KR101545485B1 - A method for controlling a wireless network accessing function according to network-connected state and an apparatus for said method - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a wireless terminal requests a data request for a data service requested from a user to a remote area through a first communications network or a second communications network if accessed to the first communications network and the second communications network belonging to a plurality of wireless communications networks. If an access function for the second communications network is inactivated when starting the data service, the present invention activates the access function. When finishing the data service, the wireless terminal selectively carries out a control action for the access function based on whether the access function was activated when starting a certain data service. When carrying out the control action, the present invention maintains an activated state of the access function if accessed to the second communications network when corresponding to time finishing the data service while switching the access function into an inactivated state if not accessed to the second communications network.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and a device for controlling a connection function to a wireless communication network according to a network connection state,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling a connection operation of a wireless terminal to a wireless communication network that provides data services in a wireless manner.

With the development of a communication network capable of communicating with a wireless signal, users can use various devices such as smart phones, tablet computers (hereinafter referred to as "wireless terminals"), It is possible to confirm information through browsing or receive desired contents by downloading or streaming the contents.

Particularly, as wireless communication infrastructure and performance of wireless terminals are further improved, a variety of image contents such as sports broadcasts, news, and music programs are now being provided in a high-quality streaming manner without download waiting time.

The wireless terminal transmits data (hereinafter referred to as " wireless communication network ") through a wireless communication network such as a cellular type 3G or 4G mobile communication network or a Wi-Fi network In order to use the service, a logical connection state (hereinafter abbreviated as "connection state") in which a connection address, for example, an IP address is allocated, should be maintained in addition to a state in which signals can be physically exchanged. Thus, when the wireless terminal is confirmed to be able to use the wireless communication network through its own communication resource, the wireless terminal receives an appropriate signal according to the designated wireless communication network and maintains the connected state. Generally, a cellular mobile communication network (hereinafter referred to as a "cellular network") provides a wide service area with almost no shadow areas of a signal, so that any wireless terminal always maintains a connection state with respect to the cellular network .

Meanwhile, a communication service provider establishing a cellular network and providing mobile communication services to wireless terminals installs an access point (AP) that locally forms a Wi-Fi network in a crowded building or place , Allowing only subscribers of its mobile communication service to access, thereby providing a better wireless service utilization environment for subscribers. Further, in order to enhance the competitiveness of the mobile communication service of a telecommunications carrier, when a Wi-Fi network is used through an access point, a charge is not imposed on the data usage amount due to the use of the wireless service.

Therefore, if a user accesses a Wi-Fi network and utilizes a data service, the user can take a relatively cost advantage over using a cellular network. However, a Wi-Fi network generally has a very short serviceable distance Therefore, the quality of the wireless service provided is highly volatile in terms of space and time. Therefore, it is difficult to utilize the data service over a long period of time through the Wi-Fi network. In particular, when the mobile terminal is connected to the Wi-Fi network every time a wireless terminal searches for a Wi-Fi network while using a service for receiving data from a remote place in a connected state to a cellular network, Is switched to the Wi-Fi network, the continuity of the service to be used is hindered. That is, if the user is playing the content while receiving the data of the remote content, the play may be stopped on the way, or the play may be resumed after the use network is switched. This phenomenon occurs when the network is disconnected from the Wi-Fi network due to movement, and the network is switched back to the cellular network.

For this reason, despite the cost advantage of using the Wi-Fi network, the user of the wireless terminal is able to search for and auto-detect the Wi-Fi network when it is not a specific place (e.g. office or home) The connection to the Wi-Fi network that causes the connection to be made is turned off. In the state that the connection function is off, the wireless terminal performs the data service required from the applications using only the cellular network. In other words, since an application (hereinafter abbreviated as "App") executed in the wireless terminal generally uses the communication network currently connected to the wireless terminal, the Wi- (For example, video and / or audio play, VoIP call, information search, etc.) by transmitting / receiving data to / from a remote place using a cellular network.

However, unlike a Wi-Fi network, in the case of a cellular network, charging for the amount of data using the network is charged, so that the connection to the Wi-Fi network is turned off to eliminate the inconvenience and inconvenience of using the data service, Users' use of wireless terminals puts a cost burden on them.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus which make it possible to use all the wireless communication networks available for receiving data from a remote place.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for using a wireless communication network in consideration of a cost burden of a user in using a communication network when receiving data from a remote place.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for minimizing a reconnection operation for a specific wireless communication network when receiving data from a remote place using a plurality of wireless communication networks.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for controlling a connection function according to a connection state to a specific wireless communication network in order to minimize a reconnection operation for a specific wireless communication network.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for controlling a connection function for a specific wireless communication network in consideration of convenience of use of a wireless terminal by a user.

It is to be understood that the object of the present invention is not limited to the explicitly stated objects, but, of course, it is an object of the present invention to achieve the effect which can be derived from the following specific and exemplary description of the present invention.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a wireless terminal capable of connecting to a plurality of wireless communication networks transmits a data request for a requested specific data service to the external server through the one or more communication networks in the plurality of wireless communication networks, And a second communication network that is connected to the first communication network and the second communication network belonging to the plurality of wireless communication networks when the data request is received through the first communication network or the second communication network And when the connection function of the wireless terminal to the second communication network is in an inactive state when the wireless terminal is in the start of the specific data service, , And when it is the end of the specific data service, And a control unit configured to selectively perform a control operation for the connection function based on whether or not the connection function is active at the time. In the control operation, when the specific data service is terminated, the active state of the connection function is maintained if the connection state is the state connected to the second communication network. If the state is not connected to the second communication network, Is switched to the inactive state.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the control unit does not perform the control operation when the connection function is active when the connection function is activated at the start of the specific data service, and performs the control operation when the connection function is inactive.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, when the connection function is active at the time of starting the specific data service, the control unit determines, based on whether the control unit has activated the connection function before the start of the specific data service And selectively performs the control operation. In the present embodiment, the control unit does not perform the control operation if the connection function has not been activated before the start of the specific data service, and does not perform the control operation before the start of the specific data service, And selectively performs the control operation on the basis of the elapsed time from the most recently activated point of time to the end of the specific data service, if any. Specifically, the control operation is performed when the elapsed time is less than the predetermined time limit, and the control operation is not performed when the elapsed time is longer than the predetermined time limit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the data request corresponds to the start of the specific data service, when the data request is transmitted to the external server, when the execution entity executing the specific data service is activated, If the executing entity to be executed is to be activated, it is before the activation.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, in the control operation, when the time when the connection is held is shorter than the specified reference time even when the connection is made to the second communication network at the end of the specific data service, The connection function can be switched to the inactive state.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in the control operation, at the end of the specific data service, even when the terminal is connected to the second communication network, The connection function may be switched to the inactive state when the service characteristic of the second communication network exhibits a characteristic lower than a predetermined reference. Here, the service characteristic corresponds to the service speed provided by the second network in receiving the data included in the response, or corresponds to the fluctuation range of the service speed.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in the control operation, at the end of the specific data service, even when the terminal is connected to the second communication network, The connection function may be switched to the inactive state when the signal characteristic of the second communication network of the second communication network has a characteristic lower than a predetermined reference. Here, the signal characteristic corresponds to the strength of the signal received from the second communication network or the variability of the signal strength.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the data corresponding to the termination of the specific data service is received, the execution object that receives the data included in the response and expresses the video or audio based on the data through the wireless terminal, When the execution object is switched to the execution state on the wireless terminal and when the screen state of the wireless terminal is turned off or locked, the end of the remote file necessary for the specific data service is received When a predetermined time has elapsed since the reception of a certain section of the remote file and no data was received or when the established connection with the external server was released for the specific data service.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the specific data service is a service for receiving data from a remote place or a service for transmitting data to a remote place.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, data included in the response received by the processing unit from a remote location in response to the transmission of the data request through the processing unit is transmitted from a user to a specific execution And a second processing unit configured to transmit the data to the entity. In this embodiment, the processing unit, the control unit, and the second processing unit constitute a relaying execution entity that relays data communication with the outside of the specific execution entity. In this embodiment, the specific data service is determined as a special service by the control unit. If it is determined that any data service intended by the second data request received from the arbitrary executable entity executed in the wireless terminal through the second processing unit is not for the special service, No control is performed on the connection function to the communication network. Wherein the control unit determines whether the arbitrary data service belongs to the special service based on information identifying the arbitrary executable entity or based on the address information included in the second data request, Based on the information included in the response received from the remote site for the request.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, the processing unit and the control unit may be included in an execution entity that expresses video or audio based on data included in the response through the wireless terminal.

