KR101674951B1 - Mobile terminal and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a control method thereof, in which usage of a terminal can be realized by further considering convenience of a user. According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, when a WiFi connection is attempted to the wireless AP device in the mobile terminal, the connection procedure is smoothly performed and power consumption is reduced, so that the mobile terminal can be operated for a long time There are advantages.

Description

[0001] MOBILE TERMINAL AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME [0002]

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a control method thereof, in which usage of a terminal can be realized by further considering convenience of a user.

The terminal can move And can be divided into a mobile / portable terminal and a stationary terminal depending on whether the mobile terminal is a mobile terminal or a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal can be divided into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal according to whether the user can directly carry the mobile terminal.

Such a terminal has various functions, for example, in the form of a multimedia device having multiple functions such as photographing and photographing of a moving picture, reproduction of a music or video file, reception of a game and broadcasting, etc. .

In order to support and enhance the functionality of such terminals, it may be considered to improve the structural and / or software parts of the terminal.

Recently, a wireless access point (hereinafter referred to as "AP ") capable of providing a wireless LAN service conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard and a mobile terminal capable of accessing the Internet have been introduced. A wireless local area network (hereinafter referred to as "WLAN") refers to a wireless LAN (WLAN) ) Service. IEEE 802.11 technology is often referred to as "Wi-Fi" in mobile communication technology. The terms "wireless LAN" and "Wi-Fi" used in the following description refer to technologies based on IEEE 802.11.

When the Wi-Fi function is activated in the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal can make a Wi-Fi connection to the wireless AP.

However, in the case of the mobile terminal, since it operates mainly from the battery power source without receiving power from the commercial power source, there is a great need for power saving. Therefore, it is necessary to further study a method of reducing power consumption while the connection procedure is smoothly performed when a WiFi connection is attempted to the wireless AP device in the mobile terminal.

The present invention is proposed in accordance with the above-mentioned need, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless AP apparatus and a method for controlling the wireless terminal apparatus so that the connection procedure is smoothly performed, And a control method thereof.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile communication system including a location information module for locating a current location, a memory module for storing an access point database related to a location associated with the access point, a WiFi module for performing an Wi- And a controller for controlling the Wi-Fi module to search for a neighboring access point based on the current location and the access point database.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile communication system including a mobile communication module for performing mobile communication with a mobile communication base station, a WiFi module for performing an WiFi communication with the access point, a memory unit for storing an access point database, And a controller for controlling the Wi-Fi module to perform search for a neighboring access point based on base station information received from the base station and the access point database.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling an access point, comprising: storing an access point database relating to a location associated with the access point; acquiring a current location through a location information module; Performing a search for a neighboring access point, and connecting the detected access point to a Wi-Fi connection.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for access point management, comprising: storing an access point database related to an access point; performing mobile communication with a mobile communication base station; Performing a search for a neighboring access point, and connecting the detected access point to a Wi-Fi connection.

Effects of the mobile terminal and the control method according to the present invention will be described as follows.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, when a WiFi connection is attempted to the wireless AP device in the mobile terminal, the connection procedure is smoothly performed and power consumption is reduced, so that the mobile terminal can be operated for a long time There are advantages.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2A is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2B is a rear perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method of controlling a mobile terminal according to the present invention.
4 schematically shows a radio environment in which an embodiment of a mobile terminal and its control method according to the present invention can be implemented.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a mobile terminal accesses an AP according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating an activation-deactivation mode transition of the WiFi module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
7 schematically shows a radio environment in which an embodiment of a mobile terminal and its control method according to the present invention can be implemented.
8 and 9 are graphs showing the activation-deactivation mode transition of the WiFi module according to the embodiment of the control method of the mobile terminal according to the present invention.
10 schematically shows a radio environment in which an embodiment of a mobile terminal and a control method thereof according to the present invention can be implemented.
11 is a graph illustrating the activation-deactivation mode transition of the WiFi module according to the embodiment of the present invention.
12 to 15 schematically illustrate a wireless environment in which an embodiment of a mobile terminal and a control method thereof according to the present invention can be implemented.

Hereinafter, a mobile terminal related to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The suffix "module" and " part "for the components used in the following description are given or mixed in consideration of ease of specification, and do not have their own meaning or role.

The mobile terminal described in this specification may include a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), navigation and the like.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The mobile terminal 100 includes a wireless communication unit 110, an audio / video input unit 120, a user input unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, a memory 160, A controller 170, a controller 180, a power supply 190, and the like. The components shown in FIG. 1 are not essential, and a mobile terminal having more or fewer components may be implemented.

Hereinafter, the components will be described in order.

The wireless communication unit 110 may include one or more modules for enabling wireless communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the wireless communication system or between the mobile terminal 100 and the network in which the mobile terminal 100 is located. For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may include a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short range communication module 114, and a location information module 115 .

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives broadcast signals and / or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management server through a broadcast channel.

The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and a terrestrial channel. The broadcast management server may refer to a server for generating and transmitting broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information, or a server for receiving broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information generated by the broadcast management server and transmitting the generated broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information. The broadcast signal may include a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a data broadcast signal, and a broadcast signal in which a data broadcast signal is combined with a TV broadcast signal or a radio broadcast signal.

