KR100771988B1 - User mobility support system and method in ubiquitous environment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and a method for supporting user and service mobility in a ubiquitous environment.

By tracking the location of a user who is provided with mobile communication service outdoors, when the user moves to a domain area where a variety of service devices can be utilized, user location information, user preference information, available device information, and service characteristic information can be obtained. The service device is determined based on this, so that the service can be continuously provided.

Therefore, even after the user moves the mobile communication service provided through the terminal outdoors to the domain area, the user can continuously receive the service through various service devices, and in selecting the device to receive the service from the various service devices, By determining the optimal service device based on the service characteristic information, it is possible to increase the satisfaction and convenience of service movement to the user.

Ubiquitous environment, user mobility, service mobility, multi-mode mobile terminal, domain area network

Description

User mobility support system and method in ubiquitous environment {user mobility support system and method in ubiquitous environment}

1 is an exemplary view schematically showing a user and service mobility support system in a ubiquitous environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a structural diagram of a multi-mode mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an exemplary view schematically showing the components of a service mobility support system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a message flow and operation when a user carries a multi-mode mobile terminal and enters a domain area network according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a message flow and operation when a user in a domain area network moves in a corresponding area according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a message flow and operation when a user leaves a domain area network according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to service mobility support, and more particularly, to a user and service mobility support system and method in a ubiquitous environment.

With the advent of the ubiquitous paradigm that enables users to provide services by using optimized devices around users anytime, anywhere, the information that they want and is best suited to users, the ubiquitous computing environment to support services It is being built. Based on such an environment, there is a need for a method capable of continuing a service by supporting user mobility without annoying the user in consideration of various situations and service characteristics of the user.

As a related art, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2005-0039070 discloses "a user mobility support system and method using a Bluetooth-based PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)". This technology uses a Bluetooth-based PDA to provide multimedia content such as video at home or in the office, and then moves to another location. Disclosed are a system and method for utilizing a system resource of a place so that a content provided before a mobile can be continuously used through a PDA.

In order to support user mobility in the ubiquitous environment, a variety of contextual information such as the user's device preferences, user location, device information and service characteristics are used to select an appropriate service device with minimum user intervention, and to fit the device. It is important to adapt and provide media. However, the prior art does not provide a service in consideration of various situations and service characteristics of the user, and merely provides a service by continuously utilizing a Bluetooth-based PDA carried by the user for the service. Accordingly, there is a need for a method capable of supporting optimal mobility of users and services more efficiently in a ubiquitous environment.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, based on a terminal having a cellular communication function and a short-range communication function, the mobile communication service provided through the terminal outdoors in the home or office as the user moves Provided are a user and service mobility support system and a method for providing the same through a variety of media devices in a domain domain environment.

In addition, the present invention provides a system and method for continuously providing a mobile communication service by selecting an optimal media device in consideration of various situations and service characteristics of a user including a user location in a domain area environment.

The method for supporting the mobility of a user and a service which is a feature of the present invention for achieving the technical problem of the present invention is a user of a service provided using a mobile terminal in a first network of a ubiquitous environment comprising a plurality of service devices In the case of moving to a second network, in a method for supporting mobility for the user and service in a mobility support system,

(a) in response to detecting that the mobile terminal has entered the second network from the first network, the system receiving user and service related information for providing a service to a plurality of service devices from the mobile terminal; (b) the system selecting a first service device that is one of the plurality of service devices based on user context information, service situation information, and user location information; And (c) providing the service to the user through the selected first service device after the system receives and processes the service data for the service from the mobile terminal.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for supporting mobility of a user and a service, in which a user provided with a service using a mobile terminal in a first network includes a plurality of service devices. In the case of moving to two networks, in the system that supports the mobility for the user and service using the system,

It authenticates the user entering the second network in conjunction with the first network, controls the movement of the service based on the user's location information, user context information and service context information, and controls one service device among the plurality of service devices. Determining a domain server; A media adaptation server for converting data of the service to provide the service to a service device determined by the domain server; A location recognition server that detects a location of the user and provides the location information as physical location information; And a location management server that receives the physical location information of the user from the location recognition server, identifies the location as logical location information, manages the location information of the user, and provides the location information of the user to the domain server.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention. Like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the specification.

In addition, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, which means that it may further include other components, except to exclude other components unless otherwise stated.

