JP6340335B2 - Upper limit determination apparatus and upper limit determination method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an upper limit determination device and an upper limit determination method for determining an upper limit of the number of times information is transferred between terminals.

  When a disaster such as an earthquake / tsunami occurs, for example, an emergency bulletin (information on disaster) is distributed by mobile communication from a radio base station apparatus (BTS / eNodeB) by a CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) method, and the emergency bulletin There is a service in which a terminal (for example, a mobile phone or the like) located in a distribution area indicating a range in which the message can be distributed receives the emergency bulletin. In this case, it is desirable that all terminals in the distribution area can receive the emergency bulletin. However, if the terminal is currently in an out-of-service area (for example, a location where radio waves do not reach, such as a tunnel or underground, or a location between a wireless base station device and a wireless base station device) when an earthquake / tsunami occurs, etc. The emergency bulletin delivered from the base station device cannot be received. The radio base station apparatus can increase the number of receivable terminals by retransmitting the emergency bulletin. However, the radio base station apparatus cannot distribute emergency bulletins to terminals located in the out-of-service area for a long period of time.

  Therefore, it is conceivable that not only the radio base station apparatus distributes the emergency bulletin but also the terminal that has received the emergency bulletin transfers the emergency bulletin to surrounding terminals by other communication means (for example, ad hoc communication). (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  The system described in Patent Literature 1 includes a parent vehicle-mounted terminal and a child vehicle-mounted terminal. Specifically, when the parent in-vehicle terminal receives the emergency earthquake warning audio signal from the emergency communication facility, the parent in-vehicle terminal broadcasts the emergency signal, and the parent in-vehicle terminal transmits the emergency signal to the hop number (transfer count) and the upper limit of the hop number. Broadcast transmission including When the child vehicle-mounted terminal receives the emergency signal, the child vehicle-mounted terminal refers to the hop number and the upper limit value of the hop number. If the hop number has not reached the upper limit value, the child vehicle-mounted terminal increments the hop number, An emergency signal is broadcasted together with the upper limit of the hop count.

JP 2014-32607 A

  By the way, if the above-mentioned upper limit of the number of transfers (upper limit of the number of hops) is arbitrarily set, the terminal that has received the emergency bulletin that has not reached the upper limit of the number of transfers should not deliver the information Therefore, there is a problem in that the emergency bulletin may be transmitted to a terminal located at a terminal, and as a result, unnecessary information may be provided to a terminal located outside the distribution area.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an upper limit determination apparatus and an upper limit determination method are provided that can make an appropriate transfer range when transferring distribution information such as emergency bulletin between terminals. For the purpose.

  An upper limit determination device according to the present invention includes a distribution device that transmits distribution information, which is information to be distributed, to a distribution range in which the device itself can be distributed by mobile communication, and a plurality of terminals that receive the distribution information In the information distribution system including the above, an upper limit determination device, the acquisition means for acquiring information indicating the distribution range, and the distribution information between the terminals based on the information indicating the distribution range acquired by the acquisition means An upper limit determination unit that determines an upper limit value of the number of times of direct transfer using radio waves other than mobile communication, and an output unit that outputs the upper limit value determined by the upper limit determination unit.

  An upper limit determination method according to the present invention includes a distribution device that transmits distribution information, which is information to be distributed, to a distribution range that is a range that can be distributed by the device itself, and a plurality of devices that receive the distribution information. An upper limit determination method executed by an upper limit determination device in an information distribution system including a terminal, based on an acquisition step for acquiring information indicating a distribution range, and information indicating a distribution range acquired by the acquisition step An upper limit value determining step for determining an upper limit value of the number of times of directly transferring distribution information between terminals by radio waves other than the mobile communication, and an output step for outputting the upper limit value determined by the upper limit value determining step; including.