The broadcast-related information may refer to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, or information related to a broadcast service provider. The broadcast-related information may also be provided through a mobile communication network. In this case, it may be received by the mobile communication module 112.

The broadcast-related information may exist in various forms. For example, an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) of DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) or an ESG (Electronic Service Guide) of Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H).

For example, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S), a Media Forward Link Only A digital broadcasting system such as DVB-CB, OMA-BCAST, or Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T). Of course, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be adapted to other broadcasting systems as well as the digital broadcasting system described above.

The broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information received through the broadcast receiving module 111 may be stored in the memory 160.

The mobile communication module 112 may be coupled to a base station, an external terminal, or a server on a mobile communication network, such as, but not limited to, Gobal System for Mobile communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA Transmits and receives wireless signals with one. The wireless signal may include various types of data depending on a voice call signal, a video call signal or a text / multimedia message transmission / reception.

The wireless Internet module 113 is a module for wireless Internet access, and may be built in or externally attached to the mobile terminal 100. Wireless Internet technologies include WLAN (Wi-Fi), Wibro (Wireless broadband), Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) WCDMA, Long Term Evolution (LTE) (but not limited to), and the like.

Hereinafter, the wireless Internet module by Wi-Fi will be referred to as a "Wi-Fi module ".

In view of the fact that wireless Internet access by Wibro, HSDPA, GPRS, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE or the like is basically performed through a mobile communication network, the wireless Internet module 113, which performs wireless Internet access through the mobile communication network, It may be understood as a kind of communication module 112.

The short-range communication module 114 refers to a module for short-range communication. Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like can be used as a short range communication technology.

The position information module 115 is a module for obtaining the position of the mobile terminal, and a representative example thereof is a Global Position System (GPS) module. According to the current technology, the GPS module 115 calculates distance information and accurate time information from three or more satellites, and then applies trigonometry to the calculated information to obtain a three-dimensional string of latitude, longitude, The location information can be accurately calculated. At present, a method of calculating position and time information using three satellites and correcting an error of the calculated position and time information using another satellite is widely used. In addition, the GPS module 115 can calculate speed information by continuously calculating the current position in real time.

Referring to FIG. 1, an A / V (Audio / Video) input unit 120 is for inputting an audio signal or a video signal, and may include a camera 121 and a microphone 122. The camera 121 processes image frames such as still images or moving images obtained by the image sensor in the video communication mode or the photographing mode. The processed image frame can be displayed on the display unit 151. [

The image frame processed by the camera 121 may be stored in the memory 160 or transmitted to the outside through the wireless communication unit 110. [ Two or more cameras 121 may be provided depending on the use environment.

The microphone 122 receives an external sound signal through a microphone in a communication mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, or the like, and processes it as electrical voice data. The processed voice data can be converted into a form that can be transmitted to the mobile communication base station through the mobile communication module 112 when the voice data is in the call mode, and output. Various noise reduction algorithms may be implemented in the microphone 122 to remove noise generated in receiving an external sound signal.

The user input unit 130 generates input data for a user to control the operation of the terminal. The user input unit 130 may include a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (static / static), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The sensing unit 140 senses the current state of the mobile terminal 100 such as the open / close state of the mobile terminal 100, the position of the mobile terminal 100, the presence or absence of user contact, the orientation of the mobile terminal, And generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, it is possible to sense whether the slide phone is opened or closed. It is also possible to sense whether the power supply unit 190 is powered on, whether the interface unit 170 is connected to an external device, and the like. Meanwhile, the sensing unit 140 may include a proximity sensor 141. This will be discussed later in connection with touch screens.

The output unit 150 is for generating an output relating to visual, auditory or tactile sense and includes a display unit 151, an acoustic output module 152, an alarm unit 153, a haptic module 154, 155, and the like.

The display unit 151 displays (outputs) information processed by the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal is in the call mode, a UI (User Interface) or a GUI (Graphic User Interface) associated with a call is displayed. When the mobile terminal 100 is in the video communication mode or the photographing mode, the photographed and / or received video or UI and GUI are displayed.

The display unit 151 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display display, and a 3D display.

Some of these displays may be transparent or light transmissive so that they can be seen through. This can be referred to as a transparent display, and a typical example of the transparent display is TOLED (Transparent OLED) and the like. The rear structure of the display unit 151 may also be of a light transmission type. With this structure, the user can see an object located behind the terminal body through the area occupied by the display unit 151 of the terminal body.

There may be two or more display units 151 according to the embodiment of the mobile terminal 100. For example, in the mobile terminal 100, a plurality of display portions may be spaced apart from one another or may be disposed integrally with each other, or may be disposed on different surfaces.

(Hereinafter, referred to as a 'touch screen') in which a display unit 151 and a sensor for sensing a touch operation (hereinafter, referred to as 'touch sensor') form a mutual layer structure, It can also be used as an input device. The touch sensor may have the form of, for example, a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert a change in a pressure applied to a specific portion of the display unit 151 or a capacitance generated in a specific portion of the display unit 151 into an electrical input signal. The touch sensor can be configured to detect not only the position and area to be touched but also the pressure at the time of touch.