1 is an exemplary view schematically showing a user and service mobility support system in a ubiquitous environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the network configuration includes a service provider 100, a mobile communication network 200, a multi-mode mobile terminal 300, and a domain area network 400.

The service provider 100 performs the function of providing the service when the user wants to use the service using the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 connected to the mobile communication network 200 or the domain area network 400. . Here, the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 refers to a mobile communication terminal supporting a service such as CDMA 1x / EV-DO, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

In this case, when the user moves from the mobile communication network 200 to the domain area, the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 is connected to the domain area network 400 to provide a service to the user. Here, the domain area refers to a local area such as a home domain that is a fixed environment, a home domain that is an office area, a car domain that is a mobile environment of a user, and a service mobility support system.

When a user using a service through the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 connected to the mobile communication network 200 moves from the mobile communication network 200 to the domain area, the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 connects to the domain area network 400. In addition, the user can continue to use the service without interruption to the service already used. The multi-mode mobile terminal 300 used at this time will be described with reference to FIG.

2 is a structural diagram of a multi-mode mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the multi-mode mobile terminal includes a cellular communication unit 310, a short range communication unit 350, a user profile manager 320, a service information manager 330, and a multi-mode service controller 340.

The cellular communication unit 310 is responsible for the communication function between the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 and the mobile communication network 200. That is, when the user receives the service provided from the service provider 100 through the mobile communication network 200 before entering the domain area network 400, the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 possessed by the user and the mobile communication network ( 200) performs a communication function.

The short range communication unit 350 is responsible for the short range communication function in the domain area network 400. That is, when a user who has been provided a service outside the domain area network 400 moves into the domain area network 400, in order to continuously provide a service to the user, the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 possessed by the user is provided. Perform communication functions.

The user profile manager 320 stores user context information such as service mobility preferences of the user and device preferences of the user. In this case, the user profile refers to profile information that the user inputs through the terminal whenever necessary or user profile information generated while the user uses the service.

The service information manager 320 manages a list of mobile communication services used by a user and features of each service. At this time, the service information is provided from the service portal that the user accesses to use the service. That is, the service provider 100 registers the characteristics of the service to be provided in advance in the service portal, and the user uses the services from various service providers through the service portal.

The multi-mode service controller 340 exchanges service data or a signal for service control between the cellular communication unit 310 and the short range communication unit 350.

That is, assuming that the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 operates in a multi-mode, the multi-mode service controller 340 converts a packet received through cellular communication into a form suitable for short-range communication, or converts a packet received through short-range communication into a cellular communication. It plays the role of converting into a form suitable for.

3 to 6 illustrate a method of continuously using a service provided when a user who uses a service through the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 including such a component moves to the domain area network 400. See for details.

3 is an exemplary view schematically showing the components of a service mobility support system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the service mobility support system includes a domain server 410, a media adaptation server 420, a location management server 430, a location aware server 440, and an intelligent service device (also called a service device) 450. It includes.

The domain server 410 identifies and authenticates a user who has entered a domain area with a device such as a home server, an office server, or a car server, and collects user context information and available device information. In addition, the location management server 430 receives the user location information. At this time, based on the user location information, the user's device preferences, the user location, utilization device information and service characteristic information, the intelligent service device 450 that is optimal for continuously providing the service being provided to the user is determined. It controls the movement.

The media adaptation server 420 transcodes the service data in a form suitable for the optimal intelligent service device 450 determined by the domain server 410 and provides the determined intelligent service device 450. That is, since the intelligent service device 450 has various service support capabilities for each service device, the intelligent service device 450 provides a service by transforming a service provided to the multi-communication mode mobile terminal 300 into a form suitable for the intelligent service device.

When the location management server 430 receives a request from the domain server 410 to track the location of the user who has completed user authentication in real time, the location management server 440 identifies and manages the physical location of the user detected by the location recognition server 440 as logical location information. do. At this time, the information is transmitted to the domain server 410 to continuously receive the service through the intelligent service device 450 that is optimally determined for the user.

The location recognition server 440 detects a user's physical location, and various indoor location recognition means such as radio frequency identification (RFID), ultrasound, and Bluetooth may be utilized. For example, in order to detect the position of the RFID tag worn by the user, RFID is used, and the physical position of the user may be detected by identifying the position of the reflected wave reflected after ultrasonic irradiation to the user.