  According to the upper limit determination apparatus and the upper limit determination method according to the present invention, the upper limit value of the number of times of distribution information transfer between terminals is determined based on the distribution range, so that the distribution information should not be distributed. It is possible to reduce the possibility of being transferred to a terminal located at the location. That is, the upper limit determination device can make the range to be transferred appropriate.

  An upper limit determination device according to the present invention is included in a mobile communication network, an acquisition unit acquires information indicating a distribution range stored in advance in the mobile communication network, and an output unit sets an upper limit value together with the distribution information. You may transmit to a terminal. In this case, the upper limit value can be transmitted together with the distribution information from the distribution apparatus to the terminal by providing the upper limit value determination apparatus in the mobile communication network.

  The upper limit determination device according to the present invention may be included in a terminal, and the acquisition unit may acquire information indicating a distribution range from the distribution device. In this case, it is possible to output an upper limit value based on the distribution range by providing an upper limit determination device in the terminal and acquiring information indicating the distribution range from the distribution device.

  When included in a terminal, the upper limit determining apparatus according to the present invention further includes position information acquisition means for acquiring position information that is information indicating the position of the terminal, and the upper limit determination means is acquired by the position information acquisition means. The upper limit value may be determined based on the positional relationship between the position information and the distribution range. In this case, the upper limit determination device can determine the upper limit based on whether or not the position of the upper limit determination device is close to the extension of the distribution range.

  According to the present invention, since the upper limit value of the number of times distribution information is transferred between terminals is determined based on the distribution range, the possibility of being transferred to a terminal located in a place beyond the distribution range can be reduced. it can. That is, the upper limit determination device can make the range to be transferred appropriate.

It is a block diagram of an information delivery system containing eNodeB40 concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of eNodeB40. It is a figure which shows the correspondence of a delivery radius and the number of hops. It is a flowchart of the upper limit hop number determination process by eNodeB40. It is a flowchart of the distribution information transfer process by the terminal 50.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

  FIG. 1 shows an information distribution system including an upper limit determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the information distribution system includes a CBE (Cell Broadcast Entity) 10 and a mobile communication network 60 that is a long term evolution (LTE) network that can provide a packet switching service but cannot provide a circuit switching service. And a terminal 50 (terminal 50A, terminal 50B, terminal 50C, terminal 50D) that can be connected to the mobile communication network 60.

  The CBE 10 is arranged at the Japan Meteorological Agency or the like, and transmits a telegram including information on disaster to the mobile communication network 60. This message includes information on disaster, a message ID that is information for identifying a message transmitted from the Japan Meteorological Agency, and expiration date information that is information indicating the expiration date of information on the disaster. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile communication network 60 includes a CBC (Cell Broadcast Center) 20, an MME (Mobility Management Entity) 30, and an eNodeB 40 (distribution device). Each functional element is constituted by one or more physical casings (server equipment or the like) including one or more CPUs.

  The CBC 20 functions as a center that receives a message from the CBE 10 and distributes distribution information (emergency breaking news) that is information based on the message. This distribution information is information used as an emergency bulletin including information on disasters such as earthquakes. This distribution information is distributed in a text format, for example. When the CBC 20 receives the message from the CBE 10, the CBC 20 extracts the message ID, the expiration date information, and the information about the disaster from the message, and transmits the extracted information to the MME 30 as distribution information.

  The MME 30 is an LTE packet switch and is a functional element that performs mobility control in an EPC (Evolved Packet Core) that is a core network that accommodates LTE radio access. Mobility control is control for continuously providing outgoing and incoming calls and communication even when a mobile terminal moves. When receiving the distribution information from the CBC 20, the MME 30 transmits the distribution information to the subordinate eNodeB 40 defined in advance.

