JP4827238B2 - In-vehicle wireless connection service providing method, communication system, in-vehicle server, and portable communication terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless connection service in a vehicle such as an aircraft.

  With the recent increase in functionality of mobile phone terminals, users can make phone calls, e-mail communication via the Internet, browse WEB pages, etc., and with the non-contact IC card function, ticket purchase services, traffic commuter passes, electronic money, etc. Various new functions can be used.

There is also known a mobile phone terminal provided with means for performing wireless communication at a relatively short distance (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-32175 A

  By the way, it has been studied to provide a wireless communication service (Internet connection by wireless LAN, mobile phone connection service, etc.) in an aircraft to a mobile communication terminal. In such a wireless connection service, a problem is how to allocate limited wireless resources to a large number of passengers.

  The present invention has been made in such a background, and provides an in-vehicle wireless connection service providing method, a communication system, and a wireless communication device that can perform more appropriate radio resource allocation to the portable communication terminals of passengers in the vehicle. It is intended to provide an in-vehicle server and a mobile communication terminal.

  A method for providing an in-vehicle wireless connection service according to the present invention is a method for providing an in-vehicle wireless connection service to a mobile communication terminal, the step of checking vehicle use information of the user stored in the mobile communication terminal, In response to a request for an in-vehicle wireless connection service from a communication terminal, determining whether or not to use the wireless connection service of the mobile communication terminal and / or grade according to the confirmed vehicle use information, and this determination Assigning radio resources to the mobile communication terminal according to the result.

  Thereby, when the passenger who is the user of the mobile communication terminal uses the in-vehicle wireless connection service, whether or not the wireless connection service can be used and / or the grade is determined according to the vehicle use information of the user.

  The radio resource is a communication channel, and the grade of service is a communication speed of an assigned communication channel.

  The vehicle use information includes, for example, first information that is seat class information, and the availability and / or grade of use of the wireless connection service can be determined according to the first information.

  The vehicle use information may include second information such as mileage information, for example, and the second information may be added to the determination result based on the first information.

  The method for providing an in-vehicle wireless connection service according to the present invention can take various modified and changed modes as will be described later. Moreover, this invention is grasped | ascertained also as a communication system, a server in a vehicle, and a portable communication terminal.

  According to the present invention, in the provision of wireless connection service in an in-flight, limited wireless resources can be allocated according to the vehicle use information of each passenger, so the in-flight wireless connection can be efficiently performed in a form that the user can convince. Service can be provided.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the entire communication system of the present invention. The communication system includes a center apparatus 200 including a check-in machine 203 arranged in the airport 10, an in-flight server 300 arranged in the aircraft 20, and the mobile communication terminal 100. There may be a plurality of check-in machines 203 in the airport 10. The center device 200 is not necessarily arranged in each airport 10 and may be arranged in a predetermined place in common with a plurality of airports 10.

  A passenger (user) possessing the mobile communication terminal 100 has previously reserved an air ticket (ticket) using the mobile communication terminal 100, arrives at the airport 10, and moves the mobile communication terminal 100 to the check-in machine 203. By holding (approaching), the check-in machine 203 is accessed by the non-contact IC card function, and predetermined information is transferred from the portable communication terminal 100 through a predetermined authentication process. In the present embodiment, the predetermined information includes air ticket information and mileage information. “Airline ticket information” is information related to airline ticket reservation, and includes ID information, seat class information, and user ID information of the reserved boarding machine. “Mileage information” is value information accumulated according to the use status of the service by the passenger, and can be exchanged for various services and goods according to the point balance. Also, check-in information is returned from the check-in machine 203 to the mobile communication terminal 100. The contents of this check-in information are not particularly limited, but are information indicating that check-in has been performed, a user ID assigned to the user for the communication connection service, and the like. The check-in information may be service identification information assigned to the passenger as described later in addition to or instead of this information. The check-in machine 203 also records the date and time (check-in time) when the check-in was performed. This check-in time may be confirmed on the check-in machine 203 side or provided from the terminal 100 side. The check-in machine 203 further stores the passenger information in the storage unit 202 and transfers necessary information to the in-flight server 300 in the aircraft 20 when the passenger checks in. The in-flight server 300 provides a wireless connection service to the mobile communication terminals 100 of a plurality of passengers via communication means such as a short-range wireless communication function. The wireless connection service may include an in-flight Internet connection, an in-flight mobile phone service, and the like. In order to provide an in-flight mobile phone service, the in-flight server 300 also functions as an in-flight base station.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic internal configuration of the center apparatus 200 and the in-flight server 300.