The intelligent service device 450 is a device having a short range communication capability such as wireless local area network (WLAN), Bluetooth, ultra wideband (UWB), 802.14.3 / 4, and the like, in a domain area network 400, and a multimedia service support capability. Examples include various information appliances or computing devices having communication capabilities. That is, when the multi-mode mobile terminal 300, which is connected to the mobile communication network 200 and receives a service, enters the domain area network 400, the multiple mode mobile terminal 300 exists in the domain area where the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 enters. Through the intelligent service device 450 that is a media device of the service to be continuously provided.

Next, a user and service mobility support method in a ubiquitous environment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a message flow and operation when a user carries a multi-mode mobile terminal and enters a domain area network according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, in order to continuously provide a service even after the user carries the multi-mode mobile terminal and enters the domain area network, a plurality of intelligent service devices 450 existing in the domain area network 400 are provided. Device information such as device capability, service provision, availability, etc., should be periodically registered in the domain server 410 (S100).

When a user moves into the domain area network 400 while using a mobile communication service using the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 outdoors, the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 is a beacon of the link layer output from the domain server 410. Recognizing a beacon signal, it detects that a new domain has been entered (S102).

Here, the beacon signal of the link layer includes information indicating a cell managed by an access point (AP), and according to an embodiment of the present invention, domain area information of an access point managing a domain area. do. That is, when the L2 trigger occurs, the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 may know that it is connected to the domain area network 400, which is a new network. In this case, the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 may access the domain area network 400 from the access point. An identifier identifying the access point is provided.

In addition to recognizing the beacon signal in the multi-mode mobile terminal 300, the domain server 410 also recognizes the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 that is a new user and user device (S101). That is, since the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 performs soft handoff at the same frequency having different pseudonoise offset, the domain server 410 may recognize the entry of the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 (S101). Entry recognition according to the manganese movement of the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 mentioned above is already known and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The multi-mode mobile terminal 300 that detects the entry into the new domain area network 400 (S102) requests a user authentication from the domain server 410 (S103), and the domain server 410 performs an authentication procedure for the user. In operation S104, the result is transmitted to the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 in step S105.

At this time, the authentication of the user, the domain server 410 collects the user information and transmits to the mobile communication network (200). The mobile communication network 200 authenticates a user who has entered a new domain area network 400 based on the user information received from the domain server 410, and transmits the result to the domain server 410 to perform an authentication procedure. To complete.

The domain server 410 requests (S106) the location management server 430 to track the user's location in real time for the user who authenticates them. The location management server 430 receives the user's physical location information from the location recognition server 440, converts the location information into logical location information, and continuously tracks and manages the user location (S107).

The domain server 410 requests the user profile manager 320 and the service information manager 330 from the user context information and the service context information managed by the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 (S108). The user context information includes service mobility preferences of the user, device preferences of the user, etc. The service context information includes a list of mobile communication services used by the user and characteristics of each service.

The user profile manager 320 and the service information manager 330 of the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 that are requested to provide the user and the service status information from the domain server 410 may store the user status information and the service status information stored therein. It is transmitted to the domain server 410 (S109).

The domain server 410 analyzes user preferences received from the user profile manager 320. Based on the analyzed information at this time, when the user wants to move the service and there is a mobile communication service provided by the user, the location management server 430 requests to periodically transmit the user's location information (S110). . When the domain server 410 requests the location management server 430 to track the user's location, the location management server 430 transmits the user location information managed by the domain server 410 to the domain server 410 at predetermined intervals (S111). do.

The domain server 410 receiving the user location information determines the optimal intelligent service device based on the user's current location information, user preference information, available intelligent service device information around the user location, and service characteristic information being used by the user. (S112).

As to how the domain server 410 determines the optimal intelligent service device, for example, when the user A moves to the domain area network 400 while using the video service in the mobile communication network 200, the domain server 410 ) Performs authentication of user A entering domain domain network 400 and requests location management server 430 to know the current location information of user A. In addition, the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 receives the user context information on the user A and the service context information on the provided video service.

The domain server 410 searches for available intelligent service devices around the location of the user A based on the location information of the user A received from the location management server 430. Assuming that the retrieved available intelligent service devices are radio and television, the domain server 410 is an optimal intelligent service device most suitable for the user A based on the user context information and the service context information received from the multi-mode mobile terminal 300. Select a television, and continue to provide video services.

