminal is equipped with Bluetooth (registered trademark) for connecting other peripheral devices wirelessly, an IF that can be connected to an external network such as the Internet is a wireless access IF and a wireless LAN IF. limited.

  When a plurality of wireless IFs are mounted on a mobile terminal, restrictions on mounting (for example, the number of antennas provided in the mobile terminal) and cost restrictions (for example, a SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module Card)) Is necessary). Therefore, it is difficult to have a large number of IFs in one mobile terminal, and most of the commercially available mobile terminals are configured to include one wireless access IF and one wireless LAN IF. The wireless LAN is limited to use in a specific area. For this reason, the wireless IF that can be used area-free is considered to be only the wireless access IF at present.

  Even if there is an IF that degrades the communication status by using multiple wireless IFs at the same time, it is always possible to maintain the service with the remaining IF and adjust the traffic volume according to the status for each IF. A plurality of techniques for maintaining the quality of service have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-041986

  However, a mobile terminal that uses a plurality of wireless IFs and aims to provide stable communication quality has the following problems. Considering the above restrictions, the number of wireless IFs that can be used area-free in a portable terminal is considered to be limited to about several (for example, 2 to 4). Therefore, a situation may occur in which all IFs cannot be used depending on the area (the radio wave situation at the place of use and the user's congestion) and the usage state (whether or not it is moving).

  In addition, in the case of an application that maintains a connection with END to END during use, such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or a TV phone, not only the deterioration of the wireless IF but also the connection in a wired network such as the Internet (for example, , NAT router connection, server latching connection, and the like) are also assumed to be erroneously connected due to handover or the like accompanying movement of the mobile terminal. When recovery is attempted by switching or reconnecting IFs that can no longer be used, 3G / LTE requires several tens of seconds or more for switching and reconnecting. For this reason, in a real-time application such as VoIP or TV phone, the state similar to the disconnection continues for several tens of seconds, so that the user may think that the communication has been disconnected before the recovery and stop using it. In such a case, there has been a problem that real-time application services such as VoIP and videophone cannot be stably provided.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of stably providing a real-time application service such as VoIP or TV phone.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a communication unit that includes a plurality of wireless interfaces and performs communication, a state monitoring unit that monitors deterioration of a communication state via each wireless interface, and the deterioration of the communication state are detected A connection control unit that reconnects the wireless interface in some cases.

  One aspect of the present invention is the communication device described above, wherein the connection control unit reconnects a section in which communication using a network address is not performed via a wireless interface in which deterioration of the communication state is detected. Do.

  One aspect of the present invention is the communication device, wherein the connection control unit reconnects a section in which communication is performed using a network address via a wireless interface in which deterioration of the communication state is detected. .

  One aspect of the present invention is the communication apparatus, wherein the connection control unit switches to a wireless interface having identification information different from identification information associated with a wireless interface in which deterioration of the communication state is detected. By doing so, the wireless interface is reconnected.

  One aspect of the present invention is the communication device described above, further including a notification unit that notifies the user of information related to reconnection while the reconnection is being performed.

  One aspect of the present invention is the communication device described above, further including a call control unit that switches a call made using an application that requires real-time performance to a call using another communication network, The call control unit switches the call to a call using a communication network different from the communication network used in the application when the application is used during the reconnection.

  One embodiment of the present invention is the communication device described above, wherein after the deterioration of the communication state is improved, the call using the communication network is switched to the call using the application.

  One aspect of the present invention is the communication apparatus described above, wherein each of the plurality of wireless interfaces corresponds to a recording medium on which identification information for specifying a subscriber for MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) is recorded. Attached.

  One aspect of the present invention is the communication device described above, further including a storage unit that stores a plurality of subscriber identification information that is identification information for specifying a subscriber, and the plurality of subscriptions stored in the storage unit The user identification information is information stored in a plurality of communication devices, and the communication unit is a subscriber not used by another communication device among the plurality of subscriber identification information stored in the storage unit. Communication is performed using the identification information.

  One aspect of the present invention is the communication apparatus, wherein the plurality of subscriber identification information stored in the storage unit is acquired from a server that stores the plurality of subscriber identification information at a predetermined timing, and Stored in the storage unit.

  One aspect of the present invention is a management unit that instructs each of the plurality of communication devices to use different subscriber identification information so that the plurality of communication devices do not use the same subscriber identification information. , A subscriber information control server.

  One aspect of the present invention is the above subscriber information control server, wherein the management unit controls a use procedure of subscriber identification information for each communication device, so that the plurality of communication devices have the same subscriber identification. Manage so that information is not used.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a state monitoring step in which a communication apparatus including a communication unit including a plurality of wireless interfaces performs communication to monitor deterioration of a communication state via each wireless interface; A connection control step of reconnecting a wireless interface when deterioration is detected.

  One aspect of the present invention is a state monitoring step of monitoring deterioration of a communication state via each wireless interface for a computer including a communication unit that includes a plurality of wireless interfaces and performs communication, and A computer program for causing a computer to execute a connection control step of reconnecting a wireless interface when deterioration is detected.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to stably provide real-time application services such as VoIP and TV phone.

