KR102394625B1 - Method and Apparatus for Searching Networks - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic device is disclosed. The electronic device includes a communication module connected to an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving signals with a network, a memory for storing a plurality of network identification information and a database including country information corresponding to each network identification information, and the communication module to perform a first network scan for a designated frequency band of a designated RAT (Radio Access Technology), to determine country information using network identification information obtained by the first network scan and the database information, and the communication module It may include a processor that causes the processor to perform a second network scan for at least the RAT and the frequency band determined based on the determined country information. In addition to this, various embodiments identified through the specification are possible.

Description

Network search method and apparatus {Method and Apparatus for Searching Networks}

Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a technique for quickly searching for a network to which a terminal in a state not connected to a network can access.

An electronic device such as a smartphone may scan a network in various situations. Typically, when the electronic device is powered on, the electronic device may search for a network having the highest priority among available networks. For example, when powered on, a smartphone can discover nearby cellular networks and connect to available carrier networks.

In the case of a general user, the environment (eg, country or region) of a network to which the user's mobile device accesses is not significantly changed. Accordingly, the mobile device is highly likely to reconnect to a network to which it has recently accessed or has access history. That is, the mobile device may scan the network using recently accessed Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) information. For example, if the code number of the Registered PLMN (RPLMN) stored in the mobile device is “45005”, the mobile device checks the history of accessing the SK Telecom operator’s WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) network, You can try to access the SK Telecom operator's network. If the connection is successful, the mobile device may perform a function related to wireless communication. If the mobile device is located outside of SK Telecom's operator network, such network access attempt will fail, and the mobile device will perform a full scan of all possible RAT (Radio Access Technology) and frequency bands. can be performed.

Compared to 2G/3G (2 ^nd /3 ^rd Generation) network communication, network communication after 4G (eg, LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), etc.) use band. For example, a mobile device for 2G/3G network communication uses signals in the WDCMA 2100 MHz band (W1 band), GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) 900/1800 MHz band, or GSM 850/1900 MHz band used in various countries/continents. Although it was sufficient to support transmission/reception of A module (eg, an antenna) for As such, when there are many frequency bands supported by the mobile device, if the network scan and access attempt based on the network access history fail, the mobile device performs a full scan on all RATs and frequency bands supported by the mobile device, and The time it takes to discover the network may increase. During this time, the user may not be provided with functions/services related to network communication of the electronic device, and may experience inconvenience.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may provide an electronic device and a method for improving user experience by reducing the time consumed to search for an available network.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is configured to store a database including a communication module connected to an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving a signal to and from a network, a plurality of network identification information, and country information corresponding to each network identification information. causes the memory, and the communication module to perform a first network scan for a designated frequency band of a designated RAT (Radio Access Technology), and uses the network identification information obtained by the first network scan and the database information to and a processor that determines information and causes the communication module to perform a second network scan on the RAT and frequency band determined based on at least the determined country information.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, in a situation in which the electronic device needs to search for an accessible network, such as in a roaming situation, it is possible to reduce the time required for the search. Also, when the electronic device is powered on, a network search may be performed using the time before the subscriber identification module is activated, but network connection by the subscriber identification module may not be disturbed.

1 illustrates an electronic device according to an embodiment.
2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of a method for selecting a network according to an embodiment.
3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for searching a network based on country information, according to an embodiment.
4 shows a network support status by country according to an embodiment.
5 is a flowchart illustrating another process of a network selection method according to an embodiment.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a network discovery process performed before SIM activation according to an embodiment.
7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary network search process in consideration of a neighboring country according to an embodiment.
8 is a timing diagram of a network search using a plurality of scan lists according to an embodiment.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a network search process using a plurality of scan lists according to an embodiment.
10 illustrates a hardware configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment.
11 is a block diagram of a program module according to an exemplary embodiment.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives of the embodiments of the present invention are included. In connection with the description of the drawings, like reference numerals may be used for like components.

In this document, expressions such as "have", "may have", "includes", or "may include" indicate the presence of a corresponding characteristic (eg, a numerical value, function, operation, or component such as a part). and does not exclude the presence of additional features.

In this document, expressions such as “A or B”, “at least one of A or/and B”, or “one or more of A or/and B” may include all possible combinations of the items listed together. . For example, "A or B", "at least one of A and B", or "at least one of A or B" means (1) includes at least one A, (2) includes at least one B; Or (3) it may refer to all cases including both at least one A and at least one B.

Expressions such as "first", "second", "first", or "second" used in this document may modify various elements, regardless of order and/or importance, and may modify one element to another. It is used only to distinguish it from the components, and does not limit the components. For example, the first user equipment and the second user equipment may represent different user equipment regardless of order or importance. For example, without departing from the scope of the rights described in this document, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be renamed as a first component.

A component (eg, a first component) is "coupled with/to (operatively or communicatively)" to another component (eg, a second component); When referring to "connected to", it will be understood that the certain element may be directly connected to the other element or may be connected through another element (eg, a third element). On the other hand, when it is said that a component (eg, a first component) is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component (eg, a second component), the component and the It may be understood that other components (eg, a third component) do not exist between other components.

The expression "configured to (or configured to)" as used in this document, depending on the context, for example, "suitable for", "having the capacity to" It can be used interchangeably with "," "designed to", "adapted to", "made to", or "capable of". The term "configured (or set up to)" may not necessarily mean only "specifically designed to" in hardware. Instead, in some circumstances, the expression “a device configured to” may mean that the device is “capable of” with other devices or parts. For example, the phrase "a processor configured (or configured to perform) A, B, and C" executes a dedicated processor (eg, an embedded processor), or one or more software programs stored in a memory device, to perform the corresponding operations. By doing so, it may refer to a generic-purpose processor (eg, a CPU or an application processor) capable of performing corresponding operations.