After determining the optimal intelligent service device 450 as described above, the domain server 410 notifies the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 that the device for moving the service has been determined (S113), and determines the determined intelligent service device 450. In order to provide the service to the mobile station), a request is made to initialize the intelligent service device and execute an application program (S114).

Subsequently, the media adaptation server selects a codec type that can be provided by the intelligent service apparatus 450 in which the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 provides the user with the media adaptation server 420 and the media type of the service. In operation 115, the processor 420 notifies the intelligent service device 450 to adapt the service to the determined media.

The multi-mode mobile terminal 300 notified that the service mobile device has been determined removes the mobile communication protocol header of the mobile communication service packet from the multi-mode service controller 340, and prepares service data (S116) to short-range communication unit 350. Service data is transmitted to the media adaptation server 420 through S117. The media adaptation server 420 transcodes the service data in consideration of the codec type of the selected intelligent service device 450 (S118) and transfers the service data to the intelligent service device 450 (S119), and the intelligent service device 450 receives the received data. One service data is reproduced (S120).

4 is a diagram illustrating a message flow and operation when a user moves from the outside into the domain area network, and a user who is already in the domain area network provides a service to a first intelligent service device (or also called a first service device). When the service device is out of the service area, the service device is changed to the second intelligent service device (or referred to as the second service device) in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a message flow and operation when a user in a domain area network moves in a corresponding area according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, since the intelligent service devices 450 and 455 in the domain area network 400 do not know when to provide a service to a user through them, the device capability, service availability, and utilization of the device may be periodically provided. Device information such as availability is transmitted to the domain server 410 to be registered (S200, S201). In addition, the location management server 430 transmits the user location information being managed to the domain server 410 at a period designated by the domain server 410 (S202).

When the domain server 410 detects that the changed location of the user has moved to a location where the continuous service cannot be provided by the intelligent service device 450 currently providing the service, the plurality of intelligent service devices 450 and 455 Re-determining the optimal intelligent service device 455 based on the current location information of the user, user preference information, available intelligent service device information around the user location, and service characteristic information being used by the user (S204). )do.

The domain server 410 notifies the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 that the device for providing the service has been changed at the same time as determining the optimal intelligent service device (S205), and the device for performing the service to the determined intelligent service device 455. Request to initialize and run the application (S206). This step simply informs the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 that the service is still being provided through another service device 455 in the domain.

Thereafter, the domain server 410 notifies the media adaptation server 420 of the media type of the service in progress in the multi-mode mobile terminal 300 and the codec type that the intelligent service device which has determined the service movement can provide. A request is made to adapt the media to the intelligent service device 455 (S207). After requesting the media adaptation server 420 to adapt the media data (S207), the previous intelligent service providing apparatus 450 is notified of the service interruption (S208).

The multi-mode mobile terminal 300 notified of the change of the service mobile device removes the mobile communication protocol header of the mobile communication service packet from the multi-mode service controller 340 and adapts the service data to the selected intelligent service device 455. In order to prepare the service data (S209). The prepared service data transmits service data to the media adaptation server 420 through the short range communication unit 350 (S210). The media adaptation server 420 transcodes the service data in consideration of the codec type of the selected intelligent service device 455 (S211), and then transfers the service data to the intelligent service device 455 (S212), and the intelligent service device 455. Plays the service data received from the media adaptation server 420 (S213).

Next, a method of providing a service when a user who has been provided a service in the domain area network 400 moves to the mobile communication network 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a message flow and operation when a user leaves a domain area network according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the location management server 430 transmits user location information managed by the location server to the domain server 410 at a designated period (S300). When the domain server 410 detects that the user has left the domain area based on the location information (S301), the location management server 420 requests the user to stop tracking the location of the user (S302). In this case, the domain server 410 detects that the user has left the domain area, and recognizes and detects the beacon signal of the link layer as described with reference to FIG. 4.

After the user stops the location tracking request, the media adaptation server 420 requests to stop media adaptation (S303), and informs the intelligent service device 450 to stop the service (S304). The multi-mode mobile terminal 300 that detects that the mobile terminal 300 has moved out of the domain area through the link layer connection confirmation performs service provision in the terminal (S305).

Here, a program for realizing a function corresponding to the configuration of the above-described embodiment of the present invention or a recording medium on which the program is recorded is also included in the scope of the present invention.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concepts of the present invention defined in the following claims are also provided. It belongs to the scope of rights.