It is a figure which shows the function structure of the communication system 100 in 1st Embodiment of this invention. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a communication terminal 10. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a flow of processing of a communication terminal 10. FIG. It is a figure which shows the function structure of the communication system 100a in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram showing the function structure of the communication terminal 10a. It is a schematic block diagram showing the function structure of the relay server 30a. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the anxiety avoidance technique process by the communication terminal 10a. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process in the communication system 100a. It is a figure which shows the function structure of the communication system 100b in the case of using the cost reduction 2nd method in 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram showing the function structure of the communication terminal 10b. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a functional configuration of a subscriber information control server 80. FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process in the communication system 100b. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of the process of another example in the communication system 100b.

Hereinafter, specific configuration examples (first to third embodiments) of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a communication system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The communication system 100 includes a communication terminal 10, a plurality of relay devices 20 (20-1 to 20-m (m is an integer of 2 or more)), and a relay server 30. A communication terminal 40 that communicates with the communication terminal 10 is connected to the relay server 30. The communication terminal 10 and the plurality of relay devices 20 are connected via the cellular network 50. The relay device 20 and the relay server 30 are connected via the carrier network 60 and the external network 70.

  The communication terminal 10 is configured using an information processing device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a tablet device. The communication terminal 10 performs wireless communication with the relay device 20. For the wireless communication, for example, communication (for example, LTE, 3G, etc.) according to the standard of the mobile communication system may be used. The communication terminal 10 includes a plurality of recording media (hereinafter referred to as “subscriber information recording media”) in which identification information for identifying subscribers (hereinafter referred to as “subscriber information”) is recorded. The subscriber information recording medium is, for example, a SIM card. The plurality of subscriber information recording media may all be recording media provided by the same telecommunications carrier, may be recording media provided by some different telecommunications carriers, or may be all different telecommunications businesses. It may be a recording medium provided by a person.

The relay device 20 is a base station device of a mobile communication network. The relay device 20 relays communication between the communication terminal 10 and the relay server 30.
The relay server 30 is configured using an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer. The relay server 30 relays communication between the communication terminal 10 and the communication terminal 40.
The communication terminal 40 is configured using an information processing device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a tablet device. The communication terminal 40 communicates with the relay server 30.

The cellular network 50 is configured using, for example, a mobile communication network.
The carrier network 60 is configured using, for example, a network provided by a communication carrier.
The external network 70 may be a network configured in any way. The external network 70 may be configured using the Internet, for example.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the communication terminal 10. The communication terminal 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes a reconnection program. By executing the reconnection program, the communication terminal 10 functions as an apparatus including the recording medium holding unit 101, the first communication unit 102, the application storage unit 103, the application call control unit 104, the state monitoring unit 105, and the connection control unit 106. . All or some of the functions of the communication terminal 10 may be realized using hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The reconnection program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Further, the reconnection program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

The recording medium holding unit 101 holds a plurality of subscriber information recording media 11-1 to 11-n (n is an integer of 2 or more).
The first communication unit 102 includes a plurality of wireless IFs 12-1 to 12-n. Each of the wireless IFs 12-1 to 12-n is associated with one of the subscriber information recording media 11-1 to 11-n. The first communication unit 102 communicates with the relay device 20 corresponding to the subscriber information recording medium 11 associated with the wireless IF 12 via the cellular network 50.

The application storage unit 103 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The application storage unit 103 stores, for example, an application (hereinafter referred to as “real-time application”) that requires real-time performance, such as VoIP and TV phone. An application is software executed on the communication terminal 10.
The application call control unit 104 activates a real-time application stored in the application storage unit 103 in response to a user operation, and makes a call made using the activated real-time application to the first communication unit 102. Via the relay device 20.

The state monitoring unit 105 monitors the deterioration of the state of communication via each wireless IF 12.
Based on the monitoring result of the state monitoring unit 105, the connection control unit 106 reconnects the wireless IF 12 when the deterioration of the communication state is detected. Reconnection represents a process of once disconnecting the wireless IF 12 and reconnecting it.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the processing flow of the communication terminal 10. The communication terminal 10 starts a call using a real-time application in response to a user operation (step S101). With this process, a call is started between the user of the communication terminal 10 and the user of the communication terminal 40. The state monitoring unit 105 monitors the state of communication via each wireless IF 12 (step S102). The state monitoring unit 105 determines whether or not deterioration of the communication state is detected as a result of monitoring (step S103). Here, the deterioration of the communication state means that any of packet loss, packet delay, and packet delay fluctuation is greater than or equal to a threshold value. When it is determined that the deterioration of the communication state is not detected (step S103—NO), the communication terminal 10 ends the process of FIG.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the deterioration of the communication state is detected (step S103—YES), the connection control unit 106 starts reconnection of the wireless IF 12 (step S104). The connection control unit 106 according to the present embodiment performs reconnection using a plurality of reconnection methods (for example, a reconnection first method to a reconnection third method). The order of using a plurality of reconnection methods may be any order, and here, the reconnection first method, the reconnection second method, and the reconnection third method are performed in this order. First, the connection control unit 106 performs reconnection processing using the first reconnection method (step S105).