  The center apparatus 200 includes one or more check-in machines 203, a data processing unit 201, a storage unit 202, and a communication unit 210. The check-in machine 203 includes a reader / writer 204 that reads / writes from / to the non-contact IC card unit of the mobile communication terminal 100 and a check-in processing unit 205 that performs a predetermined check-in process. The data processing unit 201 receives the check-in information as described above from the check-in processing unit 205 and stores it in the storage unit 202 for each passenger. In addition, the in-flight server 300 is notified of predetermined information regarding the passenger via the communication unit 210. This notification is performed via a wireless communication path established between the center apparatus 200 and the in-flight server 300.

  The in-flight server 300 stores a communication unit 310 that communicates with the communication unit 210 (and other external devices as necessary) of the center device 200, a data processing unit 301 that performs various processes of the in-flight server 300, and various information. And a short-range wireless communication unit 305 that performs short-range wireless communication with a plurality of mobile communication terminals 100 for in-flight Internet connection, in-flight mobile phone service, and the like. The short-range wireless communication unit 305 is a functional unit for performing wireless communication at an arbitrary relatively short distance, such as a wireless LAN and Bluetooth (trademark).

  FIG. 3 shows information stored in the storage unit 202 in the center apparatus 200 in the form of a data table 400 for convenience (the actual data format need not be such a table format). The data items stored in the storage unit 202 are, for example, “passenger ID”, “boarding machine ID”, “seat class”, “mileage”, “check-in time”, and the like. The passenger ID is identification information for specifying individual passengers, and is, for example, a number (including a symbol) assigned to the passenger, a name, a terminal ID, or the like. The boarding machine ID and the seat class are identification information and a seat class of the boarding machine reserved by the passenger. The boarding machine ID may include departure date information. Mileage is information such as the points mentioned above. The check-in time is date and time information when the passenger has checked in the boarding machine. Data items stored in the storage unit 202 may include other items.

  FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of mobile communication terminal 100 according to the present embodiment. Although an example of a mobile phone terminal is shown here, the present invention is not limited to this. This mobile communication terminal 100 includes an antenna device 101, a transmission / reception processing unit 103, a modulation / demodulation processing unit 105, a data processing unit 107, a D / A converter 109, a speaker 110, an A / D converter 111, and a microphone 112. The mobile communication terminal 100 also includes a control unit 125 that includes a CPU, a ROM, and the like that control these elements, a memory 126 that is used as a work area and a temporary storage area for data by the control unit 125, and a display unit 120. A non-contact IC card unit 121, an operation unit 123, and a short-range wireless communication unit 127. The near field communication unit 127 communicates with the near field communication unit 305 in the in-flight server 300 via the antenna 128. In the ROM of the control unit 125, a read-only memory or a read-only memory (EEPROM or flash ROM) in which information can be electrically written and erased is used. Control programs and fixed data for various operations such as mail processing, web processing, display, voice input / output, telephone directory management, schedule management, and the like are stored.

  FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of processing of each unit in the communication system according to the present embodiment. Here, the reservation of the air ticket by the terminal has already been performed, and the case where check-in is performed at the airport will be described.

  When the user performs a check-in operation such as holding the mobile communication terminal over the check-in machine of the center apparatus 200 (S11), the check-in machine performs a check-in reception process (S12), and stores information received from the terminal 202 (S13). Next, the center device 200 transfers the user's vehicle use information (customer information) to the in-flight server 300 (S14). The in-flight server 300 receives this information and stores it in the storage unit 303 (FIG. 2) (S15). Thereafter, a channel assignment request for requesting assignment of a communication channel for use of the wireless connection service is issued together with the passenger ID by the short-range wireless communication function from the terminal 100 according to the passenger's instruction (S16). Upon receiving this request, the in-flight server 300 determines the grade of the wireless connection service based on the vehicle use information stored in the storage unit 303 (S17). Therefore, a communication channel is determined based on the determined grade and assigned to the terminal (S18). When providing an Internet connection service, a dynamically determined IP address is also assigned. The terminal performs short-range wireless communication with the in-flight server 300 using the assigned communication channel, and enjoys a desired wireless connection service (S19). When the final communication partner (server or terminal) of this wireless connection service is outside the aircraft, the communication unit 310 (FIG. 2) of the in-flight server 300 mediates other communication via the center device 200. Communication is performed via an external device.

