JP4268481B2 - Mobile communication terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal, and more particularly to a mobile communication terminal having a wireless LAN communication function.

  Conventionally, portable terminals such as mobile phones, portable personal computers (mobile PCs), and personal digital assistants (PDAs) have been developed and spread. Many of these portable terminals have a function of connecting to the Internet through a telephone line and performing data communication using mobile communication technology. A mobile phone with a positioning function using a global positioning system (GPS) is also known as a mobile phone (see Patent Document 1).

  In recent years, portable communication terminals having a wireless LAN communication function have also appeared, and such portable communication terminals are, for example, wireless LAN access points installed in places where people gather such as stations, airports, shopping centers, and the like. Wireless communication enables relatively high-speed data communication by connecting to the Internet via this access point. In general, such a wireless LAN service is more satisfactory for users than a communication service through a telephone line in terms of communication charges and communication speed.

If the user of the mobile communication terminal wants to benefit from wireless LAN connection such as high-speed data communication, the user finds the location where the access point for wireless LAN is installed, visits that location, and starts wireless LAN communication It is necessary to let
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-325180

  By the way, instead of receiving wireless LAN communication in response to a user instruction, if the mobile communication terminal enters a wireless LAN connectable area around a wireless LAN access point by the movement of the user with the mobile communication terminal. In order to automatically and promptly execute data communication by wireless LAN connection, the mobile terminal must always attempt wireless LAN communication. That is, the arrival of a so-called beacon signal from the access point for the wireless LAN must be constantly monitored. However, power consumption increases in constant monitoring.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when a mobile communication terminal enters a wireless LAN connectable area without always trying wireless LAN communication, data communication is quickly executed by wireless LAN connection. An object of the present invention is to provide a portable communication terminal for enabling the user to do this.

In order to solve the above problems, a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention is a mobile communication terminal having a wireless LAN communication function, and has a geographical range estimated to be able to communicate with a wireless LAN access point. Based on the storage means for storing the wireless LAN area information for identification, the position detection means for detecting the position of the mobile communication terminal, the position detected by the position detection means, and the wireless LAN area information. A determination unit that determines whether or not the mobile communication terminal is within a geographical range estimated to be capable of communicating with an access point; and when the determination unit makes a positive determination, and communication control means attempting to communicate with the access point of the wireless LAN, on the basis of said the position detected wireless LAN area information by the position detecting means, the own Affirmative determination is made by determining whether or not the band communication terminal is located outside the geographical range estimated to be likely to be able to communicate with the access point and within a predetermined distance from the geographical range. In this case, it is characterized in that it comprises an area surrounding notifying means for notifying the user that there is a geographical range where wireless LAN communication is possible .

Since the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention has the above-described configuration, when the mobile communication terminal moves to an area where communication with a wireless LAN access point may be possible, the mobile communication terminal always tries to perform wireless LAN communication. If it is not necessary to attempt communication and the portable communication terminal enters a wireless LAN connectable area, data communication can be quickly executed by wireless LAN connection. In addition, the user of the mobile communication terminal can know the fact that the user is located around a geographical area where wireless LAN communication is possible.

The wireless LAN area information indicates a location of each of the access points of the plurality of wireless LANs and a predetermined first distance, and the determination means includes the location of the access point of the mobile communication terminal. The determination may be made based on whether or not the circle exists in a circle having the radius of the first distance.
As a result, it is possible to identify an area where communication with a wireless LAN access point is possible with a simple configuration.

  In addition, the mobile communication terminal further includes the first mobile communication terminal based on the location of one of the access points based on the position detected by the position detection unit and the wireless LAN area information. A judgment means for judging whether or not a circle has a predetermined second distance equal to or less than a distance and a negative judgment by the judgment means for the first time after a successful communication attempt by the communication control means. It is good also as providing the disconnection | reporting alerting | reporting means which alert | reports the possibility of a communication disconnection to a user since it was made.

As a result, the user is warned in advance of the occurrence of a situation where the user is away from the access point of the wireless LAN while using the data communication by the wireless LAN connection and the wireless LAN connection is disconnected. Is possible.
Moreover, it is good also as providing the in-area alerting | reporting means to alert | report to a user, when a positive determination is made by the said determination means.