  The first reconnection method is a method of performing reconnection in a section where communication using an IP address is not performed via the wireless IF 12 (hereinafter referred to as “degradation IF”) in which deterioration of the communication state is detected. The section in which communication using the IP address is not performed represents a section between the communication terminal 10 and the relay device 20. The connection control unit 106 once disconnects the physical connection (for example, layer 2 connection) between the degraded IF and the relay device 20 connected via the degraded IF. After disconnection, the connection control unit 106 reconnects the degraded IF. At this time, the connection control unit 106 connects to the relay apparatus 20 to which the deteriorated IF is connected immediately before disconnection by another channel, or relays different from the relay apparatus 20 to which the deteriorated IF is connected immediately before disconnection. Connection is made with the device 20. Thereby, the communication terminal 10 and the relay apparatus 20 are connected again.

  The state monitoring unit 105 determines whether or not the deterioration has been improved after a predetermined time has elapsed (step S106). Whether or not the deterioration has been improved is determined based on whether or not all of the packet loss, the packet delay, and the packet delay fluctuation are less than the threshold in the communication via the wireless IF 12 determined to be the deterioration IF. . In the communication via the wireless IF 12 determined to be the degradation IF, when all of the packet loss, the packet delay, and the packet delay fluctuation are less than the threshold, the state monitoring unit 105 determines that the degradation has been improved. On the other hand, in the communication via the wireless IF 12 determined to be the deteriorated IF, if any or all of the packet loss, the packet delay, and the packet delay fluctuation are equal to or greater than the threshold value, the state monitoring unit 105 has improved the deterioration. Judge that there is no.

When it is determined that the deterioration has been improved (step S106—YES), the communication terminal 10 ends the process of FIG.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the deterioration has not been improved (NO in step S106), the connection control unit 106 performs reconnection processing by the reconnection second technique (step S107). The second reconnection method is a method of performing reconnection in a section in which communication using an IP address via a degraded IF is performed. The section in which communication using the IP address is performed represents a section between the communication terminal 10 and the relay server 30. The connection control unit 106 releases a virtual connection (for example, layer 3 connection) between the degraded IF and the relay server 30 connected via the degraded IF by releasing the assigned IP address. Disconnect. After disconnection, the connection control unit 106 reconnects the degraded IF by requesting the relay server 30 for an IP address again. Note that the connection control unit 106 does not disconnect the physical connection between the degraded IF and the relay device 20 connected via the degraded IF.

The state monitoring unit 105 determines whether or not the deterioration has been improved after a predetermined time has elapsed (step S108). When it is determined that the deterioration has been improved (step S108—YES), the communication terminal 10 ends the process of FIG.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the deterioration has not been improved (NO in step S108), the connection control unit 106 performs reconnection processing by the reconnection third method (step S109). In the third reconnection method, the wireless IF 12 to be used is associated with the subscriber information recording medium 11 of a communication carrier different from the communication carrier that provided the subscriber information recording medium 11 associated with the deteriorated IF. In this method, the wireless IF 12 is reconnected by switching to the existing wireless IF 12.

The connection control unit 106 associates the wireless IF 12 to be used with the subscriber information recording medium 11 of a communication carrier different from the communication carrier that provided the subscriber information recording medium 11 associated with the deteriorated IF. By switching to the wireless IF 12, the wireless IF 12 is reconnected. Thereafter, the process of FIG. 3 ends.
In addition, after the process of step S109, the communication terminal 10 may execute again the process of whether or not the deterioration has been improved, and if the deterioration has not improved, the communication terminal 10 may repeatedly execute the processes by a plurality of reconnection methods. .

  According to the communication system 100 configured as described above, a real-time application service such as VoIP or TV phone can be stably provided in a mobile terminal. Specifically, the communication terminal 10 monitors the communication state via each wireless IF 12, and reconnects when the deterioration of the communication state is detected. Thereby, the state of communication can be improved. Therefore, it becomes possible to stably provide real-time application services such as VoIP and TV phone in the mobile terminal.

  Further, the communication terminal 10 disconnects the connection in the wireless section between the own device and the relay device 20 and reconnects, and disconnects and reconnects the connection in the wired section between the own device and the relay server 30. It performs processing by a plurality of reconnection methods such as a method of performing connection and a method of performing reconnection by connecting to a network provided by a different carrier. Thus, the communication terminal 10 can cope with various deterioration patterns of the communication state by performing reconnection from all points of view. Therefore, it is possible to provide a stable service to the user.