If there is a touch input to the touch sensor, the corresponding signal (s) is sent to the touch controller (not shown). The touch controller processes the signal (s) and transmits the corresponding data to the controller 180. Thus, the control unit 180 can know which area of the display unit 151 is touched or the like.

The proximity sensor 141 may be disposed in an inner region of the mobile terminal or in the vicinity of the touch screen, which is enclosed by the touch screen. The proximity sensor refers to a sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object approaching a predetermined detection surface or a nearby object without mechanical contact using the force of an electromagnetic field or infrared rays. The proximity sensor has a longer life span than the contact sensor and its utilization is also high.

Examples of the proximity sensor include a transmission type photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection type photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflection type photoelectric sensor, a high frequency oscillation type proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, and an infrared proximity sensor. And to detect the proximity of the pointer by the change of the electric field along the proximity of the pointer when the touch screen is electrostatic. In this case, the touch screen (touch sensor) may be classified as a proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the act of recognizing that the pointer is positioned on the touch screen while the pointer is not in contact with the touch screen is referred to as "proximity touch & The act of actually touching the pointer on the screen is called "contact touch. &Quot; The position where the pointer is proximately touched on the touch screen means a position where the pointer is vertically corresponding to the touch screen when the pointer is touched.

The proximity sensor detects a proximity touch and a proximity touch pattern (e.g., a proximity touch distance, a proximity touch direction, a proximity touch speed, a proximity touch time, a proximity touch position, a proximity touch movement state, and the like). Information corresponding to the detected proximity touch operation and the proximity touch pattern may be output on the touch screen.

The audio output module 152 may output audio data received from the wireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 in a call signal reception mode, a call mode or a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcast reception mode, The sound output module 152 also outputs sound signals related to functions (e.g., call signal reception sound, message reception sound, etc.) performed in the mobile terminal 100. [ The audio output module 152 may include a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, and the like.

The alarm unit 153 outputs a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event of the mobile terminal 100. Examples of events that occur in the mobile terminal include call signal reception, message reception, key signal input, touch input, and the like. The alarm unit 153 may output a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event in a form other than the video signal or the audio signal, for example, vibration. In this case, the display unit 151 and the sound / voice output module 152 may be a kind of the alarm unit 153. The display unit 151 and the sound / . ≪ / RTI >

The haptic module 154 generates various tactile effects that the user can feel. A typical example of the haptic effect generated by the haptic module 154 is vibration. The intensity and pattern of the vibration generated by the hit module 154 can be controlled. For example, different vibrations may be synthesized and output or sequentially output.

In addition to the vibration, the haptic module 154 may include a pin arrangement vertically moving with respect to the contact skin surface, a spraying force or a suction force of the air through the injection port or the suction port, a touch on the skin surface, contact with an electrode, And various tactile effects such as an effect of reproducing a cold sensation using an endothermic or exothermic element can be generated.

The haptic module 154 can be implemented not only to transmit the tactile effect through the direct contact but also to allow the user to feel the tactile effect through the muscular sensation of the finger or arm. At least two haptic modules 154 may be provided according to the configuration of the mobile terminal 100.

The projector module 155 is a component for performing an image project function using the mobile terminal 100 and is similar to the image displayed on the display unit 151 in accordance with a control signal of the controller 180 Or at least partly display another image on an external screen or wall.

Specifically, the projector module 155 includes a light source (not shown) that generates light (for example, laser light) for outputting an image to the outside, a light source And a lens (not shown) for enlarging and outputting the image at a predetermined focal distance to the outside. Further, the projector module 155 may include a device (not shown) capable of mechanically moving the lens or the entire module to adjust the image projection direction.

The projector module 155 can be divided into a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) module, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) module and a DLP (Digital Light Processing) module according to the type of the display means. In particular, the DLP module may be advantageous for miniaturization of the projector module 151 by enlarging and projecting an image generated by reflecting light generated from a light source on a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) chip.

Preferably, the projector module 155 may be provided longitudinally on the side, front or back side of the mobile terminal 100. It goes without saying that the projector module 155 may be provided at any position of the mobile terminal 100 as occasion demands.

The memory unit 160 may store a program for processing and controlling the control unit 180 and temporarily store the input / output data (e.g., telephone directory, message, audio, For example. The memory unit 160 may store the frequency of use of each of the data (for example, each telephone number, each message, and frequency of use for each multimedia).

In addition, the memory unit 160 may store data on vibration and sound of various patterns output when the touch is input on the touch screen.

In addition, the memory unit 160 may store a database in which a location associated with an access point is registered. The database may be created when the mobile terminal 100 first performs the Wi-Fi connection and the connection is disconnected, and may be updated according to the subsequent Wi-Fi connection and connection cancellation. Alternatively, the database may be downloaded from the outside via the Internet, for example, and then updated according to subsequent Wi-Fi connection and disconnection.