As a result, it becomes possible for the user who has the mobile communication terminal to notify the user that he / she has entered an area where wireless LAN connection is possible. You can know that you can email .

Also, the position detecting unit may be configured to perform the detection by using a global positioning system.
This makes it possible to detect the position of the mobile communication terminal by utilizing the GPS reception function that has been installed in some types of mobile communication terminals. If the moving speed is relatively low, such as when the user is moving on foot, it is considered practical even if the GPS reception interval is as long as several seconds or more.

In addition, the mobile communication terminal further has a function of communicating with a radio base station, and the mobile communication terminal further performs the communication control while communicating with the radio base station. When the communication attempt by the means is successful, a disconnection means for disconnecting the connection with the wireless base station may be provided.
This makes it possible to continue data communication and switch the connection method from telephone connection to wireless LAN connection.

Hereinafter, mobile phones according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Configuration>
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
A mobile phone 100 is a mobile phone having a mechanism for measuring a location by a global positioning system (GPS) and a mechanism for performing wireless LAN communication. As shown in FIG. 102, a telephone antenna 103, a key 104, a liquid crystal display (LCD) 105, a microphone 106, a speaker 107, a vibrator 108, a position detection unit 110, an area information storage unit 120, and a control unit 130.

Here, the position detection unit 110 has a function of obtaining position information indicating the latitude and longitude of the location of the mobile phone 100 by receiving signals from a plurality of satellites constituting the GPS and performing calculations. The position information acquired using the GPS is, for example, information that represents latitude and longitude with accuracy of degrees, minutes, seconds, and 1/100 seconds, respectively.
The area information storage unit 120 is an area of a nonvolatile memory, and stores area information indicating the position of a wireless LAN access point.

The control unit 130 includes a CPU and a memory in terms of hardware, and controls each unit of the mobile phone 100 in accordance with user operations performed through the keys 104 and position information obtained by the position detection unit 110. Yes, in terms of functionality, it includes an area determination unit 131, a notification control unit 132, a wireless LAN communication control unit 133, and a telephone communication control unit 134.
The area determination unit 131 refers to the area information stored in the area information storage unit 120, obtains position information from the position detection unit 110, and according to the position information, the notification control unit 132 and the wireless LAN communication control unit 133. And a function of issuing an instruction to the telephone communication control unit 134.

The notification control unit 132 has a function of controlling the LCD 105, the speaker 107, and the vibrator 108 to notify the user of information.
The wireless LAN communication control unit 133 has a function of communicating with a wireless LAN access point via a wireless LAN wireless LAN antenna, and the telephone communication control unit 134 communicates with a wireless base station via a telephone antenna. It has a function to perform. The control of the wireless LAN communication itself and the telephone communication itself is the same as the control in the conventional terminal having the wireless LAN function and the terminal having the telephone communication function. For example, in response to a user operation through the key 104, the wireless LAN connection Alternatively, a web page is displayed on the LCD 105 by making a telephone connection.
<Data>
Hereinafter, the area information stored in the area information storage unit 120 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration and example contents of area information.
The area information includes access point information 210 and area boundary information 220 as shown in FIG.
Here, the access point information 210 is information indicating an access point ID 211, a latitude 212, and a longitude 213 for each of a plurality of access points of the wireless LAN. The access point ID 211 is an identifier for identifying each access point, and the latitude 212 and longitude 213 represent the location of the access point.

FIG. 2 exemplifies that the location of the access point OSAKA0151 is 34 degrees 41 minutes 12 seconds north latitude and 135 degrees 29 minutes 11 seconds east longitude.
The area boundary information 220 includes a wide-area boundary threshold value 221, a narrow-area boundary threshold value 222, and a peripheral boundary threshold value 223, which are three kinds of threshold values relating to the distance between the mobile phone 100 and the access point of the wireless LAN.

  Here, the wide area boundary threshold 221 is an upper limit distance that is estimated that there is a possibility that the mobile phone 100 can communicate with a wireless LAN access point. The distance indicated by the wide-area boundary threshold 221 is used as a material for determining that there is a possibility of wireless LAN communication if the mobile phone 100 is within this distance from the access point. In operation, it is assumed that a slightly longer distance than the reach distance of a so-called beacon signal from the wireless LAN access point is set as this threshold value.