<Modification>
The method in the present embodiment is applicable to services that use communications other than real-time application services.
A recording medium holding unit 101, a first communication unit 102, a state monitoring unit 105, and a connection control unit 106 included in the communication terminal 10 are configured to be provided in a wireless LAN communication device such as a pocket wireless LAN router. Also good. By being configured in this way, the technology of the present invention can be applied even to an existing communication terminal such as a smartphone. As a specific process, a communication terminal and a wireless LAN communication device are connected by a wireless LAN (for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), and a call transmitted from the communication terminal is transmitted to the relay device 20 by the wireless LAN communication device. Send. And the state monitoring part with which a wireless LAN communication apparatus is provided monitors communication of a 1st communication part, and performs a reconnection according to a monitoring result.
Further, the first communication unit 102, the state monitoring unit 105, and the connection control unit 106 included in the communication terminal 10 may be configured to be included in a wireless LAN communication device such as a pocket wireless LAN router. By being configured in this way, the technology of the present invention can be applied even to an existing communication terminal such as a smartphone having a recording medium holding unit 101 that holds a plurality of subscriber information recording media 11.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, an example in which deterioration is improved by performing reconnection when deterioration is detected has been described. Here, in general, reconnection takes several tens of seconds or more. Therefore, when reconnection is performed in a state where all the wireless IFs 12 included in the communication terminal 10 are not available, data communication is stopped for several tens of seconds or more. In particular, in a real-time application such as VoIP or video phone, if there is a situation where the user suddenly stops for several tens of seconds, it may be determined that the application cannot be used due to anxiety and may not be used. Therefore, in the second embodiment, such a problem is solved.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the communication system 100a according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The communication system 100a includes a communication terminal 10a, a plurality of relay devices 20 (20-1 to 20-m), and a relay server 30a. A communication terminal 40a that communicates with the communication terminal 10a is connected to the relay server 30. The communication terminal 10a and the plurality of relay devices 20 are connected via the cellular network 50. The relay device 20 and the relay server 30 a are connected via the carrier network 60 and the external network 70. The communication terminal 10a and the communication terminal 40a are connected via the mobile phone network 71 or the satellite communication network 72. In the communication system 100a, the relay device 20 is the same as the communication system 100. In the following description, the cellular network 50, the carrier network 60, and the external network 70 are described as communication networks used for real-time applications, and the mobile phone network 71 or the satellite communication network 72 is different from the communication network used for real-time applications. It will be described as a net.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional configuration of the communication terminal 10a. The communication terminal 10a includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes a reconnection program. By executing the reconnection program, the communication terminal 10a is connected to the recording medium holding unit 101, the first communication unit 102, the application storage unit 103, the application call control unit 104, the state monitoring unit 105, the connection control unit 106a, the notification unit 107, the call It functions as a device including the control unit 108 and the second communication unit 109. All or some of the functions of the communication terminal 10a may be realized using hardware such as ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The reconnection program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Further, the reconnection program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

  The communication terminal 10a is different from the communication terminal 10 in that a connection control unit 106a is provided instead of the connection control unit 106, and a notification unit 107, a call control unit 108, and a second communication unit 109 are newly provided. The communication terminal 10a is the same as the communication terminal 10 in other configurations. Therefore, description of the entire communication terminal 10a is omitted, and the connection control unit 106a, the notification unit 107, the call control unit 108, and the second communication unit 109 will be described.

  The connection control unit 106 a reconnects the wireless IF 12 based on the monitoring result of the state monitoring unit 105. In addition, the connection control unit 106a executes an anxiety avoidance technique while performing reconnection. An anxiety avoidance technique is a technique for reducing user anxiety that may occur due to reconnection. As an anxiety avoidance technique, a guidance technique for notifying the user that reconnection is being performed and a communication network different from the communication network used in the real-time application (for example, the mobile phone network 71 or the satellite communication network 72 in FIG. 4) And a call switching method.

The notification unit 107 notifies the user of information related to reconnection while reconnection is being performed. The information related to reconnection is information indicating that reconnection is being performed due to deterioration of the network, and information indicating time until recovery.
The call control unit 108 switches a call made using a real-time application to a call using a communication network different from the communication network used for the real-time application.
The second communication unit 109 communicates with the communication terminal 40a via a mobile phone network or a satellite communication network.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing the functional configuration of the relay server 30a. The relay server 30a includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus and executes a relay program. By executing the relay program, the relay server 30a functions as an apparatus including the first communication unit 301, the second communication unit 302, the relay unit 303, the state monitoring unit 304, and the notification unit 305. Note that all or part of the functions of the relay server 30a may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The relay program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Further, the relay program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

The first communication unit 301 communicates with the relay device 20 via the carrier network 60 and the external network 70.
The second communication unit 302 communicates with the communication terminal 40a.
The relay unit 303 relays communication between the first communication unit 301 and the second communication unit 302.
The state monitoring unit 304 monitors the state of communication via the first communication unit 301.
The notification unit 305 notifies the user of the communication terminal 40a of information related to reconnection while reconnection is being performed.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of anxiety avoidance technique processing by the communication terminal 10a. Note that the processing shown in FIG. 7 is executed during reconnection. The connection control unit 106a determines the anxiety avoidance technique to be executed (step S201). The anxiety avoidance technique to be executed may be set in advance or may be a technique different from the technique executed immediately before. When the anxiety avoidance technique to be executed is determined to be the guidance technique (step S201—guidance), the connection control unit 106a instructs the notification to the notification unit 107 to the user. When instructed by the connection control unit 106a, the notification unit 107 generates guidance including information related to reconnection (step S202). The notification unit 107 notifies the user of the generated guidance (step S203). Note that the notification method may be a voice notification, display guidance on the screen of the communication terminal 10a, or notify by other methods. Thereafter, the process of FIG. 7 ends.

  Also, in the process of step S201, when it is determined that the anxiety avoidance technique to be executed is the call switching technique (step S201—call switching), the connection control unit 106a instructs the call control unit 108 to switch to a bypass route. . When the connection control unit 106a gives an instruction to switch to a bypass route, the call control unit 108 switches the call to a bypass route such as a mobile phone network or a satellite communication network via the second communication unit 109 (step S204). Specifically, the call control unit 108 establishes a connection with the communication terminal 40a via a detour route such as a mobile phone network or a satellite communication network, thereby enabling a call and switching the call. At this time, the application call control unit 104 may or may not stop the real-time application.