The database stores location information associated with the access point. The location information may be a value measured by the location information module 115 at a location where the Wi-Fi module accesses the access point via Wi-Fi. Alternatively, the location information may be a cell ID of a base station to which the mobile communication module is communicating at a location where the Wi-Fi module accesses the access point via Wi-Fi. That is, in the present invention, both the measured value of the position information module 115 and the cell ID may belong to the position information related to the access point. In the database, only the location information related to the access points may be stored, and at least one of the MAC address (Media Access Control Address) and the SSID (Service Set ID) of the access point may be stored together with the location information.

The memory 160 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), PROM A disk, and / or an optical disk. The mobile terminal 100 may operate in association with a web storage that performs a storage function of the memory 160 on the Internet.

The interface unit 170 serves as a path for communication with all external devices connected to the mobile terminal 100. The interface unit 170 receives data from an external device or supplies power to each component in the mobile terminal 100 or transmits data to the external device. For example, a wired / wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired / wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device having an identification module, an audio I / O port, A video input / output (I / O) port, an earphone port, and the like may be included in the interface unit 170.

The identification module is a chip for storing various information for authenticating the use right of the mobile terminal 100 and includes a user identification module (UIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM), a general user authentication module A Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), and the like. Devices with identification modules (hereinafter referred to as "identification devices") can be manufactured in a smart card format. Accordingly, the identification device can be connected to the terminal 100 through the port.

When the mobile terminal 100 is connected to an external cradle, the interface unit may be a path through which power from the cradle is supplied to the mobile terminal 100, or various command signals input by the user to the cradle may be transmitted It can be a passage to be transmitted to the terminal. The various command signals or the power source input from the cradle may be operated as a signal for recognizing that the mobile terminal is correctly mounted on the cradle.

The controller 180 typically controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal. For example, voice communication, data communication, video communication, and the like. The control unit 180 may include a multimedia module 181 for multimedia playback. The multimedia module 181 may be implemented in the control unit 180 or may be implemented separately from the control unit 180. [

The controller 180 may perform a pattern recognition process for recognizing handwriting input or drawing input performed on the touch screen as characters and images, respectively.

The power supply unit 190 receives external power and internal power under the control of the controller 180 and supplies power necessary for operation of the respective components.

The various embodiments described herein may be embodied in a recording medium readable by a computer or similar device using, for example, software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

According to a hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein may be implemented as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays May be implemented using at least one of a processor, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and other electronic units for performing other functions. In some cases, The embodiments described may be implemented by the control unit 180 itself.

According to a software implementation, embodiments such as the procedures and functions described herein may be implemented with separate software modules. Each of the software modules may perform one or more of the functions and operations described herein. Software code can be implemented in a software application written in a suitable programming language. The software code is stored in the memory 160 and can be executed by the control unit 180. [

2A is a perspective view of an example of a mobile terminal or a mobile terminal according to the present invention.

The disclosed mobile terminal 100 includes a bar-shaped terminal body. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied to various structures such as a slide type, a folder type, a swing type, and a swivel type in which two or more bodies are relatively movably coupled.

The body includes a case (a casing, a housing, a cover, and the like) which forms an appearance. In this embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 101 and a rear case 102. [ A variety of electronic components are embedded in the space formed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. At least one intermediate case may be additionally disposed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. [

The cases may be formed by injection molding a synthetic resin, or may be formed to have a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti) or the like.

The display unit 151, the sound output unit 152, the camera 121, the user input units 130/131 and 132, the microphone 122, the interface 170, and the like may be disposed in the front body 101 have.

The display unit 151 occupies most of the main surface of the front case 101. A sound output unit 151 and a camera 121 are disposed in an area adjacent to one end of both ends of the display unit 151 and a user input unit 131 and a microphone 122 are disposed in an area adjacent to the other end. The user input unit 132 and the interface 170 may be disposed on the side surfaces of the front case 101 and the rear case 102. [

The user input unit 130 is operated to receive a command for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100 and may include a plurality of operation units 131 and 132. The operation units 131 and 132 may be collectively referred to as a manipulating portion.

The contents inputted by the first or second operation unit 131 or 132 may be variously set. For example, the first operation unit 131 receives commands such as start, end, scroll, and the like, and the second operation unit 132 controls the size of the sound output from the sound output unit 152 or the size of the sound output from the display unit 151 The touch recognition mode can be activated or deactivated.

2B is a rear perspective view of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 2A.

Referring to FIG. 2B, a camera 121 'may be further mounted on the rear surface of the terminal body, that is, the rear case 102. The camera 121 'may have a photographing direction substantially opposite to that of the camera 121 (see FIG. 2A), and may be a camera having the same or different pixels as the camera 121.

For example, the camera 121 may have a low pixel so that the face of the user can be photographed and transmitted to the other party in case of a video call or the like, and the camera 121 ' It is preferable to have a large number of pixels. The cameras 121 and 121 'may be installed in the terminal body so as to be rotatable or pop-upable.

A flash 123 and a mirror 124 may be additionally disposed adjacent to the camera 121 '. The flash 123 illuminates the subject when the subject is photographed by the camera 121 '. The mirror 124 allows the user to illuminate the user's own face or the like when the user intends to shoot himself / herself (self-photographing) using the camera 121 '.

