JPH11331915A - Mobile object communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily provide rough information concerning the current position of a communicating party or present equipment without complicating and expanding the equipment configuration. SOLUTION: This mobile object communication equipment is provided with position confirming means 1 and 7 for receiving identification information from radio base stations on prescribed conditions, position storage means 8 for storing the identification information received from the radio base stations as position information and information returning means 7 for returning the position information stored in the position storage means 8 to a requesting source when there is a prescribed position confirming request from the side of a communicating party.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile communication device that communicates with a communication partner via a radio communication with a radio base station, such as a cellular phone.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a mobile communication device such as a portable telephone is reduced in size and weight so as to be convenient for carrying in order to take advantage of wireless communication. That is, the mobile communication device is often carried and used. Therefore, if at least one side performs communication by the mobile communication device, the other side can know the current position of the communication partner in real time even if the communication partner of the mobile communication device is moving. Will be able to

[0003]

However, in the conventional mobile communication device, when confirming the current position of the other party, the information about the current position must be directly heard from the other party. In other words, it is necessary to make a call to the mobile communication device carried by the communication partner, establish a line connection with the mobile communication device, and then obtain information on the current location through a call with the communication partner. is there. Therefore, depending on the circumstances of the communication partner (during a meeting, on a train, or the like), it may be extremely annoying. It is also conceivable to use a voice mail service, a message service, or the like provided by a communication carrier, but in this case, information on the current position cannot be obtained in real time. If the communication partner is unfamiliar with the geography, accurate information cannot be obtained.

[0004] On the other hand, GPS (Global Positioni) which is well known as a position detecting device using radio waves from satellites.
It is also conceivable to use a GPS receiver (ng System) receiver, combine this with a mobile communication device, and confirm the current position using position information from the GPS receiver. However, in this case, a combination of these may cause an increase in complexity and size of the device configuration, and as a result, it may be inconvenient for the user to carry. Also,
Normally, when the current position is confirmed by the mobile communication device, the GP
It is not necessary to perform high-precision detection like the S receiver, and it is almost always sufficient to know the current position (for example, a town name or a station name) within a certain range.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a mobile communication device capable of easily obtaining general information on the current position of a communication partner or its own device without complicating and enlarging the device configuration. With the goal.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been devised to achieve the above object, and is a mobile communication device for communicating with a wireless base station and a communication partner via wireless communication. Further, position confirmation means for receiving identification information for identifying the wireless base station from the wireless base station under predetermined conditions, and position storage means for storing the identification information received by the position confirmation means as position information And an information returning means for returning the position information stored in the position storage means to the request source when a predetermined position confirmation request is issued from the communication partner side. .

[0007] According to the mobile communication device having the above configuration, when a predetermined position confirmation request is received from the communication partner, the information return means returns the position information in the position storage means to the request source. This position information is received by the position confirmation means from the wireless base station, and is identification information for identifying a wireless base station that performs wireless communication with the mobile communication device. Therefore, at the request source of the position confirmation request, based on the position information returned by the information return means, the mobile communication device is located in the communication area of which wireless base station, that is, the outline of the mobile communication device. You will be able to find your current location.

Further, the present invention provides a request transmitting means for transmitting the position confirmation request to a communication partner in order to confirm the current position of the communication partner, and responding to the position confirmation request transmitted by the request transmitting means. And information output means for receiving the position information when the position information is returned from the communication partner and outputting the received position information as information relating to the current position of the communication partner.

In the case where the information transmitting means is provided with the request transmitting means and the information output means, when the position information is returned from the communication partner side in response to the position confirmation request transmitted by the request transmitting means, the information output means is turned on. It receives the location information and outputs it. Therefore, by referring to the output result from the information output means, the approximate current position of the communication partner who has returned the position information can be known.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A mobile communication device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a mobile communication device according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a wireless communication system in which the mobile communication device is used.

Here, prior to the description of the mobile communication device of the present embodiment, a wireless communication system using the mobile communication device will be described. However, here, CD
A wireless communication system that performs wireless communication between mobile communication devices based on an MA (Code Division Multiple Access) method will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication system according to the present embodiment is an ISDN (Integrated Service).
s Digital Network), a plurality of wireless base stations (Cell Sites; hereinafter, abbreviated as CS) -A, B ... connected to the public line network 11, and these CS-A, B ...
Mobile communication devices (Personal S
tation; hereinafter abbreviated as PS) -a, b...