In one embodiment of the present invention, when the speed of receiving data included in the response through the second communication network is lower than a predetermined reference speed, So that a part of the data of the remote file is received through the first communication network.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, the reference rate is the rate required for normal playback of the content file if the response contains data of the content file.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the reference rate corresponds to a value obtained by dividing a size of a data file required for the specific data service by a time limit set by the user.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a wireless terminal capable of connecting to a plurality of wireless communication networks, when connected to both a first communication network and a second communication network belonging to the plurality of wireless communication networks, A data request for a specific data service is transmitted to the external server through the first communication network or the second communication network; and when the data request for the specific data service is transmitted to the external server via the first communication network or the second communication network, When the connection function to the second communication network is inactive, activates the connection function, and when the connection function corresponds to the termination of the specific data service, the second communication network is connected to the second communication network, The active state of the connection function is maintained if the connection function is active, Configured to switch the connection function to the inactive state when the connection function is in an inactive state at the time of starting the specific data service and when the connection function is not connected to the second communication network at the time of the end of the specific data service, And a control unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a network access function of a wireless terminal in connection with data reception from a remote location, the method comprising: The method comprising the steps of: checking whether the connection function is active and activating the connection function if the connection function is not active; and selectively using the other wireless communication network selectively while receiving or transmitting data necessary for the data service through the specific wireless communication network A step of receiving or transmitting a part of data necessary for the data service, and a step of checking whether the connection function is set to the active state in the step 1 when the data service is terminated, When the wireless terminal is in the active state, To verify that the status of connection with the particular wireless communication network, if the connection remains active in the connection function and, if the non-connection state comprises a third step of switching the connection function inactive.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus capable of providing programs executed in another apparatus through an interface, comprising: an interface capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the outside; And a data storage unit storing a program object executed in the wireless terminal. When the program entity is executed in a wireless terminal capable of simultaneously maintaining a connection state in a first communication network and a second communication network, which are wireless communication networks, the program entity is connected to the first communication network and the second communication network A function of transmitting a data request for a requested data service to an external server via the first communication network or the second communication network and receiving a response to the request; A second function for activating a connection function of the wireless terminal when the connection function for the second communication network is inactive, and a second function for activating the connection function when the data service is terminated, And performs the above-mentioned three functions for selectively performing the above-described control operations And program codes for the < / RTI >

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the program entity corresponds to the end of the data service, instead of the three functions, the program entity may be connected to the second communication network, or when the connection corresponds to the start of the data service The connection function is maintained in an active state when the function is in an active state and the connection function is inactivated at a time of starting the data service, It may include program code for performing the function of switching the connection function to the inactive state.

The wireless terminal performs the automatic connection operation of searching the second communication network periodically or at an arbitrary time interval if the connection function is active and connecting to the connection point of the available second communication network, And does not perform the automatic connection operation when the connection function is in an inactive state.

In the above description of the wireless terminal, method, and apparatus, the first communication network is a communication network supporting cellular communication, and the second communication network and the specific wireless communication network are specific signaling systems To provide locally wireless services within a limited space.

At least one embodiment of the present invention described in detail above with reference to the present invention or the accompanying drawings will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. . In particular, a connection function for a specific wireless communication network, for example, a Wi-Fi network, necessary for using all available wireless communication networks, is controlled in a direction that is convenient for a user. In other words, at the end of the data service provided to the user, if it is determined that the connection to the specific communication network is no longer needed, the connection function is deactivated to reflect the intention of the user for the wireless terminal, If the possibility of use is high or the possibility that the current connection function activation state has been accepted by the user is high, the connection function is kept in the active state.

On the other hand, on the other hand, by using a specific communication network such as a Wi-Fi network automatically to use a data service even if the user does not apply special operation to the wireless terminal, the cost of using the data service can be reduced, It is possible to reduce the power consumption of the wireless terminal by preventing the unnecessary connection to the specific communication network by reflecting the intention of the user without any additional operation by the user. This improves convenience in using the wireless terminal. On the other hand, when the repetitive data service is used, the connection state to the specific communication network is maintained as much as possible. Otherwise, the connection function for the specific communication network is activated for each data service, It is possible to prevent the cellular network from being used for the time period required for the operation. This reduces the cost of the user depending on the amount of data service through the cellular network.

1 is a diagram illustrating a logical configuration of a programmatic view and associated configurations externally connected to related components of a wireless terminal embodying an embodiment of a method of controlling a connection function to a wireless communication network according to a network connection status according to the present invention However,
2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless terminal in which a method of controlling a connection function to a specific wireless communication network according to a network connection state according to an embodiment of the present invention is implemented,
3 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for a connection function to a specific wireless communication network according to a network connection state in a process of receiving data from a remote place according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of dividing the content into sections according to an embodiment of the present invention in order to receive remote content data using a plurality of wireless communication networks, dividing the divided sections into communication networks, FIG.
5A to 5C are diagrams showing that a data service by receiving file data from a remote place and a connection state with respect to a Wi-Fi network may be various forms during the progress of the data service,
6 shows an example of a wireless terminal screen showing that a connection state to a Wi-Fi network is displayed on the screen while a user is viewing an image represented by a data service performed by an arbitrary app, Show,
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a connection function of a Wi-Fi network according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Fig.
8A is a flow chart illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the present invention in which the control operation for the connection function to the Wi-Fi network at the termination of any data service is selectively performed as illustrated in FIG. 7,
8B is a flow chart illustrating a method according to another embodiment of the present invention in which a control operation for a connection function to a Wi-Fi network at the termination of any data service is selectively performed as illustrated in FIG. 7 .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram illustrating a logical configuration of a programmatic view and associated configurations externally connected to related components of a wireless terminal embodying an embodiment of a method of controlling a connection function to a wireless communication network according to a network connection status according to the present invention It is.

The logical configuration of the wireless terminal 100 illustrated in the figure is a programmatic perspective of the operation of the hardware resources (illustrated in FIG. 2) of the wireless terminal 100, the proper signaling and / or information exchange with the resources (Android, IOS, Window, etc.) or an operating system 100a specialized for the present invention, and is also provided with a browser 10a running under the basis of the operating system 100a, And general purpose apps such as player 10b. Of course, a variety of other apps may be implemented, but only the illustrated apps are sufficient for explaining the principles and concepts of the present invention, so an additional app will not be described. The wireless terminal 100 includes a multiple access processor 110 that can selectively or concurrently use a plurality of wireless communication networks, for example, a cellular network and a Wi-Fi network, for data communication with the outside do. The operating system 100a may allocate a plurality of connection IP addresses for data services to the wireless communication networks available as hardware resources of the wireless terminal 100, either by itself or at the request of the application, For example). That is, it supports multiple connections. 1 is set up the operating system (100a) is, the IP2 (100a ₂₎ from IP1 (100a ₁₎ a, Wi-Fi network (11b) from one of the cellular networks (11a) of the public land mobile network get allocated . Of course, the operating system 100a may set a single connection IP address if necessary, or a connection IP address only to the cellular network depending on the connectable state.

The access processing unit 110 includes an internal processing unit 111, an external processing unit 112, and a reception control unit 113 as illustrated in the figure. . The internal processing unit 111 is a processing unit for executing the IP-based data communication (hereinafter, referred to as " execution entity " To create a socket supported by the operating system 100a with another execution entity so that data can be exchanged with the multiple access processor 110 via the socket and data transmitted or received through the socket To and from the external processing unit (112). The external processor 112 transmits a data request to an external server through one or more communication networks that are currently accessible as hardware resources of the wireless terminal 100 and receives response data of the request. The reception control unit 113 checks the type of the wireless communication network that the wireless terminal 100 can use and if the plurality of communication networks can be used, the reception control unit 113 divides a section of the selected remote file, And controls an external request through the external processing unit 112 to be performed. In addition, it performs an operation of controlling the connection function of the operating system 100a to the Wi-Fi network.