  The eNodeB 40 is a functional element having a base station function in the mobile communication network 60. When the eNodeB 40 receives the distribution information from the MME 30, the eNodeB 40 receives a plurality of terminals located in the distribution range by mobile communication in a distribution range in which the eNodeB 40 can be distributed (a range in which mobile communication radio waves transmitted by the eNodeB 40 reach). 50, broadcasts the upper limit hop number (upper limit value) together with the distribution information. The terminal 50 located in the distribution range receives the distribution information and the upper limit hop number. Here, the hop refers to transferring the transmitted information to another terminal. When the hop is performed a plurality of times, the transmitted information is propagated one after another. The upper limit hop count indicates an upper limit value at which the distribution information can be transferred between the terminals 50.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the eNodeB 40. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the eNodeB 40 includes one or more CPUs 101, a RAM 102 and a ROM 103, which are main storage devices, a communication module 104 for performing wireless communication, and an auxiliary storage device 105 such as a hard disk drive and a semiconductor memory. It is comprised as a computer system containing. As described above, the eNodeB 40 is physically configured from one or more server devices.

  Each function of the eNodeB 40, for example, causes the communication module 104 to operate under the control of the CPU 101 by reading predetermined computer software on the hardware such as the CPU 101 and the RAM 102 shown in FIG. This is realized by reading and writing data in the device 105.

  The terminal 50 receives the distribution information and the upper limit number of hops transmitted by the eNodeB 40 or another terminal 50, performs a ringing process based on the distribution information, or performs a transfer process of the distribution information to the other terminal 50 A terminal (for example, a mobile phone). The terminal 50 receives the distribution information and the upper limit hop number transmitted by the eNodeB 40 by mobile communication. Further, the terminal 50 receives the distribution information, the upper limit hop number, and the hop number transferred by the other terminals 50 using sound waves (radio waves). Here, the number of hops means the number of times the distribution information is transferred between the terminals 50. The transfer source terminal 50 transfers data without considering whether or not the communication carrier used by the transfer source terminal 50 and the communication carrier used by the transfer destination terminal 50 are the same. And That is, at the same position, even if one telecommunications carrier is within range and the other telecommunications carrier is out of range, the distribution information is transferred between the terminals 50 so that the terminal 50 of the telecommunications carrier outside the range is also distributed. Can be received.

  When receiving the distribution information and the upper limit number of hops, the terminal 50 determines whether or not the same distribution information has been received in the past. Specifically, when the terminal 50 performs a ringing process based on the distribution information among the distribution information received in the past, the terminal 50 stores the message ID included in the distribution information. It is determined whether or not the included message ID matches any of the message IDs stored in the terminal 50.

  If there is no message ID stored in the terminal 50 that matches the message ID included in the distribution information received this time, the terminal 50 extracts the expiration date information included in the received distribution information. It is determined whether or not the timing of receiving the message has reached the expiration date indicated by the expiration date information. If the received timing has not reached the expiration date, the terminal 50 performs a ringing process based on the distribution information. As the ringing process, the terminal 50 performs a process of outputting the content included in the distribution information as a sound and a sound notification process indicating that the distribution information has been accepted.

  If the same message ID is already stored, the terminal 50 determines that the same distribution information as the previously received distribution information has been received, and performs the ringing process based on the distribution information and the transfer process of the distribution information. Not performed. Further, even when the received timing has reached the expiration date, the terminal 50 does not perform the ringing process based on the distribution information and the transfer process of the distribution information.

  When performing the ringing process, the terminal 50 stores the message ID included in the distribution information after performing the ringing process. Further, when receiving distribution information from another terminal 50, the terminal 50 compares the number of hops and the upper limit hop number, which are information received from the other terminal 50 together with the distribution information. If the number of hops is less than the upper limit hop count when the above hop count and upper limit hop count received together with the distribution information are compared, this means that the hop count has not reached the upper limit, and the terminal 50 Judge that it is possible. With this determination, the terminal 50 increments the number of hops. In addition, when the terminal 50 receives distribution information from the eNodeB 40, the terminal 50 newly generates a hop number with a value of 1. The terminal 50 generates the distribution information, the incremented or newly generated hop count, and the upper limit hop count as audio data by a known technique. As a transfer process, the terminal 50 directly transfers audio data including the distribution information, the incremented or newly generated hop count, and the upper limit hop count to other peripheral terminals 50 using radio waves that are sound waves. Transmission by sound waves can be realized using conventional techniques. Note that the terminal 50 does not need to specify the partner terminal 50 when transferring the sound data using sound waves, and the sound waves may be delivered. In the transmission using sound waves, the audio data can be transmitted to another terminal 50 located within a range of several tens of meters from the terminal 50 that is the transmission source.