An acoustic output 152 'may be additionally disposed on the rear surface of the terminal body. The sound output unit 152 'may implement the stereo function together with the sound output unit 152 (see FIG. 2A), and may be used for the implementation of the speakerphone mode during a call.

In addition to the antenna for communication, a broadcast signal receiving antenna 116 may be additionally disposed on the side of the terminal body. The antenna 116, which forms part of the broadcast receiving module 111 (see FIG. 1), can be installed to be able to be drawn out from the terminal body.

A power supply unit 190 for supplying power to the mobile terminal 100 is mounted on the terminal body. The power supply unit 190 may be built in the terminal body or may be detachable from the outside of the terminal body.

The rear case 102 may further include a touch pad 135 for sensing a touch. The touch pad 135 may be of a light transmission type for the display unit 151. [ In this case, if the display unit 151 is configured to output the time information on both sides (i.e., in the directions of both the front and back sides of the mobile terminal), the time information can be recognized through the touch pad 135 do. The information output on both sides may be all controlled by the touch pad 135. [

Meanwhile, the display for exclusive use of the touch pad 135 may be separately installed, so that the touch screen may be disposed in the rear case 102 as well.

The touch pad 135 operates in correlation with the display portion 151 of the front case 101. The touch pad 135 may be disposed parallel to the rear of the display unit 151. The touch pad 135 may have a size equal to or smaller than that of the display unit 151.

Hereinafter, embodiments related to a control method that can be implemented in the mobile terminal configured as above will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It goes without saying that the embodiments described below can be used alone or in combination with each other.

3 to 6, an embodiment of a mobile terminal and a control method thereof according to the present invention will be described. 3 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method of controlling a mobile terminal according to the present invention. 4 schematically shows a radio environment in which an embodiment of a mobile terminal and its control method according to the present invention can be implemented. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a mobile terminal accesses an AP according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating an activation-deactivation mode transition of the WiFi module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

4, the mobile terminal 100 accesses the wireless AP 200 within a predetermined distance (i.e., an effective communication distance), thereby making a Wi-Fi connection with the wireless AP 200 (S31). Hereinafter, the area within the effective communication distance from the wireless AP 200 will be referred to as "Wi-Fi area A" The wireless AP 200 assumes that the mobile terminal 100 has not previously connected to the Wi-Fi network.

The Wi-Fi connection process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

The wireless AP 200 periodically transmits a beacon signal.

The WiFi module 113 may be in one of an active mode and an inactive mode. The activation mode and the deactivation mode will be described later again.

If the WiFi module 113 is in the active mode and the mobile terminal 100 is located within a certain distance from the wireless AP 200 among the two modes, The wireless AP 200 can be searched by receiving a beacon signal transmitted by the wireless AP 200 (S51).

When the search procedure is completed, the mobile terminal 100 sends an authentication request message to the wireless AP 200 and receives an authentication response message responding thereto from the wireless AP 200 Authentication is performed (S52, S53).

In most cases, since the open system authentication method is used, the wireless AP unconditionally authenticates an authentication request from the mobile terminal. More enhanced authentication methods include 802.1x-based EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, EAP-FAST, and PEAP.

Upon completion of the authentication procedure, the MS 100 sends an association request message to the wireless AP 200 and receives an association response message in response to the association request message from the wireless AP 200 And performs an association procedure (S54, S55). The combining procedure is a procedure in which the mobile terminal 100 accesses the wireless AP 200 and participates in a wireless network provided by the wireless AP 200. [

When the combining procedure is completed, the mobile terminal 100 completes the WiFi connection to the wireless AP 200 (S56).

Hereinafter, the activation mode and the inactivation mode of the Wi-Fi module 113 will be described with reference to FIG.

The active mode refers to a state in which the Wi-Fi module 113 can establish a wireless connection with the wireless AP during normal operation, and the deactivation mode refers to a state in which the Wi-Fi module 113 stops normal operation This means that the power consumption is reduced. That is, the power consumption is high when the WiFi module 113 is in the active mode, but there is no or very little power consumption when the WiFi module 113 is in the inactive mode.

The definition of the activation mode and the deactivation mode may also be applied to other modules (e.g., the location information module).

The Wi-Fi module 113 continues to be activated until the mobile terminal 100 enters the Wi-Fi area A (i.e., until the Wi-Fi module 113 can access the wireless AP 200) Mode, the power consumption of the mobile terminal 100 is increased.

In order to reduce the power consumption, the WiFi module 113 enters the activation mode for a while at predetermined time intervals as shown in (6-1) of FIG. Hereinafter, the time interval at which the WiFi module 113 enters the activation mode before being connected to the wireless AP 200 by Wi-Fi will be referred to as a "basic time interval ".

More specifically, the WiFi module 113 may automatically enter the active mode in the inactivation mode and attempt to search for a beacon signal at the basic time interval. If the Wi-Fi module 113 does not receive the beacon signal until a predetermined time elapses after the search attempt, the Wi-Fi module 113 returns to the inactivation mode again. However, if the beacon signal can be received within the predetermined time because the mobile terminal 100 is within the Wi-Fi area A when the Wi-Fi module 113 attempts to search for the beacon signal, And remains in the active mode for further processing.