The multiple access processor 110 operates in a background mode when there is no special request from the user after execution in the wireless terminal 100. [ And, all or a part of the functions of the multiple access processor 110, the operations of which will be described in detail below, can be achieved by an execution entity configured with instruction code (code) executed on the basis of the operating system 100a have. The program corresponding to the execution entity may be provided to the wireless terminal 100 from a specific server connected to the data communication network. The specific server may include a mass storage means for providing data recorded on a recording medium through an interface provided therein, and a means for transmitting data read through the interface from the mass storage means to another apparatus through a connected data communication network And the program is stored as a single entity on a recording medium of the mass storage means. The entity of the program recorded on the recording medium of the mass storage means is read from the recording medium by the communication means through a normal online purchase process which is performed according to the request of the wireless terminal 100 May be downloaded and installed in the wireless terminal 100 through a data communication network. In some cases, at least some of the functions of the multiple access processor 110 may be implemented in the form of a middleware or platform on which executables are based, or in the form of part of the operating system 100a, Or may be implemented in the terminal 100. In addition, the multiple access processor 110 may include a hardware configuration, so that some of the functions described in detail below may be performed through the hardware. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited by the type of implementation, the type of resources used, and the like, in the multiple access processor 110, the configuration and the operation method of which are described in detail in various embodiments according to the present invention .

In one embodiment of the present invention, a process (process) in which the internal processing unit 111, the external processing unit 112, and the reception control unit 113 are individually performed under the basis of the operating system 100a . Alternatively, the multiple access processor 110 including the internal processing unit 111, the external processing unit 112, and the reception control unit 113 may be implemented as a single process. In this case, information or data exchange between each other can be made through global variables, internal variables or a factor and / or return value of a local function. Therefore, the concept, subject matter, and desired effect of the present invention can be realized based on a premise that the internal processing unit 111, the external processing unit 112, and the reception control unit 113 are separated and executed, And all of the components 111, 112, 113 described below may be integrated into the multiple access processor 110 and implemented as a single process, of course.

Meanwhile, the wireless terminal 100 having the logical configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 includes hardware components as exemplified in FIG. 2 as a whole, and can access both the cellular network and the Wi-Fi network A smartphone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a notebook equipped with a mobile phone function, or the like. The configuration illustrated in the figure will be described in detail with reference to a cellular modem 1a that modulates or demodulates a signal according to a method designated by a public mobile communication network, for example, a 3G or 4G cellular network, A cellular codec 1b that encodes data or decodes the encoded data according to a communication protocol adopted in the cellular network, a designated method of the Wi-Fi network A Wi-Fi modem 2a (which is a component including a processing module of an RF signal) for modulating or demodulating a signal according to a communication protocol adopted in the Wi-Fi network to transmit / receive data to / from the wireless data network, A Wi-Fi codec 2b for encoding or decoding a coded data frame, a display panel 5 for displaying images, characters, and the like, so that arbitrary data is visually displayed on the display panel 5 A display driving unit 4 for driving the display panel 5, a touch sensor 6a attached to the front surface of the display panel 5, and a keypad including a key and / An input control unit 6 for sensing a user input and / or selection on the touch sensor 6a and the keypad 6b and outputting corresponding input information, And a display unit for displaying the UI screen for selecting a desired result of the user or a desired result of the user, so that the operation according to the information can be performed by appropriately transmitting / receiving data to / A main control unit 10 for controlling the main control unit 4 and a memory unit 7 for providing a data storage space necessary for the operation of the main control unit 10. [

The main control unit 10 executes the pre-stored instruction codes such as firmware provided in the main control unit 10 so that the operating system 100a performs the intended function, and the multi-access processor 110 To perform operations of the multiple access processor 110, which will be described in detail below.

The configuration of the wireless terminal 100 illustrated in FIG. 2 is merely an example for explaining a specific example of the concept and subject of the present invention. The terminals implementing the subject may further include or exclude the components illustrated in FIG. 2 (e.g., a GPS receiver, or a decoder that decodes media data) that are not shown in FIG. 2 , And hardware components may be implemented in software.

Hereinafter, a method for controlling a connection function to a wireless communication network according to a network connection state, which is performed by the wireless terminal 100 whose logical configuration is illustrated with the multiple access processor 110 as a center, 3 will be described in detail with reference to a flow chart of a control method for a connection function to a wireless communication network according to a network connection state in a process of receiving data from a remote place. For the sake of explanation, the multi-access processor 110 is activated in the wireless terminal 100 according to a user request through an appropriate UI provided by the main control unit 10, .

In the execution state of the multiple access processor 110, the user can access the wireless communication terminal 100 through the input / output unit (the display panel 5, the touch sensor 6a, the keypad 6b, etc.) For example, the media player 10b, in a front mode, through an appropriate user interface (UI) provided by the main control unit 10, For example, "http://vod.airplug.com/video/movieABC.mp4" for the remote file containing the content data of the content server 12 shown in the drawing , The media player 10b requests the multi-access processor 110 to transmit a data request, such as an HTTP request, based on the corresponding communication protocol. The request by the communication protocol between the media player 10b and the multiple access processor 110 and the transmission of the response are performed according to the promised method.

As another method in which one remote file is designated to the media player 10b, the user selects one content item on the browser 10a in the execution state, and the location information associated with the content item, for example, The request by the communication protocol according to the URL is transmitted to the remote site and the media player 10b may be activated by the MIME type (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension type) described in the response to the transmitted request. In this case, the multi-access processor 110 is requested to perform the same operation as in the case where a remote file is designated on the media player 10b.

A method for the media player (10b) to transmit a request by an arbitrary communication protocol to the multiple access processor (110), characterized in that the operating system (100a) May be used. When the latter function is used, the media player 10b requests a request by the communication protocol according to a user request to the operating system 100a, and the request is forwarded to the multiple access processor 110 . As a method for forwarding a request by the communication protocol to the multiple access processor 110, an internal IP address assigned to the multiple access processor 110 (or the internal processing unit 111) Or via a proxy setting for a specific address promised to specify that it is internal, an IP address configured with "127.0.0.1" or "localhost" and a port number). Alternatively, a platform of a VPN (Virtual Private Network) function may be executed on the basis of the operating system 100a so that a request by the communication protocol that the media player 10b wants to transmit to the outside by the VPN function, And may be forwarded to the access processor 110.

A request by a communication protocol sent from the media player 10b by any one of the methods described above is transmitted to a data channel (for example, a mutually shared memory space or an internal IP address) Socket or the like) to the internal processing unit 111 of the multiple access processor 110 and is transmitted to the reception control unit 113 again by the internal processing unit 111. [ Then, the reception control unit 113 first receives the data service to be performed according to the request according to the received communication protocol, receives the pre-designated special service, for example, the content data from the remote place, and visually or audibly Or a VoIP call service, for example.

One specific method of determining whether the request by the communication protocol received from the other execution entity executed in the wireless terminal 100 is for the special service designated by the reception control section 113 is as follows: , It is determined whether the other execution entity that has transmitted the request by the execution entity corresponds to the execution entity found to be performing the special service. To this end, the reception control unit 113 includes a list of package names for each of the apps for the special service in advance, and stores the list of package names of the other execution objects (in the above description, (Step S301), it is determined that the special service is requested. Otherwise, the general service is requested (S301).

The package name of the other execution entity that has transmitted the request by the communication protocol is notified to the reception control section 113 via the promised method and format. For example, the operating system 100a includes a package name for an execution object that sends a request by a communication protocol through an intent object, which is an information format defined for exchanging information / commands between processes Information can be transmitted to the reception control unit 113. [

In another embodiment according to the present invention, whether or not the received data request, that is, the request based on the communication protocol, is a special service or not can be discriminated based on a request by the received communication protocol. For example, the request based on the received communication protocol may include the address information (information on the host address (for example, "www.youtube.com) " (eg, "www.kbs.co.kr/player", "tvpot.daum.net/live", etc.), or a combination of a portion of the host address and the directory }, The service intended by the request is a special service, otherwise it is determined to be a general service.

In another embodiment according to the present invention, it is determined whether the request by the received communication protocol is a special service or not based on the mime type included in the response received for the request by the communication protocol It may be discriminated. That is, if the mime type described in the response corresponds to the predetermined mime type, it is determined that a special service is performed.

If it is determined that another execution entity wants to use a special service by sending another request by the other protocol entity in the communication protocol (S301), the reception control section 113 first activates the connection function for the Wi-Fi network enable) (S302). Record the value of "Yes" or "No" in "Wi-Fi Enable Variable". When receiving a request by a communication protocol from another executing entity, the reception control section 113 determines that an arbitrary data service has been started, checks whether a special service is requested, and performs operations thereafter. In another embodiment according to the present invention, the point in time at which a specific execution entity is started can be regarded as the start of any data service even if there is no request for transmission of the request by such a communication protocol. For example, if a specific execution entity performs an operation of connecting to a designated remote site at the same time as the startup and receiving necessary data, it is considered that any data service is started at the time of activation or immediately after startup of the particular execution entity , The reception control unit 113 performs an operation of confirming whether the special service is applicable, whether or not the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is activated, and setting the active state accordingly. Whether or not the specific execution entity has been executed can be determined by a method described later, for example, by confirming execution process status information.