Terms used in this document are only used to describe specific embodiments, and may not be intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. The singular expression may include the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art described in this document. Among the terms used in this document, terms defined in a general dictionary may be interpreted with the same or similar meaning as the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in this document, have an ideal or excessively formal meaning. not interpreted In some cases, even terms defined in this document cannot be construed to exclude embodiments of this document.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the present document may include, for example, a smartphone, a tablet personal computer, a mobile phone, a video phone, an e-book reader, Desktop PC (desktop PC), laptop PC (laptop PC), netbook computer (netbook computer), workstation, server, PDA (personal digital assistant), PMP (portable multimedia player), MP3 player, mobile medical device, It may include at least one of a camera and a wearable device. According to various embodiments, the wearable device may be an accessory type (eg, a watch, ring, bracelet, anklet, necklace, glasses, contact lens, or head-mounted-device (HMD)), a fabric or an integral type of clothing ( For example, it may include at least one of an electronic garment), a body attachable type (eg a skin pad or a tattoo), or a bioimplantable type (eg, an implantable circuit).

In some embodiments, the electronic device may be a home appliance. Home appliances are, for example, televisions, DVD players (Digital Video Disk players), audio systems, refrigerators, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, ovens, microwaves, washing machines, air purifiers, set-top boxes, and home automation. Control panel (home automation control panel), security control panel (security control panel), TV box (eg Samsung HomeSync™, Apple TV™, or Google TV™), game console (eg Xbox™, PlayStation™), electronics It may include at least one of a dictionary, an electronic key, a camcorder, and an electronic picture frame.

In another embodiment, the electronic device may include various medical devices (eg, various portable medical measuring devices (eg, a blood glucose monitor, a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, or a body temperature monitor), magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Computed tomography (CT), imager, or ultrasound machine, etc.), navigation device, global navigation satellite system (GNSS), event data recorder (EDR), flight data recorder (FDR), car infotainment ) devices, ship electronic equipment (e.g. ship navigation systems, gyro compasses, etc.), avionics, security devices, vehicle head units, industrial or domestic robots, automatic teller's machines (ATMs) in financial institutions. , point of sales (POS) in stores, or internet of things (e.g. light bulbs, sensors, electricity or gas meters, sprinkler devices, smoke alarms, thermostats, street lights, toasters) , exercise equipment, hot water tank, heater, boiler, etc.) may include at least one.

According to some embodiments, the electronic device is a piece of furniture or a building/structure, an electronic board, an electronic signature receiving device, a projector, or various measuring devices (eg, water, electricity, gas, or a radio wave measuring device). In various embodiments, the electronic device may be a combination of one or more of the various devices described above. The electronic device according to an embodiment may be a flexible electronic device. In addition, the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present document is not limited to the above-described devices, and may include a new electronic device according to technological development.

Hereinafter, an electronic device according to various embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this document, the term user may refer to a person who uses an electronic device or a device (eg, an artificial intelligence electronic device) using the electronic device.

1 illustrates an electronic device according to an embodiment.

The electronic device 100 may include a processor 110 , a memory 120 , and a communication module 130 . The communication module 130 may be connected to an antenna capable of transmitting/receiving signals of various frequency bands. In addition, the electronic device 100 may further include additional components such as the subscriber identification module 140, the input/output interface 150, and the display 160. In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may omit at least one of the components or may additionally include other components. Each component included in the electronic device 100 may be connected through a bus. The bus may include a circuit that connects the components 110-160 to each other and transmits communication (eg, a control message and/or data) between the components. The connection relationship between the components through the bus is not limited to the form shown in FIG. 1 . For example, the communication module 130 may have a bus directly connected to the memory 120 .

The processor 110 may include one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), and a communication processor (CP). The processor 110 may, for example, execute an operation or data processing related to control and/or communication of at least one other component of the electronic device 100 .

The memory 120 may include volatile and/or non-volatile memory. The memory 120 may store, for example, commands or data related to at least one other component of the electronic device 100 . According to an embodiment, the memory 120 may store software and/or a program. A program may include, for example, a kernel, middleware, an application programming interface (API), and/or an application program (or "application"), and the like. At least a part of the kernel, middleware, or API may be referred to as an Operating System (OS).

In an embodiment disclosed in this document, a first database 121 including network identification information and country information corresponding to each network identification information may be stored in the memory 120 . The first database 121 may be, for example, a PLMN database. In the first database 121, the PLMN may be identified as a Mobile Country Code (MCC) and a Mobile Network Code (MNC). For example, when the PLMN code is "45008", MCC may correspond to 450 and MNC may correspond to 08. If the PLMN code is “45005”, MCC may be 450 and MNC may be 05. Here, the PLMN code may correspond to network identification information, MCC may correspond to country information, and MNC may correspond to operator information. Also, the first database 121 may include additional information in addition to the above-described information. For example, band information (eg, WCDMA band 1) corresponding to the corresponding network identification information may be further included.

The communication module 130 may establish, for example, a wireless communication connection between the electronic device 100 and the network 200 (or an arbitrary access point (AP)). Wireless communication may use, for example, at least one of LTE, LTE-A, CDMA, WCDMA, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Wireless Broadband (WiBro), or GSM as a cellular communication protocol. Also, wireless communication may include, for example, at least one of Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), and GNSS. GNSS is, depending on the region or bandwidth used, for example, GPS (Global Positioning System), Glonass (Global Navigation Satellite System), Beidou Navigation Satellite System (hereinafter "Beidou") or Galileo (the European global satellite-based navigation system) may include at least one of Hereinafter, in this document, "GPS" may be used interchangeably with "GNSS".

