JP2023128882A - Radio communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a radio communication device capable of appropriately controlling in case of loss or theft.SOLUTION: Provided is a radio communication device including: a first communication section which performs a radio communication using a first communication method; an operation section which receives an operation to allow a radio communication device to perform a radio communication; a control section which controls the radio communication based on the operation; a position detection section which detects the position of the radio communication device; a storage section which stores a first area defined in an area where a communication using the first communication method can be performed; a determination section which determines whether the position of the radio communication device detected by the position detection section is within the first area or not; and a second communication section which performs a radio communication using a second communication method different from the first communication method. When the determination section determines that the position of the radio communication device is not within the first area, the second communication section sends the position information of the radio communication device, and the control section cancels the operation of the operation section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present disclosure relates to wireless communication devices.

Patent Document 1 discloses an input reception means for accepting input operations, an acquisition means for acquiring current location information of a mobile terminal, a setting means for setting information regarding the range of locations where the mobile terminal is used, and a method for setting location information. a means for determining whether or not the mobile terminal is located outside the range of the place where the mobile terminal is used based on the above information; A mobile terminal is described that includes a restriction means for restricting.

Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses that the user can set the allowable area range, such as radius, east-west, north-south, etc., from a data input means, and then security can be turned on when the power is turned on. Sometimes, the terminal control unit voluntarily sets the range centered around the position measured by the GPS receiver as the permissible area, and when the GPS positioning result deviates from the preset permissible area, the terminal controller automatically sets the position to notify an external device when the GPS positioning result deviates from the preset permissible area. The reporting terminal is listed.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-252096 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-155198

However, with the technologies described in Prior Art Documents 1 and 2, it is possible to restrict the reception of input operations by the input reception means and to send a notification to an external device if the user deviates from a predetermined area due to loss or theft. However, due to the periodic transmission of location information, communication traffic increases, and other users using the terminal's communication system may not be able to communicate at the desired timing.

Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a wireless communication device that suppresses an increase in communication traffic due to transmission of location information activated in the event of loss or theft.

The wireless communication device according to the present disclosure includes:
a first communication unit that wirelessly communicates using a first communication method;
an operation unit that receives an operation for causing the wireless communication device to communicate wirelessly;
a control unit that controls the wireless communication based on the operation;
a position detection unit that detects the position of the wireless communication device;
a storage unit that stores a predetermined first area within the communicable area of the first communication method;
a determining unit that determines whether the position of the wireless communication device detected by the position detecting unit is within the first area;
a second communication unit that performs wireless communication using a second communication method different from the first communication method,
When the determination unit determines that the position of the wireless communication device is not within the first area,
The second communication unit transmits position information of the wireless communication device,
The control unit is a wireless communication device that disables the operation of the operation unit.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a wireless communication device that can suppress an increase in communication traffic due to transmission of location information activated in the event of loss or theft.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a wireless communication device according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating communication by the first communication unit when the wireless communication device according to the embodiment is within a predetermined area. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating communication by the second communication unit when the wireless communication device according to the embodiment is not within a predetermined area. 7 is a flowchart illustrating switching between communication by the first communication unit and communication by the second communication unit of the wireless communication device according to the embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained through embodiments of the invention, but the claimed invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are essential as means for solving the problem. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted and simplified as appropriate. In each drawing, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanation will be omitted as necessary.

(Configuration of wireless communication device according to embodiment)
Hereinafter, a wireless communication device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a wireless communication device according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a first communication section 11, an operation section 12, a control section 13, a position detection section 14, a storage section 15, and a determination section. 16 and a second communication section 17. Furthermore, the wireless communication device 10 according to the present embodiment may further include a notification section 18 and a display section 19, if necessary. The wireless communication device 10 is a so-called transceiver, and performs phone calls using a PTT (Push To Talk) method using a half-duplex communication session. Therefore, the wireless communication device 10 includes a microphone and a speaker. Each configuration in FIG. 1 is an example, and other configurations may be used as long as the operations according to this embodiment are possible.