According to the above-described embodiment, after the user moves the mobile communication service provided through the terminal outdoors to the domain area, the user can continuously receive the service through various media devices. In addition, in selecting a device to be provided with a service in various media devices, an optimum service device may be determined based on user and service characteristic information, thereby increasing satisfaction and convenience of service movement to the user.

In addition, since the service media can be provided appropriately for the service apparatus used for the service, the same service quality can be provided regardless of the user's movement. In addition, even in a situation where the service device is frequently changed due to frequent movement of the user, a service delay that may be caused by service session establishment may be avoided.

Claims (10)

In a method of supporting mobility for a user in a mobility support system when a user, who has been provided a service using a mobile terminal in a first network, moves to a second network of a ubiquitous environment including a plurality of service devices, (a) a user using any one of the plurality of service devices to provide a service to a plurality of service devices as the system detects that the mobile terminal has entered the second network from the first network; Receiving service related information provided by the user from the mobile terminal; (b) the system selecting a first service device that is one of the plurality of service devices based on user context information, service situation information, and user location information; And (c) providing the service to the user through the selected first service device after the system receives and processes the service data for the service from the mobile terminal; User mobility support method comprising a. The method of claim 1, In step (a), (Iii) the system receiving a request for authentication from a mobile terminal entering the second network to perform authentication on the mobile terminal in association with the first network, and transmitting the result to the mobile terminal; And (Ii) the system performing location tracking of the user of the mobile terminal in which the authentication is completed, identifying the location of the user, and receiving user context information and service situation information of the user from the mobile terminal; User mobility support method comprising a. The method of claim 2, In step (b), (b-1) the system collecting the location information of the user according to a predetermined period; And (b-2) location information of the user and service status information and user location information from the mobile terminal--where the user status information and the service status information include service mobility preferences of the user, device preferences of the user, a list of services and Determining the first service device based on a service feature; User mobility support method comprising a. The method of claim 1, In step (c), (1) the system requesting initialization to receive a service from the first service device; (2) the system receiving service data from which the protocol header of the first network has been removed from the mobile terminal; (3) the system converting the service data received from the mobile terminal to provide a service to the first service device; And (4) the system forwarding the converted service data to the first service device User mobility support method comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein The system receiving the codec form of the service data so that the converted service data can be provided by the first service device; The system adapting the media of the service to provide the converted service data at the first service device; User mobility support method further comprising. The method of claim 1, When the first service device located in the second network moves from the first location to the second location, (d) the system detecting that the location of the first service device has moved; (e) the system re-determining a second service device located where the first service device is moved; (f) providing the user with the service provided through the first service device through the second service device re-determined by the system; User mobility support method comprising a. The method of claim 6, The system requesting initialization to receive a service from the second service device, and transcoding media in consideration of the codec type of the second service device; And The system notifying the first service device of the service interruption User mobility support method comprising a. The method of claim 6, If the system detects a movement of the location of the second service device from the second network out of the second network, (g) stopping the user location tracking for the second service device that was serviced in the second network; (h) the system stopping providing media for the service that was being provided through the second service device; And (i) informing the second service apparatus of stopping the service provision; User mobility support method comprising a. In a system supporting a mobility for a user using a system when a user who has been provided a service using a mobile terminal in a first network moves to a second network including a plurality of service devices, It authenticates the user entering the second network in conjunction with the first network, controls the movement of the service based on the user's location information, user context information and service context information, and controls one service device among the plurality of service devices. Determining a domain server; A media adaptation server for converting data of the service to provide the service to a service device determined by the domain server; A location recognition server that detects a location of the user and provides the location information as physical location information; And The location management server receives the physical location information of the user from the location recognition server, identifies the location as logical location information, manages the location information of the user, and provides the location information of the user to the domain server. User mobility support system comprising a. The method of claim 9, A mobile terminal connected to the first network and the second network to provide a service may include: A user profile manager for storing and managing user context information, wherein the user context information includes service mobility preferences of the user and device preferences of the user; A service information manager configured to manage a list of services provided by the user in the first network and service related information including characteristics of each service; And A multi-mode service that transforms and transfers a service used in the first network into a form adapted to the second network environment, or transforms and transfers a service used in the second network into a form adapted to the first network environment. Control User mobility support system comprising a.

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