The subscriber identification module (SIM) 140 may include information on a communication service provider subscribed by the user of the electronic device 100 . In general, when the power of the electronic device 100 is turned on, the processor 110 activates the subscriber identification module 140, obtains information on a communication operator included in the subscriber identification module 140, and attempts to access a network provided by the operator. there is.

In an embodiment disclosed in this document, the subscriber identification module 140 may have a storage space and may include a database in the storage space. Here, the database may be distinguished from the first database 121 stored in the aforementioned memory 120 . The database stored in the subscriber identification module 140 stores network history information such as the user's home network information, recently accessed network information (eg, RPLMN), frequently accessed network information, and network information set by the user. can be Here, the user's home network information is, for example, when the user purchases the electronic device 100 and opens through an AT&T operator in the United States, the home network information includes MNC 030 (i.e., AT&T operator), MMC 310 (i.e., US) , RAT may include GSM, and frequency (band) may include information corresponding to 850 MHz. If the electronic device 100 attempts a network search in an out of service (OOS) state, the processor 110 may read home network information from the subscriber identification module 140 and then attempt to access a corresponding operator network. In this case, the database stored in the subscriber identification module 140 may include information on a specific channel included in a specific band. For example, information on a band of the GSM 850 MHz band and a specific channel last accessed by the electronic device 100 among a plurality of channels included in the band may be stored in the subscriber identification module 140 . Instead of scanning all channels included in the GSM 850 MHz band, the electronic device 100 may attempt to access the specific channel through scanning. In this document, in a band represented by a specific frequency, the specific frequency means a center frequency or a representative frequency of each band. For example, LTE Band 1 has a center frequency of 2100 MHz, but has an uplink frequency band of 1920-1980 MHz and a downlink frequency band of 2110-2170 MHz. In addition, Band 1 includes a plurality of channels having bandwidths of 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz. As such, each band may include a plurality of channels having a relatively smaller bandwidth.

As another example, when an available PLMN (available PLMN) is found among the PLMNs of the home network or the PLMNs of the recently accessed networks, the electronic device 100 may directly register with the corresponding network. For example, when PLMN 45008 as the home network and PLMN 50502 as the recently accessed network are stored in the database of the subscriber identification module 140 and the electronic device 100 is turned on, the communication module 130 is configured to perform a network corresponding to PLMN 50502 (in Australia). YES OPTUS operator's GSM network) is searched, and if the search fails, the home network (KT's WCDMA network in Korea) is searched and access can be attempted. If no networks are found, the electronic device 100 may try to search for all networks supported by the communication module 130 and the antenna, or search for a network based on country information as in various embodiments disclosed in this document. can be performed.

In some embodiments, the processor 110 may copy or back up the database stored in the subscriber identification module 140 to the memory 120 periodically or according to the occurrence of a specific event. For example, the processor 110 may copy the database of the subscriber identification module 140 to the second database 123 of the memory 120 . Alternatively, according to an embodiment, data used when performing a network scan may be all or selectively stored in the subscriber identification module 140 and the memory 120 . For example, PLMN information is stored in the subscriber identification module 140 and network access (history) information is stored in the memory 120 (eg, the first database 121), or some of the network access information is stored in the subscriber identification module 140, Alternatively, all data stored in the subscriber identification module 140 may be stored in the memory 120 . The processor 110 may read necessary information from at least one of the memory 120 and the subscriber identification module 140 . In various embodiments disclosed herein, various methods of utilizing data stored in the subscriber identification module 140 may be replaced with various methods of utilizing data stored in the memory 120 (eg, the first database 121 or the second database 123). can or vice versa.

The input/output interface 150 may serve as an interface capable of transmitting, for example, a command or data input from a user or other external device to other component(s) of the electronic device 100 . Also, the input/output interface 150 may output a command or data received from other component(s) of the electronic device 100 to a user or other external device.

The display 160 may display various contents (eg, text, image, video, icon, or symbol) to the user. The display 160 may include a touch screen, and may receive a touch, gesture, proximity, or hovering input using an electronic pen or a part of the user's body.

2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of a method for selecting a network according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2 , in operation 210, the electronic device 100 may search for a currently accessible network based on network access information. Operation 210 may be performed in various situations. For example, when the power of the electronic device 100 is turned on, the flight/airplane mode of the electronic device 100 is released, or when the electronic device 100 moves in an out of service (OOS) area, an accessible network is selected. This can be done if you want to confirm. In addition, it may be performed even when the network connection is resumed in a state in which the network connection is disconnected by the user. Also, operation 210 may be performed even when a network search is manually performed by a user. In other words, the various network scan methods disclosed herein may be applied to the various situations described above. Expressions of network search (discovery), network scan, frequency scan, radio resource search, etc. used in this specification may be understood as an operation of checking an accessible RAT and frequency band in an electronic device.

In operation 210, the electronic device 100 may determine a network to which the first access will be attempted based on PLMN information stored in the subscriber identification module 140 or the memory 120 and network history information previously accessed. For example, the electronic device 100 may perform a network scan to access the last connected network. For example, when the user visits Japan and China with the electronic device 100 and returns to Korea, when the electronic device 100 is powered on in Korea, the electronic device 100 connects to the last Chinese network connected to the user based on the access history. can scan.