  The terminal 50 compares the received hop count with the upper limit hop count, and determines that the hop count has reached the upper limit hop count if the hop count is equal to or greater than the upper limit hop count. Based on this determination, the terminal 50 does not transfer to another terminal 50. This prevents multiple transfers between the terminals 50.

  For example, when the terminal 50A shown in FIG. 1 receives distribution information from the eNodeB 40, it generates audio data including the distribution information, the number of hops, and the upper limit hop number, and transfers the audio data to the terminals 50B and 50C. . The terminal 50B and the terminal 50C are within the distribution range of the eNodeB 40, but are located in a range (out-of-service area) where radio waves are difficult to reach. Examples of the out-of-service area include a location located between a plurality of eNodeBs 40 and a location that is not located within any eNodeB 1 range, or a location within the eNodeB 40 distribution range, but where radio waves such as tunnels and basements are difficult to reach. Applicable. In this case, each of the terminal 50B and the terminal 50C performs a ringing process on the contents of the distribution information received from the terminal 50A. Thus, since information that cannot be received from the eNodeB 40 can be received from the other terminals 50, even the terminal 50 located in the out-of-service area can output the distribution information transmitted from the eNodeB 40. Accordingly, it is possible to prompt the user of the terminal 50 located in the out-of-service area to take appropriate evacuation behavior.

  The hardware configuration of the terminal 50 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an input / output device such as a touch panel, a numeric keypad, and a display, a wireless communication module that is a data transmission / reception device such as a network card, and a sound wave. Including a module for transmitting and receiving the audio data and an auxiliary storage device such as an SD card.

  Hereinafter, each functional element of the eNodeB 40 illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described. The eNodeB 40 includes a reception unit 41, an acquisition unit 42 (acquisition unit), an upper limit determination unit 43 (upper limit determination unit), and a transmission unit 44 (output unit) as functional components. The receiving unit 41 is a part that receives distribution information from the MME 30. When receiving the distribution information from the MME 30, the reception unit 41 sends the distribution information to the transmission unit 44 and notifies the acquisition unit 42 that the distribution information has been received.

  The acquisition unit 42 is a part that acquires information indicating a distribution range. When the receiving unit 41 notifies that the distribution information has been received, the acquisition unit 42 indicates information indicating the distribution range of the eNodeB 40 stored in advance (indicating the distribution range stored in advance in the mobile communication network 60). Information). The acquisition unit 42 acquires information indicating the width of the distribution range as information indicating the distribution range of the eNodeB 40. The acquisition unit 42 acquires a value indicating the radius of the distribution range as information indicating the width of the distribution range. When acquiring the value indicating the radius of the distribution range, the acquiring unit 42 sends the value indicating the radius of the distribution range to the upper limit determining unit 43. In addition, a delivery range changes according to the capability of radio | wireless communication of eNodeB40 for every eNodeB40.

  The upper limit determination unit 43 is a part that determines an upper limit (upper limit hop number) of the number of times that the distribution information is directly transferred between the terminals 50 by radio waves based on the information indicating the distribution range acquired by the acquisition unit 42. is there.