CS-A, B... Have the same hardware configuration as those generally used for realizing wireless communication by the CDMA system, respectively.
ARIB (Association of Radio Industries and Busi
nesses; The Association of Radio Industries and Businesses-STD-T53 is supported. That is, in CS-A, B..., Respectively, certain areas (cells) 12a, 12b
... for wireless communication within.

However, each of CS-A, B...
The personal message function described in detail below (hereinafter, “Pe
rsonal Msg ”), and this“ Personal
Msg "service options and records are supported.

In CS-A, B,...
The identification information is transmitted under predetermined conditions. Here, the predetermined condition is a time when predetermined conditions are satisfied, for example, when PS-a, b... Performs handoff (movement between cells). The identification information is information for identifying the CS, and includes “BASE-ID (base station identifier)”, “BASE-L
AT (base station latitude) "and" BASE-LONG (base station longitude) "
The information consists of: Note that these pieces of identification information are determined in advance for each CS, and are set in advance in each CS.

On the other hand, PS-a, b.
-Supports ARIB-STD-T53 as well as A, B ... and performs PS for performing CDMA wireless communication.
Has the same hardware configuration as that generally used. Specifically, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, each is a wireless communication unit 1, a modem unit 2, a codec unit 3, a microphone 4a, and a speaker 4b.
Operation unit 5, display unit 6, control unit 7, and memory unit 8
And

The radio communication unit 1 is for realizing radio communication with CS-A, B ... by exchanging information via the antenna 1a. Information transmitted and received by the wireless communication unit 1 includes, for example, voice data for voice communication, identification information transmitted from CS-A, B,..., And position information described in detail below.

The modulation and demodulation unit 2 modulates and demodulates the information transmitted and received by the radio communication unit 1 at a radio frequency. The codec unit 3 performs D / A (A / D) conversion and encoding / decoding processing on information transmitted and received by the wireless communication unit 1. The microphone 4a and the speaker 4b input and output an audio signal which is an analog signal.

The operation unit 5 is composed of, for example, a keypad and a jog dial, and is used by a user to input necessary information and the like.

The display unit 6 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Cryst).
al Display) for displaying information input from the operation unit 5 and information received by the wireless communication unit 1 to a PS user.

The control unit 7 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Proc).
essing Unit), which performs operation control and communication management of the entire PS. The operation control or communication management includes processing such as establishment of a line connection with a communication partner, and processing for receiving identification information transmitted by CS-A, B ... (for example, CS-A under predetermined conditions). , B
… Notification)

The control unit 7 has a function corresponding to "Personal Msg", which will be described in detail later, similarly to CS-A, B ... and supports the service options and records of "Personal Msg". It is assumed that This function is realized by executing a predetermined program in the control unit 7.

The memory unit 8 is, for example, a RAM (Random Acc
ESS Memory) and stores various information such as abbreviated dialing number of the other party, and setting information (preset parameters) necessary for the control unit 7 to perform operation control. Is what it is.

In the memory unit 8, CS-A,
It is assumed that an area for storing the identification information transmitted from B ... is reserved. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1B, “BASE-ID” (16 bits), “BASE-LAT” (22 bits)
And an area for storing and storing information consisting of “BASE-LONG” (23 bits) and “display area character information”
At least n fields (n is an integer of 2 or more) are secured.

The "display area character information" is a character indicating the name of the area corresponding to the cells 12a, 12b,..., Which is assigned to each CS-A, B,. Information to represent, 2by
te × χ (χ is the number of characters). This “display area character information” is, for example,
ROM (Read Only) provided as a part of the memory unit 8
Memory) or the like, which is stored in advance in association with the “BASE-ID” by limiting the area. And CS-
When the identification information is transmitted from A, B,..., The “display area character information” corresponding to the “BASE-ID” including the identification information is stored in the area shown in FIG. It has become.

At least n fields of "BASE-ID", "BASE-LAT", "BASE
-LONG ”and“ display area character information ”are PS
Is treated as position information for specifying the current position of the. Therefore, for example, newly transmitted CS-A,
When the identification information is received from B ... and the identification information is different from the newest one among the n fields in the memory unit 8, the memory unit 8 determines the received identification information and the corresponding information. The “display area character information” is stored and accumulated as the newest of the n fields, and the oldest of the n fields is deleted from the memory unit 8.