In the embodiment according to the present invention, if the future execution of a specific execution entity is certain, it is necessary to confirm whether the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is activated before activating the specific execution entity, . For example, when the multiple access processor 110 is activated, if a designated connection execution entity that performs a data service corresponding to a particular service is automatically executed, And so on. Alternatively, when a first execution entity that performs a data service that does not correspond to a special service is terminated, when a second execution entity that performs a special service associated with the first execution entity is to be executed, The control unit 113 may first perform the activation check operation or the like before the second execution entity is started if the first execution entity is terminated.

In the above-described operation of the reception control unit 113, whether or not the connection function for the Wi-Fi network is activated can be determined by inquiring the operating system 100a. In a state in which the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is activated, the operating system 100a periodically controls the Wi-Fi modem 2a (r11 in FIG. 2) The wireless terminal 100 checks whether an available Wi-Fi network is in the vicinity, and when it finds a connection point of an available Wi-Fi network in the search, requests the wireless terminal 100 to connect to the connection point, Wi-Fi network is also connected to make multiple connections. If the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is disabled, the search operation for the Wi-Fi network is not performed. That is, the wireless terminal 100 always maintains a single connection state to the cellular network.

If the connection function to the current Wi-Fi network is inactive, the reception control unit 113 requests the operating system 100a to activate the connection function for the Wi-Fi network (S303). That is, the operation for connecting to the Wi-Fi network is automatically performed by the operating system 100a. In addition, the reception control unit 113 periodically requests the operating system 100a to search for a Wi-Fi network, designates one connection point according to the search result, and transmits a Wi-Fi And perform an operation of requesting a connection to the network.

The reception control unit 113 performs the confirmation of whether or not the connection function for the Wi-Fi network is activated as described above, and selectively performs the activation setting operation accordingly, and at the same time, (For example, " movieABC.mp4 ") to a specified request and sends a request to the external processing unit 112 for transmission. In this case, it does not specify the communication network to be used for the transmission request of the request.

Upon receipt of the transmission request from the reception control unit 113 without specifying the communication network to be used, the external processing unit 112, which has received the transmission request of the modified communication protocol, socket to the operating system 100a. If the creation of a socket is requested without designating a network, the operating system 100a sends a socket to the destination, which presumes use of the network currently designated as the default network, For TCP session creation, it sends and receives information. When the socket is created as described above, the external processing unit 112 requests the operation system 100a to transmit a request based on the communication protocol received from the reception control unit 113 to the operating system 100a through the socket, To the destination of the request.

If the wireless terminal 100 is currently connected to only one of the cellular networks 11a, it is naturally transmitted through hardware resources (the cellular codec 1b / cellular modem 1a) for communication with the cellular network, The operating system 100a designates the default network as a Wi-Fi network, so that hardware resources for communication with the Wi-Fi network (the Wi- Fi codec 2b / Wi-Fi modem 2a). The transmitted request reaches the content server 12 via the cellular network 11a or the Wi-Fi network 11b and the data communication network at the rear end thereof, and the content server 12 To the wireless terminal 100, a response to the request, for example, data associated with the selected content file. Then, the response is received via the cellular network 11a or the Wi-Fi network 11b, and the operating system 100a stores the data of the response in the generated socket, 112 sequentially reads the data blocks stored in the socket and stores them in a storage space readable by the reception control unit 113, and notifies the reception control unit 113 of the storage.

The reception control unit 113 analyzes contents of each data block stored in the storage space to check whether all response data have been received. In addition to the data section of the requested content file transmitted by the content server 12 (a part of the leading part in the above description), the response data for the request according to the transmitted communication protocol includes data of the corresponding file The reception control unit 113 searches for the description information of the corresponding file, and stores the description information in the storage space, if the response data is received in the storage space. Information (for example, the size of the file, etc.). The reception control unit 113 also analyzes the data of the head section of the received file to determine the total playback time of the corresponding media.

As described above, when the size of the requested content file and the playback time of the data are known at the remote location, the speed requested by the corresponding media is grasped. That is, the data is divided by the playback time and stored as the requested speed for the media. This request rate corresponds to the speed required to play normally without any phenomenon such as the content being broken or the image being broken.

Upon receipt of the requested rate of the currently requested content file, the reception control unit 113 transmits the response data received from the external processing unit 112 to the internal processing unit 111. [ Of course, this transfer process may be performed by a method of providing the start address where the external processor 112 stores the response data in the storage space.

The internal processing unit 111 provides the response data to the media player 10b through a data channel that has been received by the multi access processor 110 according to the communication protocol, Uses its response data to perform its own functions. For example, by decoding the content data section included in the received response data, an image or the like is displayed on the display panel 5 of the wireless communication terminal 100, and the requested content is viewed by the requesting user .

On the other hand, the reception control unit 113 performs an operation of receiving the remaining remaining data of the first received data section. Since the communication control unit 113 may use the communication network according to the situation, that is, (DS _i , i = 1, 2,...) Corresponding to an appropriate time size (T _SEG0 ), for example 3 seconds or 5 seconds, for the content file to be received, as illustrated in FIG. .). The data size for the amount of time can be calculated through the required speed of the previously stored media. For example, the data size for T seconds can be obtained by multiplying the media request rate by T seconds.

When the preliminary operation for receiving the content file as described above is completed, the reception control unit 113 notifies the operating system 100a whether the wireless terminal 100 is in the multiple access state connected to the Wi-Fi network, (S310). If the Wi-Fi network is not currently connected, the reception control unit 113 uses only the cellular network 11a to transmit data services to other executing entities, i.e., the media player 10b, (Step S312). In other words, as shown in FIG. 4, a request by a communication protocol requesting a corresponding section is sequentially generated for each of the divided content sections (DS _i , i = 1, 2, ...) ). Data of each interval sequentially received from a remote place according to a request according to a communication protocol for each interval to be transmitted is transmitted either directly by the external processing unit 112 or by the relay of the reception control unit 113 as described above And is transmitted to the internal processing unit 111. At this time, in the received response data according to the request for each section, only the portion corresponding to the data of the content file is transmitted to the internal processing unit 111. The data of each section transmitted in this manner is provided to the media player 10b by the internal processing unit 111 following the data of the head section transmitted in advance.

If it is determined that the WiFi network is currently connected to the Wi-Fi network or is newly connected to the Wi-Fi network while receiving the data using the cellular network alone (S310) The reception control unit 113 simultaneously receives the content data required for the data service of the media player 10b from the remote location using the cellular network 11a and the Wi-Fi network 11b at step S311. In this case, in the simultaneous use of the communication network, a Wi-Fi network is preferably used, and a cellular network is additionally used in order to supplement the service speed. The term " combined " is used herein for this use for both networks. Accordingly, in the description of the embodiments of the present invention, the term " combined " of both communication networks should not be construed to be limited to only receiving data using both communication networks at all times, If such a case does not occur, it should be construed as including the use of a single network. Hereinafter, an operation of the reception control unit 113 for 'combining' both communication networks will be described in detail.

When the reception control unit 113 requests the external processing unit 112 to transmit a request based on the communication protocol created for the content period to be requested, the external processing unit 112 transmits the request to the operating system 100a Requests the creation of a socket. In response to this request, the operating system 100a creates a socket that presupposes the use of the communication network designated as the current default network. Since the Wi-Fi network is designated as the default network when the Wi-Fi network is also connected, It creates a socket that presumes the use of a Wi-Fi network. After the socket is created by the operating system 100a, the request for the communication protocol received from the reception controller 113 is transmitted to the operating system 100a through the socket, whereby the Wi- It is used for the transmission of requests. Accordingly, from the point of time when the connection of the Wi-Fi network is confirmed, the remote data necessary for the data service of the other executing entity starts to be received through the Wi-Fi network 11b in the connected state. The data of the content section received through the Wi-Fi network 11b is received by the external processing unit 112 through the operating system 100a as described above. The external processing unit 112 is connected to another storage space (hereinafter referred to as " C storage space ") different from a space (hereinafter referred to as "C storage space") that is stored when data of a content section is received through the cellular network 11a , "W storage space") and notifies the reception control unit 113 of data blocks belonging to a content section received through the Wi-Fi network.