  Upon receiving the distribution range radius (distribution radius) acquired by the acquisition unit 42, the upper limit determination unit 43 determines the upper limit transfer count (upper limit hop count) based on the distribution range radius. The upper limit determination unit 43 stores in advance a hop number determination table that is information on the number of hops corresponding to the distribution radius as shown in FIG. Based on the hop count determination table shown in FIG. 3, the upper limit determination unit 43 determines the upper limit hop count to 15 if the radius of the distribution range acquired by the acquisition unit 42 is 0.5 km. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the longer the delivery radius, the greater the number of hops. This is because the wider the distribution range, the more hops are required to transfer from the position of the eNodeB 40 to the vicinity of the boundary (extended) of the distribution range.

  Upon determining the upper limit hop count using the hop count determination table shown in FIG. 3, upper limit determination section 43 sends the upper limit hop count to transmission section 44.

  The transmission unit 44 is a part that transmits the distribution information and the upper limit hop number of the distribution information to the terminal 50 in the distribution range. That is, the transmission unit 44 is a part that transmits the upper limit hop count determined by the upper limit determination unit 43 together with the distribution information.

  When the transmission unit 44 receives the distribution information from the reception unit 41, the transmission unit 44 waits until the upper limit hop number is received from the upper limit determination unit 43, and transmits the distribution information and the upper limit hop number to the terminal 50.

  Next, processing and operations executed by the eNodeB 40 according to the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart described in FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating processing (upper limit determination method) for determining the upper limit hop count of distribution information received from the MME 30.

  First, when distribution information is transmitted by the MME 30, the reception unit 41 receives the distribution information information and sends the distribution information to the transmission unit 44 (step S1). The acquisition unit 42 acquires information on the distribution radius stored in advance, and sends the information on the distribution radius to the upper limit determination unit 43 (step S2 acquisition step). The upper limit determination unit 43 refers to the hop count determination table, determines the number of hops corresponding to the distribution radius acquired from the acquisition unit 42 as the upper limit hop count, and sends the upper limit hop count to the transmission unit 44 (step S3). Upper limit determination step). Subsequently, the transmission unit 44 transmits the distribution information received by the reception unit 41 and the upper limit hop number determined by the upper limit value determination unit 43 to the terminal 50 (Step S4 output step).

  Next, processing and operations executed by the terminal 50 according to the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart described in FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process of transferring distribution information received from the eNodeB 40 or another terminal 50. The terminal 50 receives the distribution information from the eNodeB 40 or another terminal 50 and receives the upper limit hop number and the hop number (step S11).

  If the terminal 50 has already stored the same message ID as the message ID included in the received distribution information (step S12; Yes), the process ends. Further, when the terminal 50 does not store the same message ID as the message ID included in the received distribution information (step S12; No), the terminal 50 determines whether or not the expiration date of the distribution information has been reached, and is valid If the time limit has been exceeded (step S13; Yes), the process ends.

  If the received distribution information has not reached the expiration date (step S13; NO), the terminal 50 performs a ringing process (step S14). Further, the terminal 50 stores the message ID included in the received distribution information (step S15). Further, the received upper limit hop count is compared with the received hop count to determine whether the hop count has reached the upper limit (step S16). When the hop count has reached the upper limit (step S16; Yes), the process ends. When the number of hops has not yet reached the upper limit (step S16; No), the terminal 50 increments the number of hops (step S17), and generates audio data including distribution information, the number of hops, and the upper limit hop number, The voice data is directly transmitted to surrounding terminals 50 (step S18).

  The eNodeB 40 according to the present embodiment described above includes the eNodeB 40 that transmits the distribution information, which is information to be distributed, to the distribution range, which is the range in which the device itself can be distributed, and a plurality of terminals that receive the distribution information. 50 is an eNodeB 40 in an information distribution system. The acquisition unit 42 acquires information indicating the distribution range, and the upper limit determination unit 43 directly transfers the distribution information between the terminals 50 using radio waves based on the information indicating the distribution range acquired by the acquisition unit 42. The upper limit value of the number of times is determined, and the transmission unit 44 outputs the upper limit value determined by the upper limit value determination unit 43.