Next, an example of a processing operation in the wireless communication system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 3 by using a sequence for confirming the current position of PS-b using PS-a as an example. I will explain while. Here, it is assumed that PS-a is located in the cell 12a of CS-A and PS-b is located in the cell 12b of CS-B.

When confirming the current position of PS-b by using PS-a, PS-a firstly operates the operation unit 5 by the user.
Sends a position confirmation request to CS-A to confirm the current position of PS-b, which is the communication partner, in response to a predetermined operation (user transmission request). For details, see “Access-ch
”Is transmitted to CS-A (step 101; hereinafter, step is abbreviated as S). At this time, the PS-a sets the service option in the “Origination Msg” to “Personal Msg” and performs transmission.

Upon receiving "Origination Msg" from PS-a, CS-A first sets up "Traffic-ch". Then, CS-A sends “Paging” to PS-a.
“Channel Assignment Msg” is transmitted using “-ch” (S102). As a result, PS-a sets “Traffic-c
h ”setup, frame state check, and preamble transmission. Further, CS-A transmits “BS Ack Msg” and “Service Connect Msg” to PS-a using the “Traffic-ch” set up (S103, S104).

The “BS Ack Msg” and “Service Co
nnect Msg ”, the PS-a uses the“ Traffic-ch ”that has been set up and sends“ Service Co.
nnect Complete Msg ”to notify that the use configuration of the service option is completed (S105). In response, CS-A uses the "Traffic-ch"
Send "Alert with Informetion Msg" to -a (S
106). At this time, since the standby sound in PS-a is not required, the record area may be set to no sound or unique sound.

As described above, upon receiving the position confirmation request from PS-a, CS-A transmits the position confirmation request to CS-B via public line network 11 (S10).
7).

When CS-B receives the position confirmation request from CS-A, it uses “Paging-ch” for PS-b to generate
ral Page Msg ”is transmitted (S108). At this time, C
SB requests “Personal Msg” in the service option in “General Page Msg”.

On the other hand, in PS-b, “General Page Ms
g ”, the“ P ”in the“ General Page Msg ”
It is determined whether or not the user has set “OK” in response to the request of “personal Msg”. More specifically, the control unit 7 sets the PS based on the setting information stored in the memory unit 8 in advance.
Judge whether or not to respond to the position confirmation request from -a.
This setting information is information for determining whether or not to transmit position information, and is assumed to be registered in advance by the user of PS-b. Then, only when the control unit 7 determines to respond to this, the PS-b transmits “Page Response Msg” to the CS-B using “Access-ch” (S109), so that Notify CS-B.

Thereafter, between CS-B and PS-b,
As in the case between CS-A and PS-a described above,
From transmission / reception of “Channel Assignment Msg” using “Paging-ch” to transmission / reception of “Alert with Informetion Msg” are performed (S110 to S114). At this time, PS-b
The control unit 7 controls so that on-hook is performed by software processing without generating a ringtone. And CS
"Connect Order (Ack)" using "Traffic-ch" for -B
To notify that it responds to the incoming call from PS-a (S115).

Thus, a line connection has been established between PS-a and PS-b. That is,
Between the PS-a and the PS-b, it is possible to execute a service by "Personal Msg" (transmission and reception of a position confirmation request and transmission and reception of corresponding position information).

When the line connection is established, PS-b sets P
To respond to the location confirmation request from Sa, "Traffi
c-ch "Signaling-Traffic ful
l) ”to send“ Personal Msg ”(S11).
6). Specifically, in PS-b, the control unit 7
The position information stored and stored in the server is retrieved, and the retrieved position information is returned to PS-a, which is the request source of the position confirmation request. Then, after returning the location information, CS-
B requests “Release Order” using “Traffic-ch” (S117).

On the other hand, in the PS-a, when the PS-b returns the position information (S116), the position information is received and displayed on the display unit 6 as information relating to the current position of the PS-b. I do. Then, "Releas from PS-b
In response to "e Order", the establishment of the line connection between PS-a and PS-b is canceled (S118 to S120).

In the above sequence, "Pe
rsonal Msg ”(“ Channel Assignment
Msg ”and the like (“ Traffic-ch ”and the like) are all the same as those used in the normal CDMA wireless communication.

Next, as a result of performing the above-described sequence,
A display example on the display unit 6 in the PS-a and the PS-b when the PS-a receives the position information from the PS-b will be described.