The reception control unit 113 analyzes the content of each data block at the same time while checking the notification timing from each of the external processing units 112 for each of the data blocks stored in the W storage space, . When all of the response data are received, the time difference between the time t _st at which the first data block of the response data is stored and the time t _end at which the last data block is stored is checked, and the size of the response data stored in the W storage space (RepDS / (t _end- t _st )) is calculated by dividing the data rate (RepDS). The calculated reception rate is the service speed of the Wi-Fi network that is available through the currently connected access point. The reception control unit 113 continuously performs the service speed measurement operation for each content period received through the Wi-Fi network. The data of the content section stored in the W storage space is transferred to the internal processing unit 111 in the same manner as the data stored in the C storage space is transferred to the internal processing unit 111. Of course, the order of transferring the C storage space and the data stored in the W storage space to the internal processing unit 111 is not limited to the interval position information (the entire start data and / or the last data included in the response data stored in each storage space) Location on the data). Alternatively, the reception control unit 113 may record the location information of the transmission requested by the communication network, and may determine the order of the content areas stored in the respective storage spaces based on the recorded location information.

As described above, in a state where the Wi-Fi network is connected, content segments are sequentially received through the Wi-Fi network 11b and the other executing entity, that is, the media player 10b, If the measured service speed is lower than the predetermined reference speed while the speed of the received data is being measured, the reception control unit 113 transmits the insufficient speed to the cellular network 11a in the connected state, .

In an embodiment according to the present invention, the reference rate may be set to the requested rate of the media as described above with respect to the selected content file.

In another embodiment according to the present invention, the rate may be predetermined for the Wi-Fi network. For example, it can be defined as a value corresponding to 50%, or 10% of the average rate (for example, 10 Mbps) generally provided by the Wi-Fi network.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the reference speed may be determined by a user-defined reception time limit. For example, when the user designates the reception time limit, the reception control unit 113 uses the value obtained by dividing the size of the requested content file at the remote site by the designated reception time limit as the reference rate. The reception time limit may be set to be longer than or equal to a request from the execution entity that received the selection of the content file, for example, from the media player 10b, with a request by a communication protocol requesting transmission of the content file, And is transmitted to the reception control unit 113 separately. The reference speed according to the present embodiment is not limited to the case where the selected remote file has content data such as video or audio, but also a file having data of other attributes (for example, text, Of course, can be applied.

When the insufficient speed (the speed at which the measured service speed does not reach the required speed) is supplemented through the cellular network, the segmented data interval is distributed to the cellular network in accordance with the ratio of the insufficient speed to the required speed, . For example, if the insufficient speed is 10%, the 10-divided data sections are sequentially requested to be transmitted through the Wi-Fi network 11b, (Step 41 of FIG. 4). One or more data intervals corresponding to the 10 intervals are requested to be transmitted to the external processing unit 112 through the cellular network 11a (42 in Fig. 4). If 15% is insufficient, one or more data segments are received through the cellular network 11a for the six divided data intervals. Of course, the intervals requested to be received by the cellular network 11a to compensate for the insufficient speed are compared with the interval groups requested through the Wi-Fi network 11b, as illustrated in FIG. 4, It is preferable that the section corresponds to the front side of the image. For example, in a case where one interval is requested to be transmitted to the cellular network for intervals from K to k + 2M ', in order to make the interval shorter than at least' k + M ' It is desirable to request transmission to the cellular network 11a.

When the reception control unit 113 receives a content section of a remote file via the cellular network in a state where a plurality of communication networks are connected, when requesting the external processing unit 112 to transmit a request for a communication protocol specifying the corresponding interval, The use network is designated as a cellular network. When there is a transmission request with the designation of the communication network, when the external processing unit 112 requests the operating system 100a to generate a socket for transmission of the request, it specifies a communication network to be used for data via the socket. The designation of the communication network to be used is made by referring to the network connection information provided by the operating system 100a upon request. The network connection information includes the connection IP address allocated from the communication network when connected to the communication network and its connection type (for example, 3G mobile communication network, Wi-Fi network, etc.) A network to be used is designated by designating a connection type for a communication network to be used, or by requesting generation of a socket by designating a connection IP address associated with the connection type. For a request to create a socket that specifies a network to be used, the operating system 100a ignores the default network specified by the operating system 100a and generates a socket that presumes use of the designated network in the creation request. After the socket is created, the external processing unit 112 requests the operation system 100a to transmit a request based on the communication protocol received from the reception control unit 113 to the operating system 100a through the socket, That is, the cellular network is used for the transmission of the request. That is, under the control of the operating system 100a, the hardware resources for the cellular network (the cellular codec 1b and the cellular modem 1a) are transmitted to the remote site. Accordingly, when the response data including the requested content period transmitted from the content server 12 is received through the socket via the cellular network 11a, the external processor 112 transmits the response data to the C And notifies the reception control unit 113 of the result.

In a case where the sections for the content file are divided into two communication networks and received according to the combination of the plurality of communication networks using the cellular network 11a additionally, the reception control section 113, as described above, And the content sections stored in the C storage space to the internal processing unit 111 in accordance with the order on the corresponding file.

As described above, the operation (S311) of receiving the data by using the cellular network and the Wi-Fi network together with other executable objects, that is, a remote file selected by the media player 10b, and transmitting the received data to the executing entity The operation S312 of receiving and transmitting data of the remote file using only the cellular network is selected and performed according to whether the wireless terminal 100 is connected to the Wi-Fi network (S310) , And continues until the data service by the other executing entity is terminated (S320).

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 5A, while the data service regarded as a special service is being performed by the other executing entity, the connection point of the Wi-Fi network available in the vicinity of the wireless terminal 100 It may not be found. At this time, since the connection function to the Wi-Fi network has been activated previously, the operating system 100a repeats the Wi-Fi network connection (or the request to the operating system 100a of the reception control unit 113) Only the search 51 is performed. Of course, since the Wi-Fi network can be used at the start of the data service considered as the special service, the connection state with the Wi-Fi network is maintained (52) until the end of the data service, It is possible. 5C, the connection with the Wi-Fi network may be canceled due to the movement of the wireless terminal 100 or a change in the service characteristic of the connection point during the data service is in progress (for example, 53), and may be connected to the other access point after the termination thereof, thereby being connected to the Wi-Fi network again (54).

As described above, the connection state to the Wi-Fi network can be generated in various forms as time elapses. Depending on the change of the connection state to the Wi-Fi network, the communication network can be used alone or in combination with the remote (S320), the reception control unit 113 determines whether or not the value of whether to activate the connection function for the Wi-Fi network at the start of the special service that has been terminated I.e., the value recorded in the above-mentioned "Wi-Fi Enable Variable" (S321).

In this specification, the termination of a data service regarded as a special service means that when another execution entity that requests the data service, that is, the media player 10b is terminated, When it comes. The termination may occur in a state in which all the data of the remote file selected for the data service is not received. The execution end of another executing entity or the switching to the backing mode can be known by the other executing entity notifying such a fact in a promised manner with the multiple access processor 110. Or the situation where the internal processing unit 111 fails to deliver data to another executing entity. Alternatively, the reception control unit 113 may periodically notify the operating system 100a of the execution process status information to check whether the other execution entity is switched to the end mode or the back side mode. The execution process status information provided by the operating system 100a upon request includes information such as the ID of the process being executed, the package name, and the execution mode (front execution, back execution) If there is no package name of another executing entity that has previously transmitted a request based on the communication protocol for starting the special service in the identified status information, it can be known that the executing entity is terminated. If the package name is present, It is possible to know whether or not the mode has been switched to the back side mode.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when a data service is regarded as a special service and the screen state of the wireless terminal 100 is turned off or is in a locked state, it is determined that the data service is terminated. The reception control unit 113 may periodically inquire the operating system 100a for confirmation of such a state change. Alternatively, by registering an event in the operating system 100a for such a state change, the operating system 100a may be informed of such a state change when the state change occurs.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, when a last content section of a remote file selected for data service is received and transmitted to the media player 10b, it is determined that the data service is terminated. Alternatively, when a predetermined period of time (for example, three minutes, five minutes, etc.) has elapsed since a state in which no content section is received after delivery of an arbitrary content section of the selected remote file to the media player 10b , It may be determined that the corresponding data service is terminated. Of course, the term "termination of the special service" in this specification is used to mean that the data service is considered to be terminated by such determination.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, after a connection to a remote place opened for data service is released, it may be determined that the data service has been terminated after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. Here, the term "connection release" means that when a Wi-Fi network is used, not only the connections established in the Wi-Fi network but also the connections established to the cellular network are released for the selected remote file. That is, the case where the established connection is held in any one of the two communication networks is excluded. When the established connection is released, the socket associated with the socket is closed by the operating system 100a, so that the external processor 112 recognizes the closing of each socket, thereby determining whether the connection established in the communication network is released . The communication control unit 113 is notified of the connection release of the communication network together with the communication network identification information.