The first communication unit 11 performs wireless communication using a first communication method. The first communication method is a communication method for performing voice communication with other wireless communication devices, such as business wireless communication, for example. In commercial wireless communication, communication is performed directly (or via a commercial wireless base station) with other wireless communication devices, for example, via a commercial wireless channel. At this time, as will be described later, it is assumed that an area that is actually usable is determined in the communicable range of the first communication method, and communication is performed only within that area. The first communication unit 11 includes a modulator and a demodulator for communicating using the PTT method. Further, the first communication unit 11 may perform short-range communication such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or infrared communication for connecting to a wireless LAN (Local Area Network).

The operation unit 12 accepts an operation for causing the wireless communication device 10 to wirelessly communicate with another wireless communication device. The operation unit 12 is an input means for a user to perform various operations on the wireless communication device 10. For example, the operation unit 12 includes a switch that the user presses when starting wireless communication, that is, a PTT switch. Furthermore, the operation unit 12 may include operation buttons, switches, knobs, touch panels, etc. other than the PTT switch.
For example, while the user presses the PTT switch, a microphone (not shown) picks up the user's speech. Then, the first communication unit 11 modulates the collected sound signal and transmits it to another wireless communication device. While the user releases the PTT switch, the first communication unit 11 receives a wireless signal from another wireless communication device and demodulates it. As a result, the utterances of the users of other wireless communication devices are output from the speakers.

The control unit 13 controls wireless communication based on the operation of the operation unit 12 . The control unit 13 performs various controls on the wireless communication device 10. The functions of the control section 13 are realized by executing a program stored in the storage section 15 with a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). For example, the control unit 13 includes a determination unit 16. The control unit 13 has a function of controlling power supply to the second communication unit 17 of the wireless communication device 10.

The wireless communication device 10 detects its own position using the position detection unit 14. The position detection unit 14 includes, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) reception unit. The GPS receiving unit receives a GPS signal from the GPS satellite 20, and calculates current position information (latitude and longitude) based on the received GPS signal. Note that GPS is an example of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and position information may be acquired based on signals received from not only GPS but other positioning systems.

The storage unit 15 stores programs and data necessary for the operation of the wireless communication device 10. The storage unit 15 is a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, a hard disk, or the like. Furthermore, the storage unit 15 stores a predetermined area. In particular, a predetermined area A within the communicable area of the first communication method is stored. Specifically, the wireless communication device 10 determines an area A in which communication using the first communication method is possible only within a specific range within the communicable area of the first communication method, and stores the area A. . For example, the storage unit 15 stores position information (latitude, longitude) indicating a boundary line that separates the inside and outside of area A. Furthermore, the storage unit 15 may store map information indicating information about area A.

The determining unit 16 determines whether the acquired position of the wireless communication device 10 is in area A or not. Further, the determining unit 16 determines whether the acquired position of the wireless communication device 10 is near the boundary of area A. For example, the determining unit 16 determines whether the distance of the wireless communication device 10 to the boundary of the area A within the area A is less than or equal to a first threshold value. Further, the determining unit 16 determines whether the distance of the wireless communication device 10 to the boundary of the area A within the area A is less than or equal to a second threshold. The area near the boundary of area A is defined as the surrounding area. The surrounding area is an area inside area A.

The second communication unit 17 performs wireless communication using a second communication method different from the first communication method. The second communication method communicates via a wide area communication network. The wide area communication network uses, for example, mobile carrier lines such as 3G (3rd Generation), LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), and 5G (5th Generation). The second communication unit 17 includes a modulator and a demodulator for communicating via a wide area communication network. Here, the communicable area of the second communication method includes all the communicable area of the first communication method. Therefore, even if the wireless communication device 10 leaves the communication area of the first communication method and becomes unable to communicate using the first communication method, it communicates using the second communication method and transmits its own location information to the base station. can be sent to.