  As described above, the eNodeB 40 determines the upper limit value of the number of times that the distribution information is transferred between the terminals based on the distribution range, so that the terminal 50 greatly expands the distribution information by far exceeding the distribution range by the eNodeB 40. Can be prevented. Normally, the distribution information distributed from the eNodeB 40 is determined by the eNodeB 40 according to the distribution range. Therefore, the location where the delivery information from the eNodeB 40 should be delivered is generally a location where the eNodeB 40 conforms to the delivery range. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the distribution information is transferred to the terminal 50 located at a place where the distribution information should not be distributed (a place far away from the distribution range). In this way, the eNodeB 40 can make the transfer range appropriate.

  The eNodeB 40 is included in the mobile communication network 60, the acquisition unit 42 acquires information indicating the distribution range stored in advance in the mobile communication network 60, and the transmission unit 44 sets the upper limit hop number together with the distribution information. It transmits to the terminal 50. In this case, by determining the upper limit hop count at the eNodeB 40, the upper limit hop count can be transmitted from the eNodeB 40 to the terminal 50 together with the distribution information.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the eNodeB 40 determines the upper limit hop number has been described. However, the terminal 50 that has received the distribution information from the eNodeB 40 may determine the upper limit hop number. For example, the eNodeB 40 stores the value of the distribution radius, and transmits the value of the distribution radius together with the distribution information. The terminal 50 stores in advance the hop number determination table shown in FIG. The terminal 50 receives the value of the distribution radius from the eNodeB 40 together with the distribution information. The terminal 50 refers to the hop count determination table and determines the hop count corresponding to the distribution radius value received from the eNodeB 40 as the upper limit hop count. The terminal 50 sends (outputs) the upper limit hop count to the part that performs the transfer process, and transfers the upper limit hop count to another terminal 50 during the transfer process.

  Even in this case, the upper limit hop count can be output by transferring the upper limit hop count together with the distribution information from the terminal 50 to another terminal 50. Moreover, since the terminal 50 executes, the upper limit number of hops can be determined regardless of the mobile communication carrier.

  When the terminal 50 determines the upper limit hop number, the upper limit hop number may be determined based on the distribution range and the positional relationship between the terminal 50. Specifically, the eNodeB 40 stores information indicating the value of the distribution radius and the position of the eNodeB 40 (for example, latitude and longitude), and the terminal 50 is a known position such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal receiver. Information acquisition means is provided. The eNodeB 40 transmits the value of the distribution radius and information indicating the position of the eNodeB 40 together with the distribution information. The terminal 50 receives the distribution radius value and information indicating the position of the eNodeB 40 together with the distribution information. The terminal 50 uses the position information acquisition unit to obtain information indicating the position of the terminal 50 (for example, latitude and longitude), triggered by receiving the distribution radius value and the information indicating the position of the eNodeB 40 together with the distribution information. get. Then, the terminal 50 calculates the distance from the position of the terminal 50 to the position of the eNodeB 40 using the information indicating the position of the eNodeB 40 and the information indicating the position of the terminal 50, and the difference between the distance and the value of the distribution radius The upper limit hop count is determined based on the value (that is, the distance from the position of the terminal 50 to the extension of the distribution range).

  Specifically, the terminal 50 stores information in which the difference value and the upper limit hop number are associated in advance, and determines the upper limit hop number corresponding to the difference value with reference to the stored information. For example, as the associated information, the larger the difference value, the larger the upper limit hop count. In this case, the terminal 50 can determine the upper limit hop number to a larger value as it is closer to the position of the eNodeB 40. That is, the terminal 50 can determine the upper limit value based on whether or not the position of the terminal 50 is close to the extension of the distribution range.

  Moreover, although the terminal 50 described the case where the upper limit hop number is transferred as the transfer process, the transferable number of times based on the upper limit hop number may be transferred to another terminal 50. In this case, the terminal 50 that has received the transferable number of times subtracts 1 from the value of the transferable number of times and transfers it to another terminal 50.