Meanwhile, the WiFi module 113 is not necessarily configured to automatically enter the activation mode in order to search for the beacon signal.

6-2, when a terminal user manually inputs a beacon signal search command through an appropriate operation of the user input unit 130 at a desired point in time, the Wi-Fi module 113 transmits a beacon signal to the Wi- The controller may enter the activation mode in the inactivation mode and attempt to search for the beacon signal. When the WiFi module 113 fails to receive the beacon signal until a predetermined time elapses after the search attempt, the wireless communication device returns to the inactivation mode as described above. If the beacon signal can be received within the predetermined time when the Wi-Fi module 113 attempts to search for the beacon signal, the Wi-Fi module 113 is kept in the active mode to continue the Wi-Fi connection procedure.

When the WiFi access procedure is completed, the controller 180 determines whether the location information module 115 (e.g., a GPS module) is connected to the wireless AP 200 when the mobile terminal 100 is connected to the wireless AP 200 via the Wi- (I.e., location information related to the Wi-Fi area A) related to the current location of the terminal 100 (S32).

If the acquired location information is not registered in the AP database, the controller 180 updates the AP database by registering the obtained location information in the AP database [S33]. At least one of the MAC address and SSID (Service Set ID) of the wireless AP 200 as well as the location information may be updated together.

The location information is for facilitating Wi-Fi connection with the wireless AP 200 when the mobile terminal 100 enters the Wi-Fi area A again after leaving the Wi-Fi area A later. This will be explained again later.

Hereinafter, the activation-deactivation mode transition of the WiFi module when the mobile terminal 100 releases the WiFi connection with the wireless AP 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. FIG.

7 schematically shows a radio environment in which an embodiment of a mobile terminal and its control method according to the present invention can be implemented. 8 and 9 are graphs showing the activation-deactivation mode transition of the WiFi module according to the embodiment of the control method of the mobile terminal according to the present invention.

The mobile terminal 100 can release the WiFi connection with the wireless AP 200 (S34).

When the Wi-Fi connection is released, the controller 180 determines whether the mobile terminal 100 is out of the Wi-Fi area A (as shown in FIG. 7) through the location information module 115 Or more than a predetermined distance from the registered current position).

If the WiFi module 113 determines that the WiFi zone A is out of the WiFi zone A, the control unit 180 determines that the WiFi module 113 is in the active mode, as shown in (8-1) The mobile terminal can be controlled to be in the inactivation mode until it enters the area A (or another WiFi area) or until the beacon signal search command is manually input.

Alternatively, as shown in (8-2) of FIG. 8, the controller 180 switches the WiFi module 113 from the active mode to the inactive mode at the time of the WiFi connection release time, And to enter the activation mode every basic time interval.

However, if it is determined that the WiFi zone A does not deviate from the WiFi zone A, the control unit 180 determines whether the WiFi module 113 has received the WiFi zone A It is possible to maintain the active mode until the waiting time Tw elapses and try to reconnect the WiFi to the wireless AP 200. [ If the Wi-Fi reconnection is still unsuccessful until the waiting time Tw elapses, the controller 180 switches the Wi-Fi module 200 to the inactivation mode and returns to the A-area (or another Wi-Fi area) And may continue to be maintained in the deactivation mode until the beacon signal search command is entered manually.

Alternatively, as shown in (9-2) of FIG. 9, after the WiFi module 113 is switched from the active mode to the inactivation mode at the time of the Wi-Fi connection release time, It is possible to enter the active mode at a first deformation time interval shorter than the basic time interval until the time Tw elapses, and control to try to reconnect to the wireless AP 200 with the WiFi. If the Wi-Fi reconnection is still unsuccessful until the waiting time Tw elapses, the controller 180 may control the Wi-Fi module 113 to enter the active mode once every basic time interval

In FIG. 9 (9-2), the first deformation time interval is shown to be fixed within the waiting time. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the first deformation time interval may be variable within the waiting time. In (9-3) of FIG. 9, it is exemplified that the first deformation time interval is a variable time interval exponentially increasing during the waiting time Tw after the disconnecting time with time.

10 and 11, after the mobile terminal 100 leaves the Wi-Fi area A, the Wi-Fi connection with the wireless AP is released and then enters the Wi-Fi area A again, Attempt to reconnect WiFi to the wireless AP will be described.

10 schematically shows a radio environment in which an embodiment of a mobile terminal and a control method thereof according to the present invention can be implemented. 11 is a graph illustrating the activation-deactivation mode transition of the WiFi module according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The control unit 180 continuously or periodically grasps the current position of the mobile terminal through the position information module 115 [S35].

As shown in (11-1) of FIG. 11, until the mobile terminal 100 re-enters the Wi-Fi area A, the controller 180 controls the Wi-Fi module 113 to be in a deactivation mode .

The mobile terminal 100 may re-enter the Wi-Fi area A.

When the mobile terminal 100 re-enters the Wi-Fi area A, the controller 180 can continue to grasp the current location of the mobile terminal 100 through the location information module 115.