Upon receiving the position information from PS-b, P
In Sa, for example, the display unit 6 performs a display as shown in FIG. That is, the display unit 6 displays the position information from the PS-b in the area display area 6a and the movement information icon area 6a.
b and the message section 6c.

The area display section 6a is used to represent the name of the approximate current position of PS-b in characters based on "display area character information" for n fields of the position information from PS-b. It is. However, in the area display area 6a, the current area (present Area) name, the elapsed time (stay time), and the position before the current area (present Area) name, such as “Meguro [15 minutes] ← Shibuya [10 minutes]”, were used. Area (prev
ious Area) name and its elapsed time (stay time) are used to represent the approximate position.

The movement information icon section 6b indicates the movement speed of the PS-b when it is moving with time. However, move information icon ward 6
In FIG. 4B, for example, icons such as those shown in FIG. 4B are used to separately display 6d when the moving speed is fast and 6e when the moving speed is slow.

The message section 6c is used to represent a message previously registered in the memory section 8 of the PS-b by the user of the PS-b. For example, if a message "working" is registered, the message section 6c displays the message "working" and the registration date and time of the message as shown in FIG. 4A. . In addition, this message includes P
It is assumed that it is transmitted from Sb.

By referring to the display on the display unit 6, the PS-a side can understand general information on the current position of PS-b.

On the other hand, PS-b, which is the transmission source of the position information, indicates that the transmission of the position information to PS-a
In order to notify the user of Sb, the display unit 6 performs a display as shown in FIG. 4C, for example. That is, PS-b
Display section 6 displays the dial number 6f of the PS-a to which the position information is to be transmitted, the transmission time 6g, and a message 6h indicating that the position information has been transmitted. This allows P
On the Sb side, the transmission destination of the position information can be specified by the dial number of the other party. In addition, since the transmission destination of the position information can be specified by the dial number, the PS-b side determines whether or not the transmission of the position information is possible according to the dial number of the other party when registering the setting information of the permission of the transmission of the position information. May be set.

As described above, the PS in this embodiment is
When a predetermined position confirmation request is received from the communication partner, the control unit 7 returns the position information stored in the memory unit 8 to the request source. I have. Therefore, at the request source of the position confirmation request, PS-a, b.
a. 12b..., That is, PS-a,
The approximate current position of b ... can be understood. In other words, if the request source of the position confirmation request issues a position confirmation request by “Personal Msg”, the general position of PS-a, b. Will be able to confirm.

Therefore, PS-a, b of this embodiment
Is used, no call is required even if the communication partner tries to confirm the current position.
The user does not become annoying and contributes to improving manners in public places. Further, since the amount of information to be transmitted and received can be deleted as compared with the case where a telephone call is made, traffic (radio wave resources) can be saved. On the other hand, on the communication partner side, unlike the case of using the voice mail service and the message service, PS-a, b ...
The general information on the current position of the user can be obtained in real time. Moreover, the position information of each PS-a, b.
−A, B..., So that PS-a,
Even if the user of b ... is unfamiliar with geography, accurate outline information (for example, a town name or a station name) can be obtained.

Further, in the PS-a, b ..., the communication control (correspondence to "Personal Msg") by the control unit 7 and the area reservation in the memory unit 8 (the area reservation of the position information) differ from those of the conventional one. Then, the above-described effect can be obtained without changing the hardware configuration. Therefore, the device configuration of the PS-a, b... Does not become complicated or large, and it may be inconvenient for the user to carry, for example, when the function as a GPS receiver is combined. Absent.

Further, PS-a, b in the present embodiment
… Indicates “Personal Msg” to the communication partner
Is issued, and when there is a reply of position information from the communication partner side in response to the position confirmation request, the position information is displayed on the display unit 6. Therefore, by using the PS-a, b,..., The approximate current position of the communication partner can be easily and easily understood by referring to the display result on the display unit 6. Moreover,
Since there is no need for a call with the other party's user, the exact approximate location of the other party can always be known in real time without considering the other party's convenience.

Further, PS-a,
b, when there is a predetermined position confirmation request from the communication partner, the control unit 7 determines whether or not to respond to the position confirmation request based on the setting information registered in advance. Only when it is determined that a response is made, the position information is returned. Therefore, each PS-
In a, b,..., the location information is transmitted without requiring a call in response to a location confirmation request from the communication partner, but the location information is transmitted to the communication partner that the user does not want. Refusal can be performed, which is more convenient for the user.