The notification unit 18 performs the first notification when the distance of the wireless communication device 10 to the boundary of the predetermined area A is less than or equal to the first threshold. Furthermore, when the determination unit determines that the wireless communication device 10 is not within the predetermined area A, the notification unit 18 performs a second notification. The first notification and the second notification may be voice or display. When the notification is audio, the notification unit 18 can use a speaker for communicating with another wireless communication device or for the wireless communication device 10 to perform its functions. Further, when the notification is a display, the notification unit 18 can use a display unit 19 for communicating with another wireless communication device or for the wireless communication device 10 to perform its functions.

The display unit 19 can use a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The display unit 19 displays information for operating the wireless communication device 10. For example, if the wireless communication device 10 is a business wireless communication device, the display unit 19 displays information for performing an operation for talking to another wireless communication device.

(Operation of wireless communication device according to embodiment)
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing communication by the first communication unit when the wireless communication device according to the embodiment is within a predetermined area. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating communication by the second communication unit when the wireless communication device according to the embodiment is not within a predetermined area. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating switching between communication by the first communication unit and communication by the second communication unit of the wireless communication device according to the embodiment. The operation of the wireless communication device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication device 10 according to this embodiment is located inside area A. Area A is within the communicable area of the wireless communication device 10 using the first communication method. Area A may be one of a plurality of areas in which the wireless communication device 10 can communicate using the first communication method, or may be a plurality of areas. Furthermore, area A is stored in the storage unit of the wireless communication device 10. Area A may be set in advance in the wireless communication device 10, or may be set arbitrarily using the operation unit 12.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the wireless communication device 10 receives a GPS signal from the GPS satellite 20 within the area A using the position detection unit 14 (S101). Next, the wireless communication device 10 calculates and confirms position information (latitude and longitude) of the wireless communication device 10 from the GPS signal (S102). Then, the determining unit 16 of the wireless communication device 10 determines whether the position of the wireless communication device 10 is near the boundary of area A (S103).

For example, the determining unit 16 may determine whether the distance of the wireless communication device 10 to the boundary of the area A is less than or equal to a threshold value. If the distance from the wireless communication device 10 to the boundary of area A is less than or equal to the threshold value, the determination unit 16 determines that the wireless communication device 10 is near the boundary of area A. If the distance from the wireless communication device 10 to the boundary of area A is greater than the threshold, the determination unit 16 determines that the wireless communication device 10 is not near the boundary of area A. Alternatively, a boundary area near the boundary of area A may be set on the map.

If the wireless communication device 10 is not near the boundary (No in S103), it waits for a certain period of time (S104). The wireless communication device 10 receives a GPS signal from the GPS satellite 20 within the area A using the position detection unit 14 (S101). Thereby, when the wireless communication device 10 remains within the area A, the process can be looped.

When the wireless communication device 10 is near the boundary (Yes in S103), the notification unit 18 makes the first notification and supplies power to the second communication unit 17 (S105). For example, the notification unit 18 outputs a message or warning sound indicating that the vehicle is approaching the boundary of area A. Moreover, the control unit 13 can reduce the power consumption of the wireless communication device 10 by performing control to supply power to the second communication unit 17 only when the boundary of the area A is approached.

Next, in the wireless communication device 10, the determining unit 16 determines whether the position of the wireless communication device 10 is within the area A (S106). If the wireless communication device 10 is located within area A (Yes in S106), the wireless communication device 10 waits for a certain period of time (S104). Then, the process returns to step S101, and the wireless communication device 10 repeats the process.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the determination unit 16 determines that the position of the wireless communication device 10 is not within the area A (No in S106), the control unit 13 disables the operation of the operation unit 12 and notifies the The unit 18 makes a second notification (S107). Therefore, the operation unit 12 does not accept any operation. Alternatively, the operation unit 12 may not accept operations other than specific operations. Furthermore, the wireless communication device 10 may display the display unit 19 in white or black and not accept any display. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when the determination unit 16 determines that the position of the wireless communication device 10 is not within the area A, the notification unit 18 performs the second notification. For example, the notification unit 18 outputs a message or warning sound indicating that the user is outside area A.