Then, the controller 180 refers to the AP database with respect to the identified current position.

That is, the controller 180 compares the detected current location with the updated location of the Wi-Fi area A in the AP database.

If the detected current position is within the predetermined tolerance range with respect to the Wi-Fi area A, the controller 180 can confirm that there is a wireless AP near the detected current position.

If the MAC address or the SSID of the wireless AP 200 is updated in the AP database, the controller 180 can check which wireless AP is the wireless AP 200.

If the detected current position is within the predetermined tolerance range with respect to the Wi-Fi area A, the controller 180 controls the Wi-Fi module 113 to be switched from the inactive mode to the active mode and maintained.

The WiFi module 113, which has been switched to the activation mode, attempts to establish a WiFi connection with the wireless AP 200 (S36).

Alternatively, as shown in (11-2) of FIG. 11, until the mobile terminal 100 re-enters the Wi-Fi area A, the Wi-Fi module 113 transmits the Wi- And enters the activation mode.

As described above, the mobile terminal 100 can re-enter the Wi-Fi area A.

Then, as described above, when the mobile terminal 100 re-enters the Wi-Fi area A, the controller 180 continues the current location of the mobile terminal 100 through the location information module 115 And refer to the AP database with respect to the identified current location.

If the detected current position is within the predetermined tolerance range with respect to the Wi-Fi area A, the controller 180 can confirm that there is a wireless AP near the detected current position.

When the detected current position is within the predetermined tolerance range with respect to the position of the Wi-Fi zone A, the controller 180 controls the Wi-Fi module 113 to switch from the inactive mode to the active mode every second modification time interval . The second modification time interval is shorter than the basic time interval. The second deformation time interval may be the same as or different from the first deformation time interval.

Then, the WiFi module 113 enters the activation mode at the basic time interval or the second modification time interval and attempts to establish a WiFi connection with the wireless AP 200 (S36).

Since the Wi-Fi connection attempt has already been described above, the detailed description will be omitted for the sake of simplicity in this specification.

In the above description, the controller 180 determines the switching of the Wi-Fi module 113 to the active mode by grasping the current position of the mobile terminal 100 through the position information module 115. [ However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the controller 180 may determine the current location of the mobile terminal 100 through the mobile communication module 112 instead of the location information module 115, (113) to the active mode. This will be described with reference to FIG.

12 schematically shows a radio environment in which an embodiment of a mobile terminal and a control method thereof according to the present invention can be implemented.

When the WiFi module 113 is connected to the wireless AP 200 in the Wi-Fi area A, the controller 180 controls the mobile communication module 112 to communicate with at least one of the neighboring base stations C1 and C2 And C3, and receives the corresponding cell ID from the base stations. The mobile communication with the base station may be in an idle mode. If the mobile terminal 100 is accessing the Internet through the base station, the cell ID may be an IP address provided by the base station to the mobile terminal 100.

The controller 180 updates the cell ID received from the base stations as the location information of the Wi-Fi area A to the AP database. The controller 180 may store all of the cell IDs (C1, C2, C3) from the base stations as location information corresponding to the area A, store the cell IDs of the base stations providing the best reception strength among the base stations, (C1).

When the WiFi module 113 releases the WiFi connection with the wireless AP 200, the controller 180 determines whether the WiFi module 113 is connected to the current location, which is determined using the cell ID of the base station received by the mobile communication module 112 The WiFi module 113 determines whether to switch between the active mode and the inactive mode. Since the switching between the activation mode and the inactivation mode using the current position has already been described above, the details will be omitted for the sake of simplicity in this specification.

The controller 180 may determine that the mobile terminal 100 has entered the Wi-Fi area A when receiving all of the cell IDs, and may also receive the cell ID of the base station providing the best reception strength The mobile terminal 100 may determine that the mobile terminal 100 has entered the Wi-Fi area A.

The controller 180 determines the current position of the mobile terminal 100 using the cell ID received from the base station by the mobile communication module 112 and transmits the activation mode and the activation mode of the Wi- The determination of switching between the deactivation modes will now be described.

However, the current position detected using the cell ID may be inaccurate than that detected through the location information module. However, if the location information module is continuously activated to accurately grasp the current location, the activated location information module continues to consume a certain amount of power, which may be disadvantageous in terms of power saving of the mobile terminal 100 have.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 13 to FIG. 15, the position measurement using the positional information module described above and the positional measurement using the base station cell ID described above are merged in a hybrid manner, A description will be given of an advantageous method in terms of saving the power consumption while maintaining accuracy.

13 to 15 schematically illustrate a radio environment in which an embodiment of a mobile terminal and a control method thereof according to the present invention can be implemented.

As shown in FIG. 13, the mobile terminal 100 is connected to the wireless AP 200 in the Wi-Fi area A by Wi-Fi.

At this time, the controller 180 can acquire the location information of the mobile terminal 100 when a Wi-Fi connection is established through the location information module 115.

If the acquired location information is not registered in the AP database, the controller 180 updates the acquired location information in the AP database.