The narrow boundary threshold 222 is an upper limit distance assumed that the mobile phone 100 is likely to be able to continue communication with the access point of the wireless LAN. The distance indicated by the narrow boundary threshold 222 is used as a material for determining that the wireless LAN communication can be stably continued if the mobile phone 100 is within this distance from the access point.
The peripheral boundary threshold 223 is an upper limit distance that is assumed that the mobile phone 100 cannot communicate with a wireless LAN access point but is located near the access point.

For example, the wide area boundary threshold 221 is 200 m, the narrow area boundary threshold is 70 m, and the peripheral boundary threshold is 500 m.
<Operation>
Hereinafter, the operation of the mobile phone 100 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship among a wireless LAN access point, a wireless base station, and a mobile phone.

In the figure, the mobile phone 100 is held by a user and accesses a variety of servers connected to the Internet 301 via a base station 310 and browses a web (Web) page.
The figure shows a narrow boundary 321 that is a circle whose radius is the distance indicated by the narrow boundary threshold 222 and a circle whose radius is the distance indicated by the wide boundary threshold 221 centered on the access point 320 of the wireless LAN. A certain wide boundary 322 and a peripheral boundary 323 that is a circle whose radius is the distance indicated by the peripheral boundary threshold 223 are shown.

FIG. 3 shows that, for example, the user is walking inside the peripheral boundary 323 of the wireless LAN access point 320 and outside the wide area boundary 322.
In the state of FIG. 3, the mobile phone 100 accesses the Internet via the base station 310, but accessing the Internet via a wireless LAN may be advantageous in terms of usage charges and communication speed. Therefore, in order to facilitate the use of the wireless LAN for the user of the mobile phone 100, the mobile phone 100 performs an area determination control process shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the area determination control process of the mobile phone will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing area determination control processing by the mobile phone, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the LCD.
The cellular phone 100 repeatedly detects the position by GPS at a predetermined time interval such as 30 seconds by the position detection unit 110 (step S11), and the area determination unit 131 determines the position based on the area information and the position information. It is determined whether the position is within the peripheral boundary and outside the wide area boundary (step S12).

If an affirmative determination is made in step S12 (step S12), in response to an instruction from the area determination unit 131, the notification control unit 132 displays a map indicating the relationship between the wireless LAN access point and the current position on the LCD 105. At the same time, a sound is output through the speaker 107 (step S13).
By this step S13, for example, the map of FIG. 5A is displayed on the LCD 105 for a certain period of time such as 10 seconds. The triangle in the map indicates the current position.

  In addition, after a negative determination is made in step S12 or after step S13 is executed, the area determination unit 131 is in a state where the position of the mobile phone is within the wide area boundary and is not communicating via the wireless LAN. (Yes in step S14), if the determination is affirmative, an instruction is sent to the notification control unit 132 to output sound through the speaker 107 and to be located in an area where wireless LAN communication may be possible. This is displayed on the LCD 105 for a certain period, for example, 10 seconds (step S15). The area determination unit 131 holds a flag indicating whether or not the wireless LAN communication control unit 133 is performing wireless LAN communication in a memory or the like, and the determination in step S14 is also performed by referring to the flag. Do.

By this step S15, for example, the message shown in FIG.
Subsequent to step S15, the area determination unit 131 causes the wireless LAN communication control unit 133 to attempt wireless LAN communication (step S16). Thereby, the wireless LAN communication control unit 133 starts to detect a so-called beacon signal from the access point of the wireless LAN. After this detection starts, the high frequency circuit for wireless LAN communication operates, and after detecting the beacon signal, connection is established with the access point according to a predetermined protocol.

Until this step S16 is executed, the high-frequency circuit for wireless LAN communication is stopped, so that unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed. Note that the mobile phone 100 does not attempt the wireless LAN communication when the wireless LAN communication is not performed and the mobile phone 100 is not located within the wide area boundary.
If the trial of the wireless LAN communication in step S16 is successful (step S17), the area determination unit 131 causes the telephone communication control unit 134 to disconnect the telephone connection if data communication by telephone connection has already been performed. Control (step S18), and cause the wireless LAN communication control unit 133 to execute bidirectional data communication by wireless LAN (step S19). If data communication is not performed by telephone connection, step S18 is skipped.