Further, after invalidating the operation in step S106, the wireless communication device 10 communicates its own position information to the base station 30 using the second communication unit 17 (S108). For example, position information from the wireless communication device 10 is transmitted to a management device (not shown) via the base station 30. Therefore, the administrator of the management device or the like can confirm the location of the wireless communication device 10 that has been lost or stolen. In this way, when the wireless communication device 10 goes outside area A, the second communication unit transmits the position information. When the wireless communication device 10 is within the area A, the wireless communication device 10 does not need to transmit position information using the second communication unit.

By doing so, the present embodiment can disable the operation of the wireless communication device 10 for the purpose of preventing theft without receiving a signal from the base station 30. Further, by internally transmitting the location information to the base station 30, the base station 30 can clearly grasp where the lost or stolen wireless communication device 10 is located. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the periodic transmission of location information is performed using the second communication method, it is possible to avoid affecting other communications performed using the first communication method. It is possible to suppress an increase in communication traffic of the first communication method.

Further, the notification unit 18 makes the second notification, so that the owner of the wireless communication device 10 can know that he/she has gone outside the area A.

After S108, the wireless communication device 10 calculates and confirms the position information (latitude and longitude) of the wireless communication device 10 from the GPS signal (S109). After confirming the position of the wireless communication device 10, the determining unit 16 determines whether the position of the wireless communication device 10 is within area A (S110). When the determination unit 16 determines that the wireless communication device 10 is within the area A (Yes in S110), the control unit 13 enables the operation of the operation unit 12 and stops power supply to the second communication unit ( S112). As a result, the second communication unit stops processing for communication. Furthermore, since communication in the first communication unit is restored, communication processing using the PTT method can be performed.

The wireless communication device 10 whose function in the first communication unit has been restored in S112 returns to step S101 and repeats the process. Therefore, the wireless communication device 10 periodically receives the GPS signal from the GPS satellite 20 within the area A using the position detection unit 14 (S101).

By doing so, the wireless communication device 10 that has once gone out of area A can be automatically restored when it returns to area A. Therefore, even if the owner of the wireless communication device 10 accidentally goes out of the predetermined range, recovery can be made quickly. Furthermore, the power consumption of the wireless communication device 10 can be reduced by the control unit 13 controlling to stop the power supply to the second communication unit 17.

If the determination unit 16 determines in S110 that the wireless communication device 10 is not within the area A (No in S110), the wireless communication device 10 waits for a certain period of time (S111). Next, the second communication unit 17 transmits the position information of the wireless communication device 10 to the base station 30 (S108). Therefore, the base station 30 can confirm the location of the wireless communication device 10 that is lost or stolen.

After that, the wireless communication device 10 uses the GPS signal to detect the position of the wireless communication device 10 using the position detection unit 14 (S109). After that, the determination unit 16 determines whether the wireless communication device 10 is within the area A (S110). By looping in this way, the position of the wireless communication device 10 can be periodically transmitted, and the base station 30 can grasp the movement of the position of the wireless communication device 10.

Note that in step S103, when the wireless communication device 10 is near the boundary of area A, the first notification is made and power supply to the second communication unit is started, but these processes may be omitted. . Alternatively, the wireless communication device 10 may perform only one of the first notification and the start of power supply. Furthermore, the area where the first notification is performed and the area where power supply is started may be different areas.

For example, let area A be the first area. The area for determining whether to perform the first notification is defined as a second area, and the area for determining whether to start power supply is defined as a third area. The storage unit may store information regarding the second area and the third area.

The second area and the third area are areas within the first area, and are areas near the boundary of the first area. The second area and the third area may be the same area or may be different areas. The second area may be included within the third area, and the third area may be included within the second area. Further, the second area and the third area may be areas that at least partially overlap.