The controller 180 registers the cell IDs C1, C2, and C3 of at least one base station received by the mobile communication module 112 in the AP database as location information related to the Wi-Fi area A .

Then, as shown in FIG. 14, when the mobile terminal 100 leaves the Wi-Fi area A, the Wi-Fi connection with the wireless AP 200 is released.

Then, the control unit 180 controls both the Wi-Fi module 113 and the position information module 115 to enter the inactivation mode. When the WiFi module 113 is connected to the Wi-Fi connection, it is not necessarily in a completely inactive mode as shown in (8-1) of FIG. As shown in (8-2) of FIG. 8, it is also possible to occasionally enter the activation mode at the basic time interval.

The mobile communication module 112 may be in continuous idle mode communication with the base station so that the mobile communication module 112 can receive a telephone call signal at any time even if the mobile terminal 100 is out of the Wi-

14, the controller 180 receives the cell IDs (C2, C3, C4) from the base station different from the mobile communication module 112 in the Wi-Fi area A, And the position information module 115 are still in the deactivation mode.

15, when the mobile terminal 100 approaches the Wi-Fi area A, the mobile communication module 112 transmits a cell ID (C1) from peripheral base stations of the Wi-Fi area A, , C2, and C3.

Accordingly, when the controller 180 refers to the received AP cell database (C1, C2, C3), it is determined that the mobile terminal 100 has reached at least the Wi-Fi area A have.

Then, the control unit 180 controls the position information module 115 to switch to the activation mode in order to grasp the accurate position of the mobile terminal 100.

The controller 180 determines the current location of the mobile terminal 100 through the activated location information module 115 and refers to the AP database based on the determined current location.

However, as shown in FIG. 15, since the mobile terminal 100 is not yet within the Wi-Fi area A, the detected current location is located at a position related to the Wi-Fi area A registered in the AP database It may not match the information. If not matched, the control unit 180 can control the WiFi module 113 to be still in the deactivation mode.

The mobile terminal 100 with the location information module 115 activated can enter within the Wi-Fi area A as shown in FIG.

Then, the controller 180 recognizes the current location of the mobile terminal 100 through the activated location information module 115, and refers to the AP database with respect to the determined current location.

Since the mobile terminal 100 is still within the Wi-Fi area A, the detected current location may be matched with the location information related to the Wi-Fi area A registered in the AP database.

Then, the control unit 180 controls the Wi-Fi module 113 to enter the activation mode so as to attempt a Wi-Fi connection with the wireless AP 200.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

The present invention described above can be embodied as computer-readable codes on a medium on which a program is recorded. The computer readable medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of the computer-readable medium include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, and also implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet) . Also, the computer may include a control unit 180 of the terminal.

Accordingly, the above description should not be construed in a limiting sense in all respects and should be considered illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by rational interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the scope of equivalents of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

100: mobile terminal 110: wireless communication unit
120: A / V input / output unit 130: user input unit
140: sensing unit 150: output unit
160: memory 170: interface section
180: control unit 190: power supply unit

Claims (18)

A location information module for identifying the current location;
A Wi-Fi module for performing Wi-Fi communication with an access point;
A memory unit for storing an access point database related to a location associated with the access point; And
And a controller for controlling the Wi-Fi module to search for a neighboring access point based on the current location and the access point database,
Wherein,
Wherein the search is performed by starting the access point search or by changing an existing first time interval for searching the access point to a second time interval. delete The method according to claim 1,
The mobile terminal further includes a mobile communication module for performing mobile communication with the mobile communication base station,
Wherein the control unit controls the position information module to activate the position information module so as to grasp the current position when base station information received from the base station is pre-registered in the access point database. delete delete The apparatus of claim 1,
And controls, when an access point is searched, to connect the Wi-Fi module to the searched access point. 7. The apparatus of claim 6,
When the connection with the access point is released, the access point search is performed again for a predetermined time regardless of the current location. 8. The apparatus of claim 7,
Wherein the control unit controls the Wi-Fi module to continuously search for the access point for a predetermined period of time after the connection is released. 8. The apparatus of claim 7,
And controls the Wi-Fi module to perform the access point search intermittently every third time interval for a predetermined time after the connection is released. delete delete The apparatus of claim 1,
When the Wi-Fi module is connected to a new access point not corresponding to the access point database via a Wi-Fi connection,
And updates the current location of the location information module to the access point database at the time of the Wi-Fi connection with the new access point. The apparatus of claim 3,
When the Wi-Fi module is connected to a new access point not corresponding to the access point database via a Wi-Fi connection,
And further controls the access point database to update the current location of the location information module at the time of the Wi-Fi connection with the new access point and information of the base station to which the mobile communication module is mobile communicating. The apparatus of claim 1,
Wherein the WiFi module is in the active mode during the access point search and controls the Wi-Fi module to be in the inactive mode when the access point is not being searched. delete delete Storing an access point database for a location associated with the access point;
Obtaining a current location through a location information module;
Performing a search for neighboring access points based on the obtained current location and the access point database; And
And Wi-Fi access to the discovered access point,
Wherein the search is performed by starting the access point search or changing an existing first time interval for searching the access point to a second time interval. delete

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