In the above example, since the electronic device 100 is located in a region that does not support a Chinese network (ie, Korea), a network search (eg, an available PLMM search) through a network scan based on the last access history fails. can do. The subscriber identification module 140 or the memory 120 may include a plurality of network access information. For example, network history information for each network accessed in China - Japan - Korea, and operator network information (eg, home network) of the country where the electronic device 100 was initially opened are stored in the subscriber identification module 140 or the memory 120 may be included. The electronic device 100 may perform a network scan based on a network access history stored in the subscriber identification module 140 or the memory 120 or home network (eg, Korean telecommunication service provider network) information, or network information set through a user/manufacturer. A plurality of network access information (eg, PLMN, etc.) stored in the subscriber identification module 140 or the memory 120 may each have a priority, and the electronic device 100 may perform a network scan according to the priority. In other words, operation 210 may be repeatedly performed.

In operation 220 , the electronic device 100 may determine whether the network search has failed based on network access information stored in the subscriber identification module 140 or the memory 120 . If the network search is successful, the electronic device 100 may register with a corresponding operator network and use a network-related function. When the network search fails, for example, unlike the example mentioned above, the electronic device 100 is located in an area where the network included in the network access history or network access information is not supported, such as the United States or Europe, not China, Japan, or Korea. In this case, the network search in operation 210 may fail.

In operation 230, the electronic device 100 may scan an available network with a specified RAT and a specified frequency. For example, the electronic device 100 may scan the network using a frequency of 850 MHz or WCDMA 2100 MHz, which is a frequency of a GSM network widely used around the world. Operation 230 may also be repeatedly performed. For example, the electronic device 100 may first search for WCDMA 2100 MHz, and if the search fails, search for GSM 850 MHz.

In operation 230, the electronic device 100 may configure a scan list according to the RAT and frequency band for efficient network search. For example, the list may include one or more RATs and frequency bands (bands). In an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may perform a scan by selecting an RAT and a frequency band in an order of increasing global coverage from the list. In this case, the electronic device 100 may acquire country information through a first or second scan based on a scan list in roaming situations in most countries.

In operation 230 , the electronic device 100 may scan a network in a manner different from that in operation 210 (or operation 250 or operation 270 ) in order to quickly acquire country information. For example, the electronic device 100 may perform PLMN detection only on a limited number (eg, top 1 to 2) in the order of increasing signal strength from among the searched candidates when performing a power scan. . Here, the power scan may be understood as an operation of searching for the presence or absence of a signal having a reference strength or higher, rather than searching for a PLMN for all Absolute Radio-Frequency Channel Numbers (ARFCNs). Through the power scan, the electronic device 100 may check the presence or absence of a signal and the strength of the signal. In other words, the electronic device 100 may perform the PLMN search for candidates restricted in the order of signal strength from among candidates searched for through the power scan.

In the case of a general GSM network scan, when a PLMN search is performed for about 150 candidates, a search time of about 15 seconds may be performed. However, if the PLMN search is performed for the top five candidates in signal strength through the network scan (eg, quick scan) in operation 230, the network scan may be completed within 1 second. In other words, the electronic device 100 may obtain country information within 1 second in operation 230 and perform the following operations.

In operation 240 , the electronic device 100 may determine whether country information is obtained as a result of the network scan in operation 230 . In operation 230, the electronic device 100 may obtain PLMN information (code), and the code includes MCC information. MCC information may correspond to country information in various embodiments disclosed in this document.

For example, when the electronic device 100 attempts to roam in Germany, if there is no information on a network accessed in Germany in the recent network access history or there is no information about a German network that is set separately, that is, the network search through operation 210 fails In this case, in operation 230, the electronic device 100 may scan a communication network supporting WCDMA 2100 MHz. As a result of the scan, the electronic device 100 may acquire network identification information (eg, PLMN) such as 26202 (Vodafone), 26203 (E-Plus), and 26207 (O2). The electronic device 100 may obtain country information (eg, MCC) from network identification information. In the case of the above example, the processor 110 may obtain the MCC "262" from the network identification information, and compare it with the first database 121 of the memory 120 to confirm that the country information is "Germany". When the country information is successfully acquired in this way, the electronic device 100 may perform operation 250 . However, if it fails to obtain country information using the designated RAT and frequency, the process proceeds to operation 270 to perform a full scan of the entire network through all available frequencies.

In an embodiment, if it is confirmed in operation 240 that a roaming situation is present, the electronic device 100 may determine whether the PLMN obtained by the network scan in operation 230 is available. When the PLMN is available, the electronic device 100 may omit operations 250 and 260 and perform operation 280 .

In operation 250, the electronic device 100 may perform a network search (network selection) based on the country information obtained in operations 230 to 240 . For example, when the country corresponding to the home network is different from the country corresponding to the country information, the electronic device 100 may determine that the electronic device 100 is currently in a roaming state. The electronic device 100 receives the RAT (eg, 2G (GSM), 3G (WCDMA, TD-SCDMA), 4G (LTE, WiMAX, HSPA+), etc.) provided by the country from the first database 121 and the frequency corresponding to each RAT (eg, 900/1800MHz, 2100MHz, 800/1800/2600MHz) information can be acquired. For example, the electronic device 100 may determine an LTE band to be searched based on country information. The electronic device 100 may configure a network scan target based on country information as described above, and may quickly scan the configured target. Detailed operations related to operation 250 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3 .