  In the above-described embodiment, the eNodeB 40 refers to the hop count determination table and determines the hop count corresponding to the distribution radius as the upper limit hop count. However, instead of using the hop count determination table, the eNodeB 40 The upper limit number of hops may be calculated using the sound wave arrival distance.

  Specifically, the upper limit determination unit 43 stores the sound wave arrival distance per hop, and the upper limit determination unit 43 sets an upper limit to a value obtained by dividing the distribution radius acquired by the acquisition unit 42 by the sound wave arrival distance. The hop value. For example, when the sound wave arrival distance per hop is 50 m and the distribution radius is 5 km, the number of hops is 100. In this case, since the eNodeB 40 calculates the upper limit hop count in consideration of the sound wave arrival distance of the terminal 50 (the transmission possible distance of the terminal 50), the transfer range can be made more appropriate.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the eNodeB 40 determines the upper limit hop number has been described. However, a radio base station apparatus (BTS (Base Transceiver Station)) or a radio network controller (RNC (Radio Network Controller)) in the 3G network is described. ) May determine the upper limit value based on information indicating the distribution range.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which the terminal 50 transfers distribution information using sound waves. However, transfer may be performed using radio waves other than sound waves. For example, the data may be transferred by ad hoc communication using Bluetooth (registered trademark) or a unique protocol.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the eNodeB 40 determines the upper limit hop number has been described. However, another device (for example, the MME 30) in the mobile communication network 60 may determine the upper limit hop number. .

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the position information acquisition unit acquires the position of the own terminal based on the GPS signal or the like has been described, but the position may be acquired by another method. For example, information transmitted from a beacon terminal or the like placed inside a building or an underground mall may be acquired, and position information may be calculated based on the information. The GPS described above may be a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) including GLONASS, GALILEO, and the like.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... CBE, 20 ... CBC, 30 ... MME, 40 ... eNodeB, 41 ... Receiving unit, 42 ... Acquisition unit, 43 ... Upper limit determination unit, 44 ... Transmitting unit, 50 ... Terminal, 60 ... Mobile communication network, 101 ... CPU, 102 ... RAM, 103 ... ROM, 104 ... communication module, 105 ... auxiliary storage device.

Claims (5)

Upper limit in an information distribution system including a distribution device that transmits distribution information, which is information to be distributed, to a distribution range in which the device itself can be distributed by mobile communication, and a plurality of terminals that receive the distribution information A value determining device,
Obtaining means for obtaining information indicating the delivery range;
Based on the information indicating the distribution range acquired by the acquisition unit, an upper limit value determining unit that determines an upper limit value of the number of times that the distribution information is directly transferred between terminals using radio waves other than the mobile communication;
Output means for outputting the upper limit value determined by the upper limit value determining means;
An upper limit determination device. The upper limit determination device is included in a mobile communication network,
The acquisition means acquires information indicating a distribution range stored in advance in the mobile communication network,
The upper limit determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit transmits an upper limit value together with distribution information to the terminal. The upper limit determination device is included in the terminal,
The upper limit determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires information indicating the distribution range from the distribution apparatus. It further comprises position information acquisition means for acquiring position information that is information indicating the position of the terminal,
The upper limit determination device according to claim 3, wherein the upper limit determination unit determines the upper limit based on a positional relationship between the positional information acquired by the positional information acquisition unit and the distribution range. Upper limit in an information distribution system including a distribution device that transmits distribution information, which is information to be distributed, to a distribution range in which the device itself can be distributed by mobile communication, and a plurality of terminals that receive the distribution information An upper limit determination method executed by a value determination device,
An acquisition step of acquiring information indicating the delivery range;
Based on the information indicating the distribution range acquired by the acquisition step, an upper limit value determining step for determining an upper limit value of the number of times of directly transferring the distribution information between terminals using radio waves other than the mobile communication;
An output step of outputting the upper limit value determined by the upper limit value determining step;
An upper limit determination method including

Images