That is, PS-a,
b ..., using the identification information of CS-A, B ..., information during a call, and other information without changing the hardware configuration on both the CS side and the PS side; The display of the minimum necessary position information) and the like on the display unit 6 is extremely easy, so that in contrast to the purpose of “finding an extremely precise position” as in the case of using a GPS receiver, the user can easily In addition, it is possible to easily and easily know the approximate current position of the communication partner (area name, longitude, latitude, etc. linked to the base station used).

In this embodiment, the case where the current position of PS-b is confirmed using PS-a has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the request source of the position confirmation request may be a wired telephone or the like directly connected to the public line network 11 as long as it has a function corresponding to “Personal Msg”. Further, the communication partner that is the request source of the position confirmation request may be the own device. In other words, not only to check the current position of other PS,
It is also conceivable to issue a position confirmation request to the own PS to confirm the current position of the own PS. this is,
This is effective when the user of PS-a, b,...

In the present embodiment, the case where "display area character information" is stored in advance in memory unit 8 in association with "BASE-ID" has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Not something. That is, CS-
When linking the “BASE-ID” received from A, B,... With the “display area character information”, instead of using the related information stored in the memory unit 8 in advance, for example, a new “ Order Msg ”and define each CS-A, B
… Sends a base station area name request to its CS-A,
B. "Display area character information" may be sent from "Brst Msg" or the like. Furthermore, a data server is installed in an arbitrary area in the wireless communication system, and each time the above-described event occurs, the data server is accessed and the “BASE-I
It is also conceivable to receive information related to "D" with "display area character information".

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the name of the current position is represented by characters based on the "display area character information" has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. If voice information for outputting the name as voice is stored and stored as position information, when the position information is received, this may be output from the speaker 4b or the like by voice.

[0055]

As described above, the mobile communication device of the present invention, upon receiving a predetermined position confirmation request from a communication partner, identifies the radio base station with which the mobile communication device is communicating. The position information based on the information is returned to the request source. Therefore, the requester of the position confirmation request can know the approximate current position of the mobile communication device based on the returned position information. Therefore, in this mobile communication device, since the communication partner does not need to make a call even if he or she tries to confirm the current position, there is no trouble for the user. In addition, the communication partner can also obtain general information about the current position of the mobile communication device in real time and accurately. Furthermore, since the apparatus configuration does not become complicated or large, there is no possibility that it becomes inconvenient for the user to carry.

Further, the mobile communication device of the present invention issues a position confirmation request, and receives and outputs a position information response in response to the position confirmation request. Therefore, in this mobile communication device, the outline information on the current position of the communication partner or the own device can be easily and easily understood from the output result of the position information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a mobile communication device according to the present invention, in which (a) is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration thereof, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing a storage area in a memory unit. is there.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an example of a wireless communication system using the mobile communication device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a processing sequence between a case where the current position of another mobile communication device is confirmed using one mobile communication device in the wireless communication system of FIG. 2;

4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams showing specific examples of display contents on a display unit of the mobile communication device in FIG. 1; FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a display example when a current position of a communication partner is confirmed; () Is a diagram illustrating an icon representing the moving speed of the communication partner, and (c) is a diagram illustrating a display example when a position confirmation request is received.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wireless communication part, 6 ... Display part, 7 ... Control part, 8 ... Memory part, A, B ... CS (wireless base station), a, b ... PS (Mobile communication apparatus)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A mobile communication device for communicating with a communication partner via wireless communication with a wireless base station, comprising: identification information for identifying the wireless base station from the wireless base station under predetermined conditions. A position confirming means for receiving the position information, and a position storing means for storing and storing the identification information received by the position confirming means as position information. A mobile communication device comprising: an information return unit that returns the position information stored and accumulated by the unit. 2. A request transmitting means for transmitting the position confirmation request to the communication partner to confirm the current position of the communication partner, and a communication partner in response to the position confirmation request transmitted by the request transmitting means. 2. A mobile communication system according to claim 1, further comprising information output means for receiving the position information when the position information is returned from the communication device, and outputting the received position information as information relating to the current position of the communication partner. apparatus. 3. When the location confirmation request is received, the transmission selection means is provided for determining whether or not to respond to the request. The information transmission means is configured to transmit the information only when the transmission selection means determines that the response is received. 2. The mobile communication device according to claim 1, wherein the position storage means transmits the position information stored and accumulated.