In operation 260, the electronic device 100 may determine whether the network scan in operation 250 is successful. When the network scan is successful, the electronic device 100 may perform a connection operation for at least one network among the found networks. For example, however, when the network scan fails, the electronic device 100 may perform a scan of the entire network in operation 270 .

3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for searching a network based on country information, according to an embodiment.

In an embodiment, the process of FIG. 3 may be understood as detailed operations constituting operation 250 of FIG. 2 . In other words, a network search operation based on country information, which may be performed between operations 240 and 260 , may be performed by the process illustrated in FIG. 3 . However, in various embodiments, the process of FIG. 3 may be applied at specific stages of various processes in which a network search operation based on country information is performed.

In operation 310, the electronic device 100 compares the network scan result with the first database 121 to check country information. In operation 320, the electronic device 100 may check RAT and support band information of a corresponding country. For example, when the country information indicates Germany, the electronic device 100 transmits radio resources (GSM 900MHz, GSM 1800MHz, WCDMA 2100MHz, LTE BAND 3 (1800 MHz), BAND 7 (2600 MHz), and BAND 20 (800 MHz)) resource) is supported.

In operation 330, the electronic device 100 may identify a frequency band supported by the electronic device 100. For example, the electronic device 100 may identify a frequency band in which signals can be transmitted/received by the RAT supported by the communication module 130 and one or more antennas connected to the communication module 130 . For example, the electronic device 100 receives information that the communication module 130 supports GSM, WCDMA, and TD-SCDMA but does not support LTE, and that the antenna mounted in the electronic device 100 does not receive a signal in a frequency band of 1 GHz or less. can be checked

When the radio resource supportable by the electronic device 100 is fixed, operation 330 may be omitted. However, if the supportable radio resource is variable for various reasons, for example, the use of LTE in the electronic device 100 is prohibited through software settings, or the receivable frequency band can be expanded by connecting a special case or an antenna to the electronic device 100 In this case, the electronic device 100 may determine a supportable RAT and frequency band. In an embodiment, since the network scan in the roaming situation is attempted when the user of the electronic device 100 arrives at the airport and turns on the electronic device 100, the electronic device 100 performs initializing of the components in the process of initializing the components. Operation 330 may be performed in advance.

In operation 340, the electronic device 100 may determine an RAT and a frequency band in which to perform a network search. Referring to the above example, the electronic device 100 may determine a network search target in GSM 1800 MHz and WCDMA 2100 MHz supported by the electronic device 100 among networks accessible in Germany.

In operation 340, the electronic device 100 may further utilize additional information to determine a network search target. For example, in Germany, there are 31 MNCs corresponding to MCC 262. In other words, there are 31 PLMN codes. If there is information in the subscriber identification module 140 of the electronic device 100 indicating that the operator with which the roaming contract is concluded with the home network of the electronic device 100 is Vodafone, the electronic device 100 may select a network (RAT) supported by Vodafone among networks supported in Germany. and frequency) may be determined to perform a network scan. The electronic device 100 may check a network connection condition (eg, whether it is a Vodafone network) for the PLMN found during the scan operation. For example, if the found network identification information is 26202, which is the PLMN code of the Vodafone operator, the electronic device 100 may determine to attempt a network connection to the corresponding PLMN.

In operation 350 , the electronic device 100 may perform a network search for the RAT and frequency band determined as a result of operation 340 . In a subsequent process (eg, after operation 260 ), the electronic device 100 may determine whether access to the found network is possible. For example, it is possible to check whether a network of an operator capable of PLMN selection or not, and to attempt to connect to the network.

4 shows a network support status by country according to an embodiment.

For example, a user who has opened the electronic device 100 in Korea may travel to countries such as China, Japan, the United States, and Europe. When the user moves to Japan, the electronic device 100 may attempt to access a network in Japan. If the user does not have a history of accessing a Japanese network in the past, that is, if there is no access information on a carrier network available in Japan in the access DB stored in the subscriber identification module 140 or the memory 120, electronic The device 100 may determine that roaming is necessary, and perform the network discovery method disclosed in this document instead of scanning the entire searchable network.

For example, the electronic device 100 may perform a search for a specified RAT with a specified frequency. For example, the electronic device 100 may obtain information that the region in which the electronic device 100 is currently located is Japan through a network scan of the WCDMA 2100 MHz band. In other words, the communication module 130 may collect PLMN information through a WCDMA network search, and the processor 110 may analyze MCC information included in the collected PLMN information to check country information.

When the country information is identified as Japan, the electronic device 100 may perform a network search based on the country information. In the example of FIG. 4 , since GSM and TD-SCDMA are not supported in Japan, frequency bands corresponding to GSM and TD-SCDMA may be excluded from the scan list. Accordingly, the electronic device 100 can use WCDMA and LTE networks in Japan, and can perform network scans for RAT and frequency bands supported by the electronic device 100 . For example, if the electronic device 100 does not support LTE (eg, if the communication module 130 does not support LTE or supports it, but the user setting or the user's subscription plan is set to use only the 3G network, the roaming contract is 3G /2G network only)) The electronic device 100 may scan for a specific frequency band of WCDMA. The electronic device 100 may determine available network identification information from among the acquired network identification information and access the corresponding network. As described above, the search range may be further limited by using information on a Japanese telecommunication service provider that has signed a roaming contract with the home network operator of the electronic device 100 . Through such an operation, it is possible to reduce the time required to access the network, compared to attempting to connect to the network through a full scan of available networks.