The state monitoring unit 105 determines whether or not the deterioration of the first communication unit 102 has been improved (step S205). When it is determined that the deterioration has not been improved (step S205—NO), the process of step S205 is repeatedly executed.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the deterioration has been improved (step S205—YES), the connection control unit 106a instructs the call control unit 108 to switch to a call using a real-time application. When the connection control unit 106a instructs the call control unit 108 to switch to a call based on the real-time application, the call control unit 108 switches the call based on the bypass route to the call based on the real-time application (step S206). Thereafter, the process of FIG. 7 ends.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing in the communication system 100a. In the description of FIG. 8, the description will be made using the communication terminal 10a, the relay server 30a, and the communication terminal 40a for simplification of description. Also, guidance will be described as an example of an anxiety avoidance technique.
A call using a real-time application between the user of the communication terminal 10a and the user of the communication terminal 40a is performed (step S301). The state monitoring unit 105 detects deterioration of the communication state as a result of monitoring the communication state (step S302). Thereby, the connection control unit 106a starts a reconnection process (step S303). A description of the reconnection process is omitted. When the connection control unit 106a starts the reconnection process, the connection control unit 106a instructs the notification unit 107 to notify the guidance.

  Further, the state monitoring unit 304 of the relay server 30a monitors the communication state of the first communication unit 301, and detects that the communication terminal 10a is being reconnected as a result of the monitoring (step S304). The fact that the communication terminal 10a is being reconnected may be detected by receiving information indicating reconnection from the communication terminal 10a. When the state monitoring unit 304 detects that reconnection is being performed, the state monitoring unit 304 instructs the notification unit 305 to notify the guidance.

  When instructed from the connection control unit 106a, the notification unit 107 of the communication terminal 10a generates guidance including information related to reconnection (step S305). Moreover, the notification part 305 of the relay server 30a will generate | occur | produce the guidance containing the information regarding reconnection, if an instruction | indication is given from the state monitoring part 304 (step S306). The notification unit 107 of the communication terminal 10a notifies the user of the generated guidance (step S307). Further, the notification unit 305 of the relay server 30a notifies the generated guidance to the communication terminal 40a (step S308).

According to the communication system 100a configured as described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.
Further, the communication terminal 10a and the relay server 30a notify the user of the communication terminal 10a and the user of the communication terminal 40a that reconnection is being performed. Thereby, the user can grasp that reconnection is in progress. Therefore, anxiety can be dispelled.
Further, the communication terminal 10a switches the call based on the real-time application to a call using a mobile phone network or a satellite communication network. As a result, the telephone conversation can be continued. Furthermore, since the cellular phone network or the satellite communication network is less likely to deteriorate than the cellular network 50, a stable real-time application service can be provided.

  Further, when the communication terminal 10a is connected to the relay server 30a, when the communication terminal 10a moves greatly, the relay device 20 to which the communication terminal 10a connects changes with the movement, and the IP address of the communication terminal 10a changes accordingly. It is possible that the connection between the relay server 30a and the communication terminal 10a cannot be maintained. On the other hand, such a problem can be avoided by reconnecting the connection between the communication terminal 10a and the relay server 30a like the communication terminal 10a.

<Modification>
The second embodiment may be modified in the same manner as the first embodiment.
In the present embodiment, the configuration using any one of the anxiety avoidance methods is shown, but the communication terminal 10a may be configured to use all the anxiety avoidance methods. For example, the communication terminal 10a notifies the user of the guidance and switches the call to a bypass route. With this configuration, the user can grasp that the mobile phone network or the satellite communication network is currently being reconnected and being used.
In the present embodiment, the case where the process of FIG. 7 is executed during reconnection has been described. However, the process of FIG. 7 is performed when all the wireless IFs 12 included in the communication terminal 10a have to be reconnected. May only be executed. By being configured in this manner, notification of guidance and switching of a call to a detour route are not performed every time reconnection is performed. Therefore, the load concerning processing can be reduced. Furthermore, it is possible to improve annoyance caused by notifying the guidance every time reconnection is performed. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce a fee generated by switching the call to the detour route every time reconnection is performed.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, an example in which deterioration is improved by performing reconnection when deterioration is detected has been described. Moreover, 2nd Embodiment demonstrated the example which reduces the user's anxiety which may arise during reconnection. As in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, when a plurality of wireless IFs 12 are to be realized by a mobile phone service provided by a communication carrier, it is necessary to conclude a mobile phone communication contract for the wireless IF 12 and a general user. It is difficult to realize at a low cost that can be used. Therefore, in the third embodiment, such a problem is solved.

(Cost reduction first method)
The first cost reduction method is a method in which a subscriber information recording medium for MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) is associated with each of the plurality of wireless IFs 12 and used. When using the first method for cost reduction, it is assumed that the user of the communication terminal is contracted by MVNO. And the 1st communication part of a communication terminal communicates using the subscriber information recording medium of MVNO matched with each of several radio | wireless IF.