  Further, the data communication in step S19 is performed according to the browsing operation of the web page by the user through a so-called browser, for example, and the LCD 105 displays a screen as shown in FIG. Further, the data communication in step S19 includes transmission / reception of mail according to a user operation, voice communication using an IP phone, that is, an Internet protocol, and the like.

  After a negative determination is made in step S14, after the trial fails in step S17, or after execution of step S19, the area determination unit 131 is in wireless LAN communication and the position of the mobile phone is narrow. It is determined whether or not it is outside the boundary (step S20). If the determination is positive, an instruction is given to the notification control unit 132 to output sound through the speaker 107 and the wireless LAN communication can be disconnected. The fact that there is a characteristic is displayed on the LCD 105 for a certain period of time, for example, 10 seconds (step S21). By this step S21, for example, the message shown in FIG.

For example, when the user moves from the position shown in FIG. 3 toward the wireless LAN access point 320 while holding the mobile phone 100, the LCD 105 displays FIG. FIG. 5B is displayed when entering the inside of the 322, and from that time, the cellular phone 100 finally executes a detection operation of the beacon signal from the access point of the wireless LAN, and then via the wireless LAN. When the user approaches the access point 320 and enters the inside of the narrow boundary 321 and then leaves the access point and escapes from the narrow boundary 321, the LCD 105 displays FIG. d) is displayed.
<Supplement>
As described above, the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Hereinafter, modifications of the embodiment will be described.
(1) Although the mobile phone is shown as the above-described embodiment, a mobile PC or PDA may be used as long as it is a communication terminal having a wireless LAN communication function. In addition, a telephone communication function for communicating via a telephone radio base station may not be provided.
(2) The notification control unit 132 outputs a sound from the speaker 107 and displays a message or a map on the LCD 105 in step S13, step S15, and step S21. However, the vibrator 108 may be vibrated or portable. The telephone may include a light emitting unit such as a light emitting diode to emit light. Further, instead of displaying a map, a message notifying that the user is in the vicinity of an area where wireless LAN connection is possible may be displayed. Further, the display period of the map or message is not limited to 10 seconds, and may be continuously displayed until the user performs a predetermined operation.
(3) The area boundary information 220 is information common to all the access points of the wireless LAN, but may be determined for each access point according to the transmission / reception range for each access point. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the wide boundary, the narrow boundary, and the peripheral boundary are each a circle, but may be a quadrangle. In this case, the threshold value of each boundary is set to the lower limit latitude and the upper limit boundary. It may be configured for each access point with four values of latitude, lower limit longitude, and upper limit longitude, or it may be configured with two values of latitude range and longitude range and defined as common to all access points. It is good.

In addition, the wide-area boundary threshold 221 and the narrow-area boundary threshold 222 in the area boundary information 220 may be the same value, and either one of the thresholds may be shared (4) from the access point of the wireless LAN Depending on the distance of the mobile phone or the received electric field strength, the user may be made aware of the high possibility of wireless LAN communication by displaying on the LCD one of images that change in multiple stages.
(5) The area information may be acquired from outside through wireless communication or the like and stored in the area information storage unit 120. This makes it possible to acquire and use the latest area information corresponding to the addition of a wireless LAN access point or the like.
(6) The mobile phone shown in the above-described embodiment performs the wireless LAN connection regardless of the user's instruction as long as the wireless LAN communication is possible. However, when the user has instructed the automatic connection in advance. The wireless LAN connection may be performed only for that.
(7) In the above-described embodiment, the position detection unit 110 detects the location of the mobile phone 100 by GPS. However, the position detection unit 110 is not limited to the GPS, and other systems that can detect the position such as various sensors are used. Then, the location position may be detected.
(8) A program for causing the CPU to execute various processes (see FIG. 4) for realizing each function of the mobile phone shown as the above-described embodiment is recorded on a recording medium or via various communication paths. It can also be distributed and distributed. Examples of such a recording medium include an IC card, an optical disk, a flexible disk, and a ROM. The distributed and distributed program is used by being stored in a memory or the like that can be read by a CPU in a mobile communication terminal including a CPU, and the CPU executes the program so that the mobile phone shown in the embodiment Each function is realized.