As another example, when the user of the electronic device 100 moves to China, the electronic device 100 may determine that the region in which the electronic device 100 is currently located is China based on information obtained through a network search for the WCDMA 2100 MHz band. If the Chinese telecom operator that has a roaming contract with the home network of the electronic device 100 (eg, a Korean telecom operator) is China Telecom, from the information stored in the electronic device 100 database 121, China Telecom supports LTE or 2G networks. information can be obtained. Accordingly, the electronic device 100 may perform a network search for 2G (GSM 900MHz) and 4G (LTE Band 41) except for the 3G network search. The electronic device 100 may perform a PLMN selection operation of China Telecom from the search result. can be done

As another example, the electronic device 100 may be located in the United States. When access information for a network provided in the United States does not exist in the subscriber identification module 140 (or the second database 123) of the electronic device 100, the electronic device 100 searches for a designated frequency band of the GSM or WCDMA network in operation 230 can be performed. If the electronic device 100 performs a network search in the GSM 900 MHz band, the network search may fail because the US does not support GSM 900 MHz. In this case, the electronic device 100 may repeatedly perform operation 230 according to a predetermined order or priority. For example, the electronic device 100 may scan GSM 900 MHz followed by GSM 850 MHz, and then scan WCDMA 2100 MHz. In this case, the electronic device 100 may acquire country information (ie, the United States) from the GSM 850 MHz scan result. Based on this country information, the process after operation 250 described above may be performed.

5 is a flowchart illustrating another process of a network selection method according to an embodiment. Contents overlapping with, corresponding to, or similar to those described above in relation to FIG. 5 and FIGS. 6 and 7 to be described later may be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the electronic device 100 may perform a network connection based on network connection information. The electronic device 100 may perform a network scan based on Home PLMN (HPLMN), RPLMN, Equivalent HPLMN (EHPLMN), user controlled PLMN (user controlled PLMN), operator controlled PLMN (operator controlled PLMN) stored in the subscriber identification module 140, etc. there is. If an accessible PLMN is found in this process, the electronic device 100 may register with the corresponding PLMN. This process may be understood to correspond to the above-described operations 210 and 280 .

In operation 520, the electronic device 100 may determine whether the network scan in operation 510 is successful. If the network scan fails, the electronic device 100 may determine in operation 530 whether country information is obtained as a result of operation 510 .

For example, in operation 510 , the electronic device 100 may search for an available PLMN using network access information (eg, a home network, a recently accessed network, etc.) stored in the subscriber identification module 140 or the memory 120 . In this case, even if the electronic device 100 fails to search for an available PLMN, when another PLMN is found, the electronic device 100 may acquire MCC information. For example, if the electronic device 100 is a Korean carrier terminal and the user has visited Japan and China, the subscriber identification module 140 includes a Korean LTE Band 3 channel, a Chinese WCDMA Band 1 channel, and a Japanese WCDMA Band Information on channel 4 may be stored. When the user moves from Korea to China again with the electronic device 100, the search is not performed because the RPLMN is set as a Korean operator, but the PLMN of China may be searched. Even when the discovered PLMN of China is not an available PLMN, the electronic device 100 may check the country information (MCC) from the corresponding network identification information. As such, if it is determined in operation 530 that country information has been acquired, the electronic device 100 may omit a network search (eg, operation 230) for acquiring country information through a designated RAT/frequency band. If country information is not acquired in operation 530, the electronic device 100 may perform the process after operation 230 . In this case, FIGS. 2 and 5 may be understood as substantially the same process.

If it is determined in operation 530 that country information has been acquired, the electronic device 100 may perform operations 540 to 570 . Operations 540, 550, 560, and 570 may correspond to operations 250, 260, 270, and 280 of FIG. 2 , respectively. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, since operations 230 and 240 of scanning a designated RAT/frequency band to acquire country information in FIG. 2 and determining whether to acquire country information may be omitted, relative to a situation in which roaming is required This may enable rapid network access.

In addition, in the embodiment related to FIG. 5 , as a result of a network scan based on the network access information in operation 510 , network identification information (PLMN) available in a country where the electronic device 100 is determined to be located is not obtained, and the subscriber identification module If the determined country is not included in the network access information of 140 (or the memory 120 ) (ie, the country has never been visited or information on the country has not been set), the electronic device 100 performs operation 510 may stop the search for , and proceed to operation 230 .

6 is a flowchart illustrating a network discovery process performed before SIM activation according to an embodiment.

When power is turned on, the electronic device 100 may search for hardware components connected to the processor 110 and activate them. For example, when the electronic device 100 is in flight mode/airplane mode, the processor 110 of the electronic device 100 and the subscriber identification module 140 are in a connected state, but the communication module 130 is in an inactive state (connected state because power supply is cut off). in this disconnected state). That is, since the electronic device 100 can directly access the subscriber identification module 140 when the airplane mode is released, a time difference may not substantially occur between the time when the airplane mode is released and the time when information stored in the subscriber identification module 140 can be accessed. However, when the power of the electronic device 100 is switched from the OFF state to the ON state, the processor 110 may perform a scan operation to check the components of the electronic device 100 . Accordingly, a time difference may occur between the time when the power is turned on and the time when the subscriber identification module 140 is activated and information stored in the subscriber identification module 140 can be accessed.

When the electronic device 100 is powered on, in operation 610, the electronic device 100 may perform a network search for a preset RAT and frequency band. For example, the communication module 130 or the processor 110 may be set to perform operation 610 when the electronic device 100 is powered on.