  Instead of transferring the vehicle usage information from the center device 200 to the in-flight server 300 and storing it in the in-flight server 300, the terminal transmits its own vehicle usage information (air ticket information and mileage information) together with the channel allocation request in the aircraft. You may do it.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a specific processing example of in-flight channel allocation by the in-flight server 300 described in step S17 of FIG.

  When an in-flight network (server) is accessed from the passenger's terminal (S21), the in-flight server reads the passenger information from the storage unit (S22). Based on this information, it is checked whether the passenger is a business class customer (first information) (S23). If so, it is checked whether or not there is a free channel in the high-speed access line (S24). If there is a vacancy, the passenger (terminal) is assigned to the channel of the high-speed access line (S25). If there is no free space, it is confirmed whether or not a customer other than the business class is using the high-speed access line (S26). If it is in use, passengers other than the business class are switched to the low-speed access line (S27), and a newly vacant channel is assigned to the business class passenger (S25).

  In step S23, if the passenger is not a business class customer, it is checked whether there is a vacancy in the channel of the high-speed access line (S28). If there is no vacancy, the channel of the low-speed access line is checked (S32), and if there is vacancy, the passenger is assigned to the channel of the low-speed access line (S31). If there is no vacancy, the assignment to the passenger will be refused.

  If there is an empty channel in the high-speed access line in step S28, the passenger's mileage (second information) is checked (S29). If the mileage is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (2000 miles in this example), the passenger is assigned to the channel of the high-speed access line (S30). If the mileage is less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S31.

  Although it is not an essential requirement of the present invention to assign a high-speed access line channel to a passenger who should be assigned a low-speed access line channel, information other than the passenger's seat class (here, mileage information) Accordingly, it becomes possible to make effective use of the available high-speed access line channel.

  In the following example, business and economy are given as seat classes, but these are illustrated as representatives of different classes, and the types and names are not limited to these. Although the number of classes is two, there may be three or more. When there are three or more, the present embodiment may be applied by dividing them into two, or there may be a form in which the wireless connection service itself is rejected for the lowest class.

  FIG. 7 shows another process instead of the process of FIG. Process steps similar to those in FIG. 5 are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. In the example of FIG. 5, the vehicle use information is transferred from the center device 200 to the in-flight server 300, and the in-flight server 300 stores the vehicle use information in its own storage unit 303 and receives a channel assignment request from the terminal. At this time, the vehicle use information is read from the storage unit 303. Instead, at the time of check-in, the center device 200 stores such vehicle use information in the storage unit 202, and assigns service identification information indicating a service grade to the vehicle use information (S13a). This service identification information is transmitted to the in-flight server 300 together with the passenger ID information (S14a), and the in-flight server 300 stores these pieces of information in the storage unit 303 (S15a). When in-flight server 300 receives a channel assignment request from the terminal, it reads service identification information corresponding to the passenger ID from storage 303 and assigns a communication channel having a speed corresponding to the service identification information (S17a). Also good.

  FIG. 8 shows still another process instead of the process of FIG. In this figure, processing steps similar to those in FIGS. 5 and 7 are given the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In this process, the center device 200 does not transmit the service identification information determined in step S13a to the in-flight server 300 but returns it to the terminal 100 (S13b). The terminal 100 stores this information in the memory 126. Thereafter, when the terminal 100 makes a channel assignment request in the aircraft (S16a), the service identification information is transmitted to the in-flight server 300 together with the passenger ID information. The in-flight server 300 determines and assigns a predetermined channel to the terminal 100 based on the service identification information (S17a).

  In the case of the process of FIG. 8, the in-flight server can assign a corresponding communication channel to the passenger based on the service identification information. In FIG. 8, steps S15a and S15b of FIG. 7 are omitted, but at least passenger ID information is transmitted from the center apparatus 200 to the in-flight server 300 and stored in the storage unit 303. The in-flight server 300 issues a channel assignment request. When received, you may make it confirm whether the passenger ID which corresponds with the passenger ID transmitted from a terminal is memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 303. FIG.

  Next, the meaning of the channel of the low speed access line and the communication channel of the high speed access line in the present invention will be described.