On the other hand, if the current value of the "Wi-Fi Enable Variable" thus confirmed indicates that the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is inactive at the start of the special service (S321) Fi network is selected and set. When there is a Wi-Fi network available while the special service requested by another executing entity exists, the receiving control unit 113 activates the connection function unconditionally to use the Wi-Fi network. Therefore, at the start of the special service, The fact that the connection function is in the inactive state means that the current active state is not intended to be set by the user of the wireless terminal 100. [ Therefore, it is determined whether the setting of the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is more advantageous to the user's convenience, and the control operation 330 (hereinafter referred to as "connection function control operation "). ≪ / RTI >

In the connection function control operation 330, first, when the special service is terminated (the term " end " means including the case of " Quot ;, " when "or" when corresponding to termination "has the same meaning), it is confirmed whether the wireless terminal is currently connected to the Wi-Fi network (S331). If it is currently connected to the Wi-Fi network, the reception control unit 113 maintains the active state of the current connection function (S332). At this time, since the connection function is already activated for the Wi-Fi network, no request is made to the operating system 100a. If the Wi-Fi network is connected at the end of the data service, the reason why the connection function remains in the active state is that although the user does not activate the connection function to the Wi-Fi network, , While the data service is being provided, the user is connected to the Wi-Fi network shown in the specific area 61 on the screen while viewing the video 60 based on the content displayed on the screen of the wireless terminal 100 The user is still able to access the Wi-Fi network automatically because it is very likely that the user has recognized the status indicator 61a indicating that the user has been notified of the status indicator 61a and the corresponding service is terminated It will be perceived that the wireless terminal 100 is configured to be enabled. Accordingly, in consideration of this point, if the Wi-Fi network is connected when the data service is terminated, the reception control unit 113 maintains the active state of the connection function for the Wi-Fi network. By maintaining the active state without returning to the inactive state of the connection function set by the user in this way, when another data service is requested thereafter, the connection state to the Wi-Fi network is activated to make the connection state And the probability that the Wi-Fi network in the connected state will be available immediately is increased. This makes it possible to receive a greater amount of data service from the user over the Wi-Fi network as compared with the case where the data service is not provided to the user, thereby providing a cost advantage in view of the user.

In one embodiment of the present invention, even when the wireless terminal is currently connected to the Wi-Fi network, the time at which the connection is maintained until the special service ends is at least a predetermined reference time (for example, 30 seconds Etc.), it is possible to keep the connection function active. For this embodiment, when the wireless terminal 100 is connected to the Wi-Fi network, the reception control unit 113 notifies the fact from the operating system 100a of an event, Is counted. Of course, the counting holding time is initialized when the connection with the Wi-Fi network is canceled in the middle.

In the connection function control operation 330, when the data service is not connected to the Wi-Fi network at the time of termination, the reception control unit 113 requests the operating system 100a to perform Wi-Fi The connection function to the network is inactivated (S333). This is because even if the user does not activate the connection function to the Wi-Fi network but keeps the connection function to the Wi-Fi network active, in view of the fact that the current Wi-Fi network is not connected Since the probability of the connection state of the Wi-Fi network to be maintained for a considerable time is not high, it is difficult to provide a cost advantage to the user. Therefore, for convenience of the user, the connection function is disabled and restored to the original state so that the user does not operate it separately and deactivates it again.

In one embodiment of the present invention, when checking whether the connection function control operation 330 is currently connected to the Wi-Fi network (S331), not only the connected state but also the connected Wi-Fi The service characteristics of the network are also confirmed. In this embodiment, when the arbitrary data service identified as the special service is terminated, even if it is connected to the current Wi-Fi network, if the service characteristic to be confirmed exhibits characteristics lower than the standard, that is, , The Wi-Fi network connection function is set not to be in the active state but to the inactive state. This means that if the connection quality can be maintained but the quality of service provided is poor, a part of the content data may be received even if the connection point is connected to the Wi-Fi network through the connection point. However, Additional information amount for communication to be added, and additional operations such as re-segmentation of the content section or change of the supplementary section through the cellular network, etc.) can be relatively large.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, the service characteristic (the average rate or the latest measured rate) provided by the connection point of the Wi-Fi network measured as described above until the end of the data service may be the service characteristic . In the present embodiment, when the measured service speed is less than a predetermined limit speed (for example, 10 KByte / sec or 10% or 5% of the requested rate of the content), the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is disabled . Alternatively, if the variation of the measured service speed exhibits a characteristic lower than the reference, that is, if the fluctuation width is greater than or equal to a certain reference width, the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is inactivated . The reception control unit 113 measures the service speed as described above in units of a predetermined time, determines that the service quality is bad when the deviation of the measured service speeds exceeds the reference value, The function is set to be inactivated.

In another embodiment according to the present invention, the characteristic of the physical signal of the current connection point maintaining the connection state may be the service characteristic. In this embodiment, when the arbitrary data service identified as the special service is terminated, even if it is connected to the current Wi-Fi network, if the characteristic of the signal strength of the currently connected connection point exhibits a characteristic lower than the reference, Is lower than the reference strength (this reference strength can be set to, for example, 20% higher signal strength of the signal strength (e.g., -80 dBm) at which the wireless terminal automatically releases the connection with the connection point) The connection quality to the Wi-Fi network is set to be inactive because it is assumed that the service quality that the connection point can provide is bad. In the present embodiment, the reception controller 113 can request the information of the access point to the operating system 100a to confirm the signal strength of the current access point. If there is a request for information about an access point, the operating system 100a determines whether the information (SSID, MAC address, etc.) that the Wi-Fi modem 2a has confirmed in connection with the access point and the signal strength (RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indicator) from the Wi-Fi modem 2a and provides the received information to the reception controller 113. In another embodiment of the present invention, If the periodicity is periodically checked during the course of data service and the variability of the signal strengths for the same connection point thus identified exhibits a characteristic lower than the reference, i.e. if the variability is above a certain standard deviation, The signal strength at the end point and the fluctuation width of the signal strength may be considered together with the determination as to whether the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is to be activated or not. Group volatility nopeumyeonseo signal strength than the reference intensity, and maintains the connection features of the Wi-Fi network when less than the reference deviation as active, otherwise it is set to inactive.

On the other hand, if the value of the "Wi-Fi enable variable" checked at the end of the special service indicates that the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is active at the start of the special service (S321) 113 do not perform the connection function control operation 330 as described above. This is because even if the connection state to the Wi-Fi network is maintained until the end of the data service (in the example of FIG. 5B) ), The case where the connection state is maintained intermittently (the example of FIG. 5C), and the fact that the user has set the connection function for the Wi-Fi network to the active state.

In the embodiment of the present invention, even when the reception control unit 113 does not activate the connection function for the Wi-Fi network at the start of any data service identified as a special service, The connection function control operation 330 as described above may be performed at the end of the operation. 7 is a diagram for describing the present embodiment in detail. In FIG. 7, a separate data service (71 _k , k = 1, 2, 3, ...) (for example, Play, reception of data from a remote place by different apps, etc.) are progressed successively. The control operation of the connection function in the process illustrated in Fig. 7 will be described in more detail below.

When the first data service 71 ₁ determined as a special service is started, it is set to the active state 701 by the method according to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 3, with the connection disabled function for the Wi-Fi network being set ), The connection state to the Wi-Fi network is maintained when the data service 71 ₁ is terminated. Therefore, in the control operation 330 for the connection function to the Wi-Fi network, The state is maintained (72 ₁ ). When the next data service 71 ₂ identified as the special service is started, a method according to the flowchart exemplified in FIG. 3 is performed as in the case of the start of the _first data service 71 ₁ , At the start of the service (721), the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is already active. Therefore, in this case, according to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 3, the connection function control operation 330 as described above should not be performed at the end 722 of the corresponding service. However, in an embodiment according to the present invention, the reception control unit 113 also performs a control operation for the connection function to the Wi-Fi network as described above (73 ₂ ). In the illustrated case, since the connection state to the Wi-Fi network is maintained in the control operation 73 ₂ , the active state is maintained for the connection function to the Wi-Fi network (72 ₂ ). Likewise, for the next data service 71 ₃ identified as a special service, a control operation for the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is performed at the termination of the service (732) (73 ₃ ) , Since the connection state to the Wi-Fi network is released, the connection function is set to be inactive (72 ₃ ).