(Cost reduction second method)
The second cost reduction method is a method that uses virtual subscriber information (for example, virtual SIM). The cost reduction second method will be specifically described. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the communication system 100b when the second cost reduction method according to the third embodiment of the present invention is used. The communication system 100b includes a plurality of communication terminals 10b (10b-1 to 10b-1 (l is an integer of 2 or more)), a plurality of relay devices 20 (20-1 to 20-m), a relay server 30, and subscriber information. A control server 80 is provided. A communication terminal 40 that communicates with the communication terminal 10b is connected to the relay server 30. The communication terminal 10b and the plurality of relay devices 20 are connected via the cellular network 50. The relay device 20 and the relay server 30 are connected via the carrier network 60 and the external network 70. The communication terminal 10b and the subscriber information control server 80 are connected via the external network 70. In the communication system 100 a, the relay device 20, the relay server 30, and the communication terminal 40 are the same as those in the communication system 100.

The communication terminal 10b is configured using an information processing device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a tablet device. The communication terminal 10b performs wireless communication with the relay device 20. The plurality of communication terminals 10b-1 to 10b-l store the same plurality of subscriber identification information. For example, the plurality of communication terminals 10b-1 to 10b-l store subscriber identification information “A”, “B”, and “C”.
The subscriber information control server 80 manages subscriber identification information stored in the plurality of communication terminals 10b-1 to 10b-l. Specifically, the subscriber information control server 80 instructs the subscriber identification information to be used for each communication terminal 10b so that the same subscriber identification information is not used simultaneously between the communication terminals 10b.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the communication terminal 10b. The communication terminals 10b-1 to 10b-l have the same configuration and will be described together. The communication terminal 10b includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes a reconnection program. By executing the reconnection program, the communication terminal 10b functions as an apparatus including the first communication unit 102, the application storage unit 103, the application call control unit 104, the state monitoring unit 105, the connection control unit 106b, and the subscriber information storage unit 110. To do. Note that all or part of the functions of the communication terminal 10b may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The reconnection program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Further, the reconnection program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

  The communication terminal 10b is different in configuration from the communication terminal 10 in that a connection control unit 106a is provided instead of the connection control unit 106, a subscriber information storage unit 110 is newly provided, and a recording medium holding unit 101 is not provided. The communication terminal 10b is the same as the communication terminal 10 in other configurations. Therefore, description of the entire communication terminal 10b is omitted, and the connection control unit 106b and the subscriber information storage unit 110 will be described.

  The subscriber information storage unit 110 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The subscriber information storage unit 110 stores a plurality of subscriber identification information. The subscriber identification information stored in the subscriber information storage unit 110 is, for example, identification information of a recording medium provided by a communication carrier, identification information of a subscriber information recording medium for MVNO, or the like. The subscriber identification information stored in the subscriber information storage unit 110 may be stored in the subscriber information storage unit 110 in advance, or a server (for example, a subscription server) that stores the subscriber identification information at a predetermined timing. May be acquired from the subscriber information control server 80) and stored in the subscriber information storage unit 110. The predetermined timing may be, for example, a timing at which a predetermined time has elapsed since the connection between the communication terminal 10b and the server is made, a timing at which a predetermined time has come, or storage of subscriber identification information. It may be the timing when an instruction from the server is made or may be other timing.

  The connection control unit 106b reconnects the wireless IF 12 based on the monitoring result of the state monitoring unit 105. In addition, the connection control unit 106b is configured to be communicable by using the subscriber identification information used in accordance with the instruction from the subscriber information control server 80 in association with each wireless IF 12 using the subscriber information storage unit 110. Accordingly, the first communication unit 102 can perform communication using the subscriber identification information stored in the subscriber information storage unit 110.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram showing a functional configuration of the subscriber information control server 80. The subscriber information control server 80 includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes a management program. By executing the management program, the subscriber information control server 80 functions as a device including a communication unit 801, a subscriber identification information storage unit 802, a usage state storage unit 803, and a management unit 804. All or some of the functions of the subscriber information control server 80 may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The management program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Further, the management program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

The communication unit 801 communicates with the communication terminal 10b via the relay device 20.
The subscriber identification information storage unit 802 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The subscriber identification information storage unit 802 stores a plurality of subscriber identification information.
The usage state storage unit 803 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The usage status storage unit 803 stores usage statuses of the subscriber identification information of the plurality of communication terminals 10b-1 to 10b-l. Specifically, the use state storage unit 803 stores the identification information of the plurality of communication terminals 10b-1 to 10b-l in association with the subscriber identification information used by each communication terminal 10b.
The management unit 804 has different subscribers for each of the plurality of communication terminals 10b-1 to 10b-l so that the plurality of communication terminals 10b-1 to 10b-l do not use the same subscriber identification information. Instructs the use of identification information.

  FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing in the communication system 100b. In the description of FIG. 12, the description will be made using two communication terminals 10b-1 to 10b-2 and the subscriber information control server 80 for simplification of description. The communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2 store the same plurality of subscriber identification information in advance, and the subscriber information control server 80 stores the communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2. It is assumed that subscriber identification information is stored.