  The communication channel here is a radio resource allocated to each terminal so that each terminal individually receives a radio connection service, and its multiple access method may be arbitrary, such as frequency division, time division, code division, etc. There is no limit. In addition, a distinction is made between low speed and high speed depending on the communication speed of each communication channel. However, when a plurality of users share one communication channel, the communication speed that each user can enjoy is substantially reduced. The distinction between effective low speed and high speed due to the difference in the allowable maximum number of shared users is also included in “high speed” and “low speed” in the present invention.

  For example, FIG. 9 (a) uses frequency 1 for the low-speed channel and frequency 2 for the high-speed channel. Frequency 1 is assigned four passengers A, B, C and D, and frequency 2 is assigned to two people. The state where passengers E and F are assigned is shown. By reducing the maximum value of the number of people (number of terminals) that can be assigned to frequency 2 from the maximum number of people (number of terminals) that can be assigned to frequency 1, the data transfer amount per unit time at frequency 2 can be reduced. As a result, the frequency 2 can be substantially a high-speed channel. FIG. 9B shows a state in which a new passenger G is additionally assigned to the frequency 1, and the data transfer amount per unit time per person of the low-speed channel is further reduced.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but various modifications and changes other than those mentioned above can be made. For example, although an aircraft has been described, it can also be applied to other vehicles such as ships.

  Although the short-range wireless communication means is provided separately from the communication means of the mobile phone, it is not necessary to provide it separately if short-range wireless communication can be performed using the communication means of the mobile phone.

Further, in the channel assignment process, the determination is made based on the seat class and the mileage, but in addition to this, the check-in time may be considered. That is, for a plurality of passengers having the same conditions other than the check-in time, the one with the earlier check-in time is preferentially treated. For example, when the need to lower the grade of service for any of the passengers has occurred, the subject to grade decrease slower check-in time, measures like are conceivable.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the whole communication system of this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic internal configuration of a center device and an in-flight server shown in FIG. 1. It is the figure which showed the information memorize | stored in the memory | storage part in the center apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in the form of the data table for convenience. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the portable communication terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of a process of each part in the communication system in embodiment of this invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a specific processing example of in-flight channel allocation by an in-flight server described in step S <b> 17 of FIG. 5. It is a flowchart which shows the other process replaced with the process of FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing still another process instead of the process of FIG. 5. It is explanatory drawing of an example about the low speed channel and high speed channel in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Airport, 20 ... Aircraft, 100 ... Mobile communication terminal, 101 ... Antenna apparatus, 103 ... Transmission / reception processing part, 105 ... Modulation / demodulation processing part, 107 ... Data processing part, 109 ... D / A converter, 110 ... Speaker, 111 A / D converter, 112, microphone, 120, display unit, 121, non-contact IC card unit, 123, operation unit, 125, control unit, 126, memory, 127, short-range wireless communication unit, 128, antenna, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 200 ... Center apparatus, 201 ... Data processing part, 202 ... Memory | storage part, 203 ... Check-in machine, 204 ... Reader / writer, 205 ... Check-in processing part, 210 ... Communication part, 300 ... In-flight server, 301 ... Data processing part, 303 ... Storage unit, 305 ... Short-range wireless communication unit, 310 ... Communication unit, 400 ... Data table

Claims (3)