As described above, even if the reception control unit 113 itself does not directly set the connection function to the Wi-Fi network to the active state at the start of any data service identified as the special service (The same meaning that the wireless terminal 100 has a connection function to the Wi-Fi network is active), and at the end of the special service 722 and 732, the connection function to the Wi- The control operations 73 ₂ and 73 ₃ are performed in such a manner that the reception control section 113 directly connects to the special service 71 ₁ at the start of the special service 71 ₁ advanced prior to the arbitrary special service 71 ₂ or 71 ₃ (701), and the time (T ₂ or T ₃ ) elapsed from the activation time is within the designated time limit (T _LIMIT ).

7, when the reception control unit 113 activates the connection function to the Wi-Fi network at the start of the special service (that is, when the special service start (I.e., when the connection function to the Wi-Fi network at the time is in an inactive state), the time at that time is inquired to the operating system 100a and confirmed, and the confirmed time is recorded in the "Enable Time Variable". When the arbitrary data service identified as the special service is terminated, even if it does not activate the connection function to the Wi-Fi network at the start of the arbitrary data service, If the time difference is smaller than the time limit T _LIMIT (for example, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.), the reception control unit 113 transmits the reception time to the Wi-Fi network Control operation 330 of the connection function is performed. If the time difference is equal to or greater than the time limit, the setting state of the connection function to the current Wi-Fi network, that is, the activation state is maintained. This is because, while the limit time of the above-mentioned example has elapsed, the user is aware that the Wi-Fi network is continuously or intermittently connected, and is likely to have accepted the activated state as it is. Keeping the state as it is will more faithfully reflect the implied will of the user.

Meanwhile, the multiple access processor 110 may be started and terminated in conjunction with another executing entity, for example, the media player 10b, executed in the wireless terminal 100, May be interrupted. In this case, the value of the "Enable Time Variable" to which the reception control section 113 records the value is initialized at the next startup. In this case, the reception control unit 113 records the value of the "Enable Time variable" at a specific position of the file in which it is stored. When the multiple access processor 110 is restarted, the reception control unit 113 reads the value at that position and sets the value to the "Enable Time Variable", thereby maintaining information about the time point at which the connection function is activated .

As described with reference to FIG. 7, the control operation for the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is selectively performed when any service identified as the special service is terminated, as shown in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 8A . If the reception control unit 113 itself sets the activation of the connection function to the Wi-Fi network at the start of the special service when any special service is terminated (S811), the control operation for the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is performed unconditionally (S814), and if not, the arbitrary When the reception control unit 113 itself activates the connection function to the Wi-Fi network prior to the special service and the elapsed time is within the limit time from then (after the most recent activation when the connection function is activated several times) The control operation for the connection function described above is performed. (1) the connection to the Wi-Fi network has not been activated at the start of the currently terminated special service, and the connection function has not been activated in the previous special service, and When the connection function to the Wi-Fi network has not been activated at the start of the service and the connection function has been activated in the previous special service but the elapsed time has exceeded the limit time, The presently set activation state of the connection function to the Wi-Fi network is maintained without performing the function control operation.

The reception control unit 113 may selectively perform a control operation for a connection function to the Wi-Fi network when a special service is terminated in a manner different from the flowchart shown in FIG. 8A. FIG. 8B is a flowchart thereof. In the operation according to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 8B, the reception control unit 113, at the end of any special service, notifies the Wi-Fi network at the start of the service as well as at the start of the special service It is checked whether the connection function has been activated (S821). If the time elapsed from the activation setting (the most recent activation setting when there are a plurality of activation settings) is equal to or longer than the time limit (S822), the connection function to the Wi-Fi network (S823). In other cases, the currently set activation state is maintained without performing the connection function control operation. In the flow diagram illustrated in FIG. 8B, if the time limit is typically much longer than the time it takes for one data service to complete, the operation according to FIG. 8B will yield exactly the same results as the operation according to FIG. 8A.

In the above-described embodiments, the multi-access processor 110, which is an execution entity that relays data for data service to another execution entity, controls a connection function for a Wi-Fi network at the end of a data service requested by another execution entity . In another embodiment according to the present invention, the control operation of the connection function to the Wi-Fi network at the time of termination of the data service is performed by an execution entity that directly provides the data service to the user, for example, the multiple access processor 110 Or a remote viewer viewer application that allows a user to directly receive and view a remote file without using the remote viewer. In other words, the remote viewer app includes a component corresponding to the external processor 112 and the reception controller 113, which operate as described above, so that when the remote viewer app is activated or when the user requests remote content When a user wants to receive file data from a remote site using a single network or a plurality of networks, he or she activates the connection function to the current Wi-Fi network when the network is inactive, , It is possible to perform the control operation 330 for the connection function to the Wi-Fi network as described above. Of course, if the connection function is not activated at the time of starting the service, the activation state of the connection function set at the time of service termination is not changed .

In the case of the remote viewer app operating as described above, each special service (71 _k , k = 1, 2, 3, ..) illustrated in FIG. 7 is separately and sequentially requested The remote viewer app can of course perform the optional execution of the connection function control operation described with reference to FIG. 7 (operation according to the flowchart exemplified in FIG. 8A or 8B), as it corresponds to the play for each content file received have.

The control operation of the connection function to the Wi-Fi network and the selective operation of the control operation described above may be performed by a dedicated process (CM) that is executed by default for network connection management of the wireless terminal 100 : Connection Manager, etc.). In such a case, the dedicated process is notified of the start and end of the data service provided by the other execution entity to the user or the start and the end of the data service that the other execution entity provides to the user through data transmission / reception with the outside . Then, in association with the start and end, the above-described connection function control operation is performed. As a matter of course, the connection function control operation may be selectively performed as described above for the sequential starting and ending repetition.

Up to now, various embodiments of the present invention have been described as being performed by receiving data from a remote place. However, the present invention can be applied not only to a data service that requires data reception from a remote site, but also to a data service that requires data transmission to a remote location. For example, when a data request for transmitting a local file to a remote place (for example, a request by a communication protocol of HTTP: put format, etc.) is directly transmitted to the outside through an arbitrary execution entity, When it is determined that the data service has been started by the relay of the multiple access processor 110 and the last data of the local file is transmitted to the outside by the transmission (or when the connection established for the transmission is released The data service can be determined to have ended. Then, the connection function control operation for the above-described Wi-Fi network is performed for the start and end of the data service. In the case of file transmission to a remote location, the multiple access processor 110 also receives a response to the data request for the file transmission (for example, information indicating "file reception success"), ) To the requesting execution entity.

Further, in the case where the data service for the file transfer to the remote place is carried out sequentially several times, or in the orderly mixed with the data service for receiving the remote file data, in association with the start and end of each data service, The connection function control operation may be selectively performed.

Up to now, the principles and concepts of the present invention have been specifically illustrated and described by exemplifying a Wi-Fi network that is a high-speed wireless LAN as an object of connection function of a wireless terminal. However, the principle and concept of the present invention is that the service area is localized compared to the cellular network by forming a locally service zone in a limited place, such as a Wi-Fi network, and service zones are dispersed, The present invention may be applied to a wireless communication network in which communication is not ensured (i.e., handover is not guaranteed) or communication continuity is partially ensured. In addition, in the case of any communication network outside the cellular network in which a mode (enable, disable) for setting by the user so as to be able to access automatically when it is searched is provided irrespective of the communication system, Can be applied as it is. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the wireless communication network to which the present invention is applied, and the present invention should be construed as falling under the scope of the present invention.

The various embodiments described above and the methods and the like described in the embodiments can be selectively combined with each other in various ways unless they are incompatible with each other.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. , Alteration, substitution, addition, or the like.