Then, in step S103, the determination unit 16 determines whether the position of the wireless communication device 10 is within the second area and the third area. Alternatively, different threshold values may be set for the distances to the boundaries of area A. In this case, the threshold value for determining whether or not it is within the second area is the first threshold, and the threshold value for determining whether or not it is within the third area is the second threshold. value. In step S103, the determination unit determines whether the distance of the wireless communication device within area A to the boundary of area A is equal to or less than a first threshold value. Thereby, it can be determined whether or not it is within the second area. Similarly, in step S103, the determination unit determines whether the distance of the wireless communication device within area A to the boundary of area A is equal to or less than a second threshold. Thereby, the determination unit can determine whether or not it is within the third area.

Further, in steps S110 and S112, the area where it is determined whether to enable the operation or not and the area where it is determined whether or not to stop power supply to the second communication unit may be different areas. The area for determining whether to stop power supply may be included in the area for validating the operation. Specifically, the area for determining whether to perform power supply may be the third area, and the first area may be for determining whether to enable the operation. .

If it is within the first area in step S110, the control unit 13 enables the operation. Next, in step S112, the determining unit 16 may determine whether the position of the wireless communication device 10 is within the third area. When the wireless communication device 10 is located in the third area, the control unit 13 performs control to stop power supply to the second communication unit 17 (S112). Alternatively, the determining unit 16 may determine whether the distance of the wireless communication device 10 to the boundary of the area A within the area A is less than or equal to the second threshold. If the distance of the wireless communication device 10 to the border of the area A within the area A is not equal to or less than the second threshold, the control unit 13 performs control to stop power supply to the second communication unit 17 (S112). That is, when the wireless communication device 10 moves away from the boundary by a second threshold value or more, the control unit 13 performs control to stop power supply to the second communication unit 17 (S112). By doing so, the power consumption of the wireless communication device 10 can be reduced. Further, when the wireless communication device 10 is in the third area near the boundary of the first area, the control unit 13 supplies power to the second communication unit 17. Therefore, when the wireless communication device 10 moves outside the first area, the second communication unit 17 can promptly transmit the position information. However, this step may be omitted.

Furthermore, part or all of the processing in the wireless communication device 10 described above can be realized as a computer program. Such programs can be stored and provided to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media includes various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (eg, flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (eg, magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R/W, semiconductor memory (eg, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (Random Access Memory)). The program may also be provided to the computer on various types of temporary computer-readable media. Examples of transitory computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can provide the program to the computer via wired communication channels, such as electrical wires and fiber optics, or wireless communication channels.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention includes appropriate modifications without impairing its objects and advantages, and is not limited by the above-described embodiments.

10 Wireless communication device 11 First communication unit 12 Operation unit 13 Control unit 14 Position detection unit 15 Storage unit 16 Determination unit 17 Second communication unit 18 Notification unit 19 Display unit 20 GPS satellite 30 Base station

Claims (5)

a first communication unit that wirelessly communicates using a first communication method;
an operation unit that receives an operation for causing the wireless communication device to communicate wirelessly;
a control unit that controls the wireless communication based on the operation;
a position detection unit that detects the position of the wireless communication device;
a storage unit that stores a predetermined first area within the communicable area of the first communication method;
a determining unit that determines whether the position of the wireless communication device detected by the position detecting unit is within the first area;
a second communication unit that performs wireless communication using a second communication method different from the first communication method,
When the determination unit determines that the position of the wireless communication device is not within the first area,
The second communication unit transmits position information of the wireless communication device,
The control unit is a wireless communication device that disables the operation of the operation unit. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communicable area of the second communication method includes the entire communicable area of the first communication method. Furthermore, it is equipped with a notification department,
The determining unit determines whether the wireless communication device is located within the first area and within a second area near a boundary of the first area;
The wireless communication device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the position of the wireless communication device is within the second area, the notification unit makes a first notification. The wireless communication device according to claim 3, wherein when the determination unit determines that the position of the wireless communication device is not within the first area, the notification unit performs a second notification. The determination unit determines whether the position of the wireless communication device is within the first area and within a third area near a boundary of the first area;
The wireless communication device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the wireless communication device is located within the third area, the control unit controls power supply to the second communication unit.

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