A method for providing an in-vehicle wireless connection service to a mobile communication terminal,
Checking the user's seat class information stored in the mobile communication terminal and the value information accumulated according to the service usage status ;
When the grade determined based on the seat class information confirmed by the user of the portable communication terminal is high in response to the request for the in-vehicle wireless connection service from the portable communication terminal, the wireless connection service of the portable communication terminal is high-speed. examine the empty channel of access lines, if any channels free of high-speed access line, assigns a channel of high-speed access line to a mobile communication terminal performing the request, if Kere vacant channels of high speed networks is free, the A channel of a high-speed access line used by a user of a lower grade is switched to a channel of a low-speed access line, and the channel of the high-speed access line is assigned to the mobile communication terminal that has made the request ;
If the grade determined based on the confirmed seat class information of the user of the mobile communication terminal that has made the request is low, the mobile communication terminal wireless connection service checks the vacant channel of the high-speed access line, and performs high-speed access. The mobile phone making the request for the channel of the high-speed access line is provided on the condition that the channel of the line is available and the value of the value information of the user of the mobile communication terminal making the request is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If not, the low speed access line channel is checked. If there is a low speed access channel channel , the low speed access line channel is assigned to the mobile communication terminal that made the request , and low speed access is performed. if Kere empty line channels free, wireless connection service of the mobile communication terminal performing the request And determining to reject the use,
A method for providing an in-vehicle wireless connection service, comprising : allocating a communication channel to the mobile communication terminal according to the determination result. A communication system that includes a center device having a check-in machine and an in-vehicle server arranged in the vehicle, and provides an in-vehicle wireless connection service,
The center device is
Means for receiving value information accumulated according to the user 's seat class information and service usage status stored in the mobile communication terminal at the time of check-in by the mobile communication terminal to the check-in machine;
Communication means for transferring the seat class information and value information to the in-flight server,
The in-flight server is
Storage means for storing the passenger's seat class information and value information transferred from the center device;
When the request for the in-vehicle wireless connection service is received from the portable communication terminal, the seat class information of the user of the portable communication terminal is read from the storage means, and the portable device that has made the request according to the seat class information Means for determining a grade of wireless connection service for a user of a communication terminal;
Means for allocating a communication channel to a user of the mobile communication terminal that has made the request according to the determination result;
The means for allocating the communication channel, when the grade determined based on the seat class information of the user of the mobile communication terminal is high with respect to the request for the in-vehicle wireless connection service from the mobile communication terminal, In the wireless connection service of the terminal, the availability of the channel of the high-speed access line is checked, and if the channel of the high-speed access line is available, the channel of the high-speed access line is assigned to the mobile communication terminal that has made the request , if Kere vacant no switches the channel of the high-speed access line the grade is low the user is using the channel of the low-speed access line, it assigns a channel of the high-speed access line to a mobile communication terminal performing the request,
If the grade determined based on the confirmed seat class information of the user of the mobile communication terminal that has made the request is low, the mobile communication terminal wireless connection service checks the vacant channel of the high-speed access line, and performs high-speed access. The mobile phone making the request for the channel of the high-speed access line is provided on the condition that the channel of the line is available and the value of the value information of the user of the mobile communication terminal making the request is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If not, the low speed access line channel is checked. If there is a low speed access channel channel , the low speed access line channel is assigned to the mobile communication terminal that made the request , and low speed access is performed. if Kere empty line channels free, wireless connection service of the mobile communication terminal performing the request It decided to reject the use,
A communication system, wherein a communication channel is assigned to the mobile communication terminal according to the determination result. An in-vehicle server that is arranged in a vehicle and provides an in-vehicle wireless connection service,
Means for receiving and storing the seat class information of passengers checked in with the mobile communication terminal and the value information accumulated according to the service usage status of the vehicle;
When a request for in-vehicle wireless connection service is received from the portable communication terminal, the seat class information of the user of the portable communication terminal is read from the storage means, and the wireless communication terminal of the portable communication terminal is wirelessly determined according to the seat class information. A means of determining the grade of the connection service;
And means for performing allocation of communication channels for said mobile communication terminal according to the determination result,
The means for allocating the communication channel is a grade determined based on seat class information confirmed by a user of the mobile communication terminal that made the request in response to a request for in-vehicle wireless connection service from the mobile communication terminal. If the high-speed access line channel is free in the wireless communication service of the portable communication terminal, and if there is a high-speed access line channel available, the channel of the high-speed access line is assigned to the mobile communication terminal that made the request. if Kere vacant channels of high speed networks is free, the mobile that the channel of high-speed access line the grade is low the user is using switched channel of the low speed access line, the channel of the high-speed access line was the request Assigned to the communication terminal ,
If the grade determined based on the confirmed seat class information of the user of the mobile communication terminal that has made the request is low, the mobile communication terminal wireless connection service checks the vacant channel of the high-speed access line, and performs high-speed access. The mobile phone making the request for the channel of the high-speed access line is provided on the condition that the channel of the line is available and the value of the value information of the user of the mobile communication terminal making the request is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If not, the low speed access line channel is checked. If there is a low speed access channel channel , the low speed access line channel is assigned to the mobile communication terminal that made the request , and low speed access is performed. if Kere empty line channels free, wireless connection service of the mobile communication terminal performing the request It decided to reject the use,
The in-vehicle server, wherein a communication channel is assigned to the mobile communication terminal according to the determination result.

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