1a: cellular modem 1b: cellular codec
2a: Wi-Fi modem 2b: Wi-Fi codec
4: Display driver 5: Display panel
6: Input control unit 6a: Touch sensor
6b: Keypad 7: Memory
10: main control unit 10a: browser
10b: media player 11a: cellular network
11b: Wi-Fi network 12: Content server
51, 80 ₁ , 80 ₂ : communication socket 100: wireless terminal
100a: operating system (O / S) 110: multiple access processor
111: internal processing unit 112: external processing unit
113:

Claims (26)

1. A wireless terminal capable of connecting to a plurality of wireless communication networks,
A processing unit configured to transmit a data request for a requested specific data service to an external server through one or more communication networks in the plurality of wireless communication networks and receive a response to the request,
The data request is transmitted to the external server through the first communication network or the second communication network when the first communication network and the second communication network belonging to the plurality of wireless communication networks are all connected And activates the connection function when the connection function of the wireless terminal to the second communication network is in an inactive state when the specific data service is started, and when the connection function corresponds to the termination of the specific data service, And a control unit configured to perform the control operation if the connection function is in an inactive state without performing a control operation for the connection function if the connection function is active when the specific data service is started,
In the control operation, when the specific data service is terminated, the active state of the connection function is maintained while the connection function is connected to the second communication network. If the connection function is not connected to the second communication network, State,
The wireless terminal performs an automatic connection operation of searching for the second communication network periodically or at an arbitrary time interval if the connection function is active and connecting to the connection point of the available second communication network if the connection function is active, And does not perform the automatic connection operation when the connection function is in an inactive state. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit selects the control operation based on whether the control unit has activated the connection function before the start of the connection function when the connection function is active when the connection function is activated at the start of the specific data service To the wireless terminal. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the control unit does not perform the control operation if the connection function has not been activated before the start of the specific data service, And selectively performs the control operation on the basis of a time elapsed from when the mobile terminal has been activated to the end of the specific data service from the latest activated time. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the control unit performs the control operation when the elapsed time is less than the predetermined time limit and does not perform the control operation when the elapsed time is longer than the predetermined time limit. The method according to claim 1,
When it is the start of the specific data service,
When the data request is transmitted to the external server,
When an execution entity that performs the specific data service is activated,
And when the execution entity that performs the specific data service is to be activated, the execution entity is any one of the pre-activation. The method according to claim 1,
In the control operation, when the time corresponding to the termination of the specific data service is connected to the second communication network, the connection function is switched to the inactive state when the time when the connection is held is shorter than the specified reference time Lt; / RTI > The method according to claim 1,
The control operation may be performed such that the service characteristic of the second communication network at the time of the termination of the specific data service or prior to the termination of the specific data service reaches a predetermined criterion And the connection function is switched to an inactive state when a lower characteristic is exhibited. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the service characteristic is a service speed that the second communication network has provided in receiving the data included in the response or a variation width of the service speed. The method according to claim 1,
The control operation may be such that the signal characteristic of the second communication network at the time of the termination of the specific data service or prior to the termination of the specific data service reaches a predetermined criterion And the connection function is switched to an inactive state when a lower characteristic is exhibited. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the signal characteristic is a strength of a signal received from the second communication network or a variability of the signal strength. The method according to claim 1,
When it is determined that the specific data service is terminated,
When an execution entity that receives data included in the response and expresses an image or audio based on the data through the wireless terminal is terminated,
When the execution entity is switched to a running state on the wireless terminal,
When the screen state of the wireless terminal is turned off or locked,
When the end of the remote file necessary for the specific data service is received,
When a predetermined period of time elapses from the receipt of an arbitrary section of the remote location file to the state where no data is received,
And when the established connection with the external server is released for the specific data service. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the specific data service is a service for receiving data from a remote place or a service for transmitting data to a remote place. The method according to claim 1,
A second processing unit configured to transfer data included in the response received by the processing unit from a remote location to a specific execution entity requested to start the specific data service from the user in accordance with the transmission of the data request through the processing unit Further comprising: 15. The method of claim 14,
The specific data service is determined as a special service by the control unit,
If it is determined that any data service intended for the second data request received from the arbitrary executable entity executed in the wireless terminal through the second processing unit is not for the special service, And is configured so as not to perform any control on the connection function for the wireless terminal. 16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the control unit determines whether the arbitrary data service belongs to the special service based on information identifying the arbitrary executable entity or based on the address information included in the second data request, Based on the information included in the response received from the remote site for the request. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the processing unit and the control unit are included in an execution entity that expresses an image or audio based on data included in the response through the wireless terminal. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit transmits a data request for a partial interval of a remote file required for the specific data service through the processing unit when the speed of receiving the data included in the response through the second communication network is lower than a predetermined reference speed So that a part of the data of the remote file is also received through the first communication network. 19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein the reference rate is a rate required for normal playback of the content file if the response includes data of the content file. 19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein the reference speed corresponds to a value obtained by dividing a size of a data file necessary for the specific data service by a time limit set by the user. delete The method according to claim 1,
The first communication network is a communication network supporting cellular mobile communication,
Wherein the second communication network is a communication network that locally provides wireless services within a limited area due to a particular signaling scheme. 1. A wireless terminal capable of connecting to a plurality of wireless communication networks,
A processing unit configured to transmit a data request for a requested specific data service to an external server through one or more communication networks in the plurality of wireless communication networks and receive a response to the request,
The data request is transmitted to the external server through the first communication network or the second communication network when the first communication network and the second communication network belonging to the plurality of wireless communication networks are all connected And activates the connection function when the connection function of the wireless terminal to the second communication network is in an inactive state when the specific data service is started, and when the connection function corresponds to the termination of the specific data service, The mobile terminal maintains the active state of the connection function even if the connection function is inactive at the time of starting the specific data service when the mobile communication terminal is connected to the second communication network, When the connection function is in an inactive state at the time of the start of the connection Doedoe switch the function inactive configuration and the connecting function to maintain the active yeoteumyeon active;
The wireless terminal performs an automatic connection operation of searching for the second communication network periodically or at an arbitrary time interval if the connection function is active and connecting to the connection point of the available second communication network if the connection function is active, And does not perform the automatic connection operation when the connection function is in an inactive state. A method for controlling a network connection function of a wireless terminal in connection with data reception from a remote location,
A step of checking whether a connection function of the wireless terminal with respect to a specific wireless communication network is active when the requested data service is started and activating the connection function when the wireless connection is not active;
A second step of receiving or transmitting a part of data necessary for the data service by selectively using another wireless communication network while receiving or transmitting data necessary for the data service through the specific wireless communication network,
The mobile terminal determines whether the connection function is set to the active state in the first step when it is determined that the connection function is set to the active state in the first step, State, and maintains the active state of the connection function when it is connected, and turns the connection function into an inactive state when the connection function is not connected, and when the connection function is set to the active state before the first step And maintaining the active state at the end of the data service,
The wireless terminal performs an automatic connection operation of searching for the specific wireless communication network periodically or at an arbitrary time interval if the connection function is active and connecting to the connection point of the available specific wireless communication network if the connection function is active, And not to perform the automatic connection operation if the connection function is in an inactive state. 1. An apparatus capable of providing programs to be executed in another apparatus through an interface,
An interface capable of transmitting / receiving data with the outside,
And data storage means for storing a program object executed in the wireless terminal, the data being provided to the outside via the interface,
When the program entity is executed in a wireless terminal capable of simultaneously maintaining a connection state with the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network,
When the wireless terminal is connected to both the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network, transmits a data request for the requested data service to the external server through the first wireless communication network or the second wireless communication network, A function of receiving a response to the request,
A function of activating a connection function of the wireless terminal when the connection function to the second wireless communication network is in an inactive state at the start of the data service,
When the data service is terminated, performing a control operation to perform the control operation if the connection function is in an inactive state while the connection function is in an active state when the data service is started Program code,
In the control operation, when the data service is terminated, the active state of the connection function is maintained, and if the connection function is not connected to the second wireless communication network, Is switched to the inactive state,
The wireless terminal searches for the second wireless communication network periodically or at an arbitrary time interval if the connection function is active and performs an automatic connection operation to access the connection point of the available second wireless communication network And does not perform the automatic connection operation if the connection function is in an inactive state. 1. An apparatus capable of providing programs to be executed in another apparatus through an interface,
An interface capable of transmitting / receiving data with the outside,
And data storage means for storing a program object executed in the wireless terminal, the data being provided to the outside via the interface,
When the program entity is executed in a wireless terminal capable of simultaneously maintaining a connection state with the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network,
When the wireless terminal is connected to both the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network, transmits a data request for the requested data service to the external server through the first wireless communication network or the second wireless communication network, A function of receiving a response to the request,
A function of activating a connection function of the wireless terminal when the connection function to the second wireless communication network is in an inactive state at the start of the data service,
When the data service is terminated, maintains the active state of the connection function even if the connection function is in an inactive state at the time of starting the data service when the data communication service is connected to the second wireless communication network, When the connection function is in an inactive state at a time when the data service is started, if the connection function is not connected to the wireless communication network, the connection function is switched to an inactive state, and if the connection function is in an active state, And a program code for executing the program,
The wireless terminal searches for the second wireless communication network periodically or at an arbitrary time interval if the connection function is active and performs an automatic connection operation to access the connection point of the available second wireless communication network And does not perform the automatic connection operation if the connection function is in an inactive state.

Images