  The connection control unit 106b of the communication terminal 10b-1 transmits a use request for requesting use of the subscriber identification information to the subscriber information control server 80 (step S401). Further, the connection control unit 106b of the communication terminal 10b-2 transmits a use request for requesting use of the subscriber identification information to the subscriber information control server 80 (step S402). The communication unit 801 of the subscriber information control server 80 receives the usage requests transmitted from the communication terminal 10b-1 and the communication terminal 10b-2. The management unit 804, based on the plurality of subscriber identification information stored in the subscriber identification information storage unit 802, in response to receiving the usage request, subscriber identification to be used by the communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2 Information is determined (step S403). Specifically, the management unit 804 that has received the use requests from the communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2, among the plurality of subscriber identification information stored in the subscriber identification information storage unit 802, the communication terminal 10b. -1 and 10b-2 determine different subscriber identification information as subscriber identification information used by the communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2 so that the same subscriber identification information is not used. The method for determining the subscriber identification information used by each communication terminal 10b may be determined so that the subscriber identification information used by each communication terminal 10b is not covered. By this process, the same subscriber identification information is not used in the communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2. The management unit 804 stores the determined subscriber identification information for each communication terminal 10b in the usage state storage unit 803 in association with the identification information of the communication terminal 10b. Thereafter, the management unit 804 transmits usage instructions to the communication terminal 10b-1 and the communication terminal 10b-2 so as to use the determined subscriber identification information via the communication unit 801 (steps S404 and S405). . The usage instruction includes information indicating which subscriber identification information is available.

The communication terminal 10b-1 receives the usage instruction transmitted from the subscriber information control server 80. The connection control unit 106 b is configured to be communicable by associating usable subscriber identification information indicated by the received usage instruction with each wireless IF 12. Thereafter, the communication terminal 10b-1 performs communication using the associated subscriber identification information (step S406).
The communication terminal 10b-2 receives the usage instruction transmitted from the subscriber information control server 80. The connection control unit 106 b is configured to be communicable by associating usable subscriber identification information indicated by the received usage instruction with each wireless IF 12. Thereafter, the communication terminal 10b-2 performs communication using the associated subscriber identification information (step S407).

  Further, the communication terminal 10b-1 transmits a use end to the subscriber information control server 80 at the stage where the communication is completed (step S408). Similarly, the communication terminal 10b-2 also transmits an end of use to the subscriber information control server 80 at the stage where the communication is completed (step S409). The end of use includes information indicating which subscriber identification information is to be ended. Thereby, the subscriber information control server 80 can grasp which subscriber identification information has been used. When the use end is received, the management unit 804 corresponds to the identification information of the communication terminal 10b and the identification information of the communication terminal 10b indicated by the use end among the information stored in the use state storage unit 803. The attached subscriber identification information is deleted.

According to the communication system 100b configured as described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.
The communication terminal 10b performs communication using a subscriber information recording medium of MVNO or virtual subscriber information. Thereby, it is possible to realize the use of a plurality of wireless IFs 12 at low cost.
Further, the subscriber information control server 80 controls the subscriber identification information used by each communication terminal 10b so that the same subscriber identification information is not used in the plurality of communication terminals 10b. Thereby, it is possible to eliminate the same subscriber identification information being used by a plurality of communication terminals 10b.

<Modification>
The first communication unit 102, the state monitoring unit 105, the connection control unit 106b, and the subscriber information storage unit 110 included in the communication terminal 10b are configured to be included in a wireless LAN communication device such as a pocket wireless LAN router. May be. By being configured in this way, the technology of the present invention can be applied even to an existing communication terminal such as a smartphone.
The first communication unit 102, the state monitoring unit 105, and the connection control unit 106b included in the communication terminal 10b may be configured to be included in a wireless LAN communication device such as a pocket wireless LAN router. By being configured in this way, the technology of the present invention can be applied even to an existing communication terminal such as a smartphone having the subscriber information storage unit 110.
The communication terminal 10b may be configured to further include a notification unit 107, a call control unit 108, and a second communication unit 109 of the communication terminal 10a in the second embodiment.

  The management unit 804 of the subscriber information control server 80 schedules subscriber identification information used by each communication terminal 10b, and controls the subscriber identification information used by each communication terminal 10b by instructing a scheduling result. May be. Here, scheduling means controlling the use procedure of subscriber identification information for each communication terminal 10b. Specific processing will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of another example of processing in the communication system 100b. In the description of FIG. 13, the description will be given using the two communication terminals 10 b-1 to 10 b-2 and the subscriber information control server 80 for simplification of description. The communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2 store the same plurality of subscriber identification information in advance, and the subscriber information control server 80 stores the communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2. It is assumed that subscriber identification information is stored.

  The management unit 804 performs scheduling for each of the communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2 based on the plurality of subscriber identification information stored in the subscriber identification information storage unit 802 (step S501). Specifically, the management unit 804 selects subscriber identification information to be used by the communication terminal 10b-1 among a plurality of subscriber identification information stored in the subscriber identification information storage unit 802 in a predetermined time period. It is determined every time (for example, 10:00 to 15:00, 15:00 to 20:00, etc.). In addition, the management unit 804 determines subscriber identification information to be used by the communication terminal 10b-2 among the plurality of subscriber identification information stored in the subscriber identification information storage unit 802 for each predetermined time period. To do. The management unit 804 has subscriber identification information for each time zone used by the communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2 so that there is no time zone for the subscriber identification information used by the communication terminals 10b-1 and 10b-2. To decide. In this way, the management unit 804 controls the use procedure of the subscriber identification information for each communication terminal 10b.