In an embodiment, in order not to affect the network access time using the subscriber identification module 140, operation 610 is performed until the subscriber identification module 140 is activated, and after the activation time, different processes are performed according to the result of operation 610 can

For example, in operation 620, when country information is obtained before the subscriber identification module 140 is activated as a result of the scan in operation 610, the electronic device 100 may wait until the subscriber identification module 140 is activated. (Operation 630) If the country information acquisition fails before the subscriber identification module 140 is activated, the process after operation 210 of FIG. 2 may be executed. In this case, substantially the same process as that described with reference to FIG. 2 may be followed.

When the subscriber identification module 140 is activated, in operation 640, the electronic device may compare the network access (history) information stored in the subscriber identification module 140 with the country information acquired in operation 610 . In operation 650, when the access (history) information and country information match each other, in operation 660, the electronic device may attempt a network connection based on the network access (history) information. For example, the electronic device may perform network connection using the MMC/MNC and channel information of the RPLMN.

If the history information and country information do not match in operation 650 , the electronic device 100 may be in a situation where roaming is required, and in this case, a network search may be performed based on the country information obtained in operation 610 . For example, a process after operation 250 may be performed. According to the embodiment of FIG. 6 , in the electronic device 100, since operations 230 and 240 are previously performed before operation 210, which is executed after the subscriber identification module 140 is activated, as compared with FIG. 2, the time taken for network access is reduced by that can

7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary network search process in consideration of a neighboring country according to an embodiment.

For example, as a result of performing operation 610 of FIG. 6 , country information of country A is obtained, and in operation 650, existing access information matching country A (eg, network access information stored in the subscriber identification module 140) does not exist. 250 may occur. In other words, country information may be acquired before the subscriber identification module 140 is activated, and a network search may be performed based on the country information obtained by not finding a matching access history after activation of the subscriber identification module 140 . In this case, the network connection process using the existing access information of the subscriber identification module 140 may be omitted.

If country A is a neighboring country to country B and this phenomenon occurs near the border of country B, for example, the electronic device 100 is actually located in country B, and existing access information corresponding to country B is used to identify the subscriber. When stored in the module 140, the electronic device 100 can quickly access the network of country B using the existing access information stored in the subscriber identification module 140, but it may take time to search the network using the country A information. . To prevent this, in an embodiment, in operation 710 , the electronic device 100 may determine whether the country information obtained in operation 510 corresponds to a neighboring country of at least one other country. Operation 710 may be performed, for example, before proceeding from operation 650 to operation 250 . For example, the electronic device 100 may further include, in the memory 120 , a database of countries bordering each other. Alternatively, the database may be included in the database 121 . If it is determined that the acquired country information corresponds to a neighboring country of a country included in the existing access information, in operation 720, the electronic device 100 performs a network based on network access information (eg, RPLMN or HPLMN stored in the subscriber identification module 140). You can try to connect. If the acquired country information does not correspond to the existing access information and does not correspond to a neighboring country of a country included in the existing access information, the electronic device 100 performs a network search based on the country information in operation 250 as described above. can

Also, when the connection attempt in operation 720 is successful, the electronic device 100 may end the network discovery process. If it is determined in operation 730 that network connection has failed, there is a possibility that the electronic device 100 is actually located in a neighboring country region (ie, country A), and accordingly, the electronic device 100 performs a network search based on the corresponding country information. can do. (Action 250)

In the above description, a network search method has been described by taking a cellular network (2G/3G/LTE, etc.) as a main embodiment. However, there may be various methods for acquiring country information, and it is not necessary to use a cellular network. For example, in the process of FIG. 2 , in operation 230 , the electronic device 101 may use a predetermined frequency of another RAT instead of using a frequency of GSM or WCDMA. For example, the electronic device 100 may obtain nearby Wi-Fi identification information using 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz of Wi-Fi. In particular, places where immigration frequently occurs, such as airports, provide Wi-Fi services. The electronic device 100 may include Wi-Fi network identification information for each airport and country information corresponding to the Wi-Fi identification information in the database 121 of the memory 120. In operation 230 of the electronic device 100, using Wi-Fi , or by mixing Wi-Fi and cellular networks to obtain country information.

In addition, in the process of FIG. 6 , in operation 610 in which the network search is performed within a limited time, the electronic device 100 acquires country information through a Wi-Fi scan in which the RAT and the search target frequency are limited, and in a subsequent process, the network Discovery may obtain country information or perform a network connection operation using a cellular network.

Information on RATs and bands (frequency bands) that can be supported by a country may change for various reasons. For example, the first database 121 may include network information available in China. That is, information on available RATs and frequency bands for each RAT may be stored in the first database 121 . However, there may be changes in Chinese telecommunication service providers, or changes in network information available in China due to China's telecommunication policies and frequency auctions.

In order to reflect this change, when the electronic device 100 accesses a predetermined network (eg, a network different from the previously accessed network) and acquires a normal service, the corresponding country (or the corresponding communication service provider) from the accessed network may request and receive information on a frequency band and/or RAT for . As a result, when there is information on a different frequency band or RAT compared to the existing database, the database (eg, the first database 121 ) may be updated.

As another embodiment, the electronic device 100 may update the database through periodic network discovery. For example, the electronic device 100 may drive a timer having a predetermined period. When the corresponding timer expires, the electronic device 100 may cause the communication module 130 to search for a neighboring network. As a result of the search, if it is determined that there is a frequency band different from that stored in the existing database, the electronic device 100 may request the latest network information supported by the corresponding country through the corresponding network. When the latest network information is acquired, the electronic device 100 may update the existing database.

8 is a timing diagram of a network search using a plurality of scan lists according to an embodiment.