  The portable communication terminal according to the present invention is useful in terms of reducing power consumption required for wireless LAN connection.

It is a functional block diagram of the mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure and content example of area information. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the access point of a wireless LAN, a wireless base station, and a mobile telephone. It is a flowchart which shows the area determination control processing by a mobile telephone. It is a figure which shows the example of an image displayed on LCD.

Explanation of symbols

100 cellular phone 101 GPS antenna 102 wireless LAN antenna 103 telephone antenna 104 key 105 LCD
106 Microphone 107 Speaker 108 Vibrator 110 Position detection unit 120 Area information storage unit 130 Control unit 131 Area determination unit 132 Notification control unit 133 Wireless LAN communication control unit 134 Telephone communication control unit 301 Internet 310 Base station 320 Wireless LAN access point 321 Narrow Regional boundary 322 Regional boundary 323 Perimeter boundary

Claims (7)

A mobile communication terminal having a wireless LAN communication function,
Storage means for storing wireless LAN area information for specifying a geographical range estimated to be able to communicate with a wireless LAN access point;
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the portable communication terminal;
Based on the position detected by the position detection means and the wireless LAN area information, whether or not the mobile communication terminal is within a geographical range where it is estimated that there is a possibility of communication with an access point. Determination means for determining;
Communication control means for attempting communication with the access point of the wireless LAN when a positive determination is made by the determination means ;
Based on the position detected by the position detecting means and the wireless LAN area information, the mobile communication terminal is outside the geographical range where it is estimated that there is a possibility that the mobile communication terminal can communicate with the access point. If it is determined whether or not it exists at a position within a predetermined distance from the range, and if the determination is affirmative, an area surrounding notification unit that notifies the user that there is a geographical range where wireless LAN communication is possible is provided. mobile communication terminals, characterized in that it comprises. The wireless LAN area information indicates a location of each access point of a plurality of wireless LANs and a predetermined first distance,
The determination unit performs the determination based on whether or not the mobile communication terminal is present in a circle centered on a location of any access point and having the first distance as a radius. Item 2. A mobile communication terminal according to Item 1. The portable communication terminal further includes
Based on the position detected by the position detecting means and the wireless LAN area information, the portable communication terminal determines a predetermined second distance not more than the first distance with the location of any access point as the center. A determination means for determining whether or not a radius exists in a circle;
A disconnect notification means for notifying a user of the possibility of disconnection from the time when a negative determination is made by the determination means for the first time after a successful communication attempt by the communication control means. Item 3. A mobile communication terminal according to Item 2. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising an in-area notification unit that notifies a user when a positive determination is made by the determination unit. The position detecting means includes
The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the detection is performed using a global positioning system. The mobile communication terminal further has a function of performing communication by connecting to a radio base station,
The mobile communication terminal further includes a disconnecting means for disconnecting the connection with the radio base station if the communication control means succeeds in the communication attempt while communicating with the radio base station. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising: A program for causing a mobile communication terminal including a CPU and a memory and having a wireless LAN communication function to perform control processing,
The control process is
A position detecting step for detecting a position of the mobile communication terminal;
Wireless LAN area information for specifying a geographical range estimated to be able to communicate with a wireless LAN access point is read from the memory, and the position detected by the position detection step, the wireless LAN area information, Determining whether the mobile communication terminal is within a geographical range estimated to be likely to be able to communicate with an access point, based on:
A communication control step for attempting communication with the access point of the wireless LAN when a positive determination is made in the determination step ;
Based on the position detected by the position detection step and the wireless LAN area information, the mobile communication terminal is outside the geographical range where it is estimated that there is a possibility that the mobile communication terminal can communicate with the access point. If it is determined whether or not it exists at a position within a predetermined distance from the range, and the determination is affirmative, an area surrounding notification step for notifying the user that a geographical range in which wireless LAN communication is possible is nearby is provided. A program characterized by including.

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