  The management unit 804 stores the determined scheduling result for each communication terminal 10b in the usage state storage unit 803 in association with the identification information of the communication terminal 10b. Thereafter, the management unit 804 transmits the determined scheduling results to the communication terminal 10b-1 and the communication terminal 10b-2 via the communication unit 801 (step S502 and step S503). The scheduling result includes information indicating which subscriber identification information is available in which time zone.

  The communication terminal 10b-1 receives the scheduling result transmitted from the subscriber information control server 80. The connection control unit 106b refers to the received scheduling result and determines the subscriber identification information used by the own device (step S504). The connection control unit 106b is configured to be communicable by associating currently available subscriber identification information with each wireless IF 12. The communication terminal 10b-1 performs communication using the associated subscriber identification information (step S505). Thereafter, the connection control unit 106b changes the subscriber identification information to be used for each time period indicated by the scheduling result.

  The communication terminal 10b-2 receives the scheduling result transmitted from the subscriber information control server 80. The connection control unit 106b refers to the received scheduling result and determines the subscriber identification information used by the own device (step S506). The connection control unit 106b is configured to be communicable by associating currently available subscriber identification information with each wireless IF 12. The communication terminal 10b-2 performs communication using the associated subscriber identification information (step S507). Thereafter, the connection control unit 106b changes the subscriber identification information to be used for each time period indicated by the scheduling result.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs and the like that do not depart from the gist of the present invention.

10, 10a, 10b ... communication terminals, 11 (11-1 to 11-n) ... subscriber information recording medium, 12 (12-1 to 12-n) ... wireless IF, 20 (20-1 to 20-m) ... Relay device 30, 30a ... Relay server 40, 40a ... Communication terminal 50 ... Cellular network 60 ... Carrier network 70 ... External network 80 ... Subscriber information control server 101 ... Recording medium holding unit 102 ... First communication unit, 103 ... application storage unit, 104 ... application call control unit, 105 ... state monitoring unit, 106, 106a, 106b ... connection control unit, 107 ... notification unit, 108 ... call control unit, 109 ... second communication 110, subscriber information storage unit, 301 ... first communication unit, 302 ... second communication unit, 303 ... relay unit, 304 ... status monitoring unit, 305 ... notification , 801 ... communication unit, 802 ... subscriber identification information storage unit, 803 ... use state storage unit, 804 ... management unit

Claims (14)

A communication unit having a plurality of wireless interfaces for communication;
A state monitoring unit that monitors deterioration of the state of communication via each wireless interface;
A connection control unit for reconnecting a wireless interface when deterioration of the communication state is detected;
A communication device comprising:   The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the connection control unit performs reconnection in a section in which communication using a network address via a wireless interface in which deterioration of the communication state is detected is not performed.   The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the connection control unit reconnects a section in which communication is performed using a network address via a wireless interface in which deterioration of the communication state is detected.   The connection control unit reconnects the wireless interface by switching to a wireless interface having identification information different from the identification information associated with the wireless interface in which the deterioration of the communication state is detected. 4. The communication device according to any one of 3.   The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the user of information related to reconnection while the reconnection is performed. A call control unit that switches a call made using an application that requires real-time to a call using another communication network;
The call control unit switches the call to a call using a communication network different from a communication network used in the application when the application is used during the reconnection. The communication device according to any one of 1 to 5.   The communication device according to claim 6, wherein the call control unit switches from a call using the communication network to a call using the application after deterioration of the communication state is improved.   8. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of wireless interfaces is associated with a recording medium on which identification information for specifying a subscriber for MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) is recorded. Communication equipment. A storage unit for storing a plurality of subscriber identification information, which are identification information for specifying subscribers;
The plurality of subscriber identification information stored in the storage unit is information stored in a plurality of communication devices,
8. The communication unit according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit performs communication using subscriber identification information that is not used by another communication device among the plurality of subscriber identification information stored in the storage unit. The communication device according to one item.   The communication device according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of subscriber identification information stored in the storage unit is acquired from a server that stores the plurality of subscriber identification information at a predetermined timing and stored in the storage unit. . A management unit that instructs each of the plurality of communication devices to use different subscriber identification information so that the plurality of communication devices according to claim 9 or 10 do not use the same subscriber identification information.
A subscriber information control server.   The management unit according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of communication devices are managed so as not to use the same subscriber identification information by controlling a use procedure of subscriber identification information for each communication device. Subscriber information control server. A communication device including a communication unit that performs communication using a plurality of wireless interfaces,
A state monitoring step of monitoring deterioration of the state of communication via each wireless interface;
A connection control step of reconnecting the wireless interface when the deterioration of the communication state is detected;
A connection control method. For computers equipped with a communication unit that communicates with multiple wireless interfaces,
A state monitoring step of monitoring deterioration of the state of communication via each wireless interface;
A connection control step of reconnecting the wireless interface when the deterioration of the communication state is detected;
A computer program for running.

Images