When the electronic device 100 is located in a shaded area such as an elevator or a basement of a building, an out of service (OOS) situation may occur in the electronic device 100 . According to an embodiment, according to the method described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 , the electronic device 100 may perform a network scan for reducing power consumption by shortening a network discovery time in the above OOS situation.

The electronic device 100 may include a first list (LIST 1) 801 including information on all wireless communication supports supported by the electronic device 100, that is, RAT and frequency bands (bands or channels). The first list 801 (and the second list 803 and the third list 805 to be described below) may be stored in at least one of the memory 120 and the subscriber identification module 140 .

The electronic device 100 may store cell information (eg, RAT and channel information) having an access history. This cell information may correspond to, for example, previously accessed network history information stored in the aforementioned subscriber identification module 140 or the memory 120 . Stored cell information in the electronic device 100 may correspond to a second list (LIST 2) 803 in FIG. 8 .

In FIG. 8 , a third list (LIST 3) 805 may include information on a designated RAT and a designated frequency band. For example, the third list 805 may include information on GSM 850 MHz, GSM 900 MHz, or WCDMA 2100 MHz frequencies of GSM networks widely used around the world.

In an embodiment, the first list 801, the second list 803, and the third list 805 may include PLMN information (eg, RPLMN information in the case of the second list 803, etc.) corresponding to the wireless communication resource included in each list. there is.

The electronic device 100 may schedule a network scan to be performed when the electronic device 100 enters the OOS state as shown in FIG. 8 . For example, the network scan for the first list 801, the network scan for the second list 803, and the network scan for the third list 805 for one period may be performed according to a specified schedule. 8 shows an example of scheduling. For example, after performing a network scan based on a first list 801, after two network scans based on a second list 803, one network scan based on a third list 805 is repeatedly performed (eg, a first schedule) can be This is exemplary, and the scan on the second list 803 and the third list 805 may be alternately performed, or the scan on the third list 805 is repeatedly performed after the second list 803 is repeatedly performed. it might be Also, an interval (eg, sleep duration) between network scan timings for each list may be the same within one period, or may gradually increase within one period, or may vary according to a set schedule.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 100 may repeatedly perform a network scan (eg, a first scan) according to a first schedule a specified number of times. In an embodiment, a full scan based on the first list 801 may be set to be performed only once when the first schedule is performed once because battery consumption is high and the search time is long. On the other hand, since the scan based on the second list 803 (eg, the second scan) or the scan based on the third list 805 (eg, the third scan) performs a network scan only for a limited target radio resource, multiple can be performed repeatedly.

Also, when the first scan is repeatedly performed a specified number of times but is still in the OOS state, the electronic device 100 may perform a network scan (eg, a second scan) with a second schedule different from the first schedule. The second scan may have a scan timing having a relatively long interval because the electronic device is likely to be in an area where a network is not available for a while.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a network search process using a plurality of scan lists according to an embodiment.

In operation 901, the electronic device 100 may perform a network scan corresponding to a frequency included in a plurality of scan lists. For example, the electronic device 100 sets a first schedule defining a timing of a network scan for each of the first list 801, the second list 803, and the third list 805, and scans the network based on the first schedule can be performed at least once. In operation 903, the electronic device 100 may determine whether PLMN information is obtained in a network scan. If the acquisition fails, the electronic device 100 may repeat operation 901 until it succeeds in acquiring the PLMN information. In this case, if PLMN information acquisition fails even though network scans are performed more than a specified number of times with the first schedule, the electronic device may change the schedule used in 901 to a second schedule different from the first schedule.

When PLMN information is obtained, the electronic device 100 may check country information (MCC) from the obtained PLMN information. When country information is confirmed, for example, the electronic device 100 performs a network scan for the RAT and frequency band set based on the MCC by any one of the methods described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 , and the scan result A registration procedure for the PLMN may be performed based on .

In an embodiment, when PLMN information is obtained, the electronic device 100 may determine whether the PLMN is obtained from the RPLMN list, for example, the second list 803 in operation 905 . For example, the electronic device 100 may determine whether acquired PLMN information exists in the RPLMN list. If the PLMN obtained as a result of performing the first schedule is the PLMN obtained in the second list 803, the electronic device 100 may determine whether a PLMN having a higher priority than the obtained PLMN exists in the second list 803 in operation 907. . If there is no higher priority PLMN, the electronic device 100 may perform a registration procedure for the current PLMN (the obtained PLMN) in operation 913 . If there is a higher priority PLMN, the electronic device 100 searches for a PLMN having a higher priority among PLMNs (eg, RPLMNs) included in the second list in operation 911 , and in operation 913 for the discovered PLMN You can go through the registration process. Of course, if the search fails, a registration procedure may be performed again with the PLMN obtained in operation 903 .

In an embodiment, when the PLMN obtained as a result of performing the first schedule is not the PLMN obtained from the second list 803, that is, the PLMN obtained from the first list 801 or the third list 805, the electronic device 100 acquires Based on the MCC information of the obtained PLMN, it may be determined whether a PLMN having a higher priority in the same MCC (ie, the same country) exists. If there is no higher priority PLMN, the electronic device 100 may perform a registration procedure for the current PLMN (the obtained PLMN) in operation 913 . If there is a higher priority PLMN, the electronic device 100 may set a new list to be searched based on the MCC in operation 915 . For example, the electronic device 100 may set a list including information on RATs and frequency bands that are available in a country corresponding to the MCC and supportable by the electronic device 100 at the same time. The electronic device 100 may search for a higher priority PLMN based on the newly set list in operation 915 .

10 illustrates a hardware configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10 , an electronic device 1001 may include, for example, all or a part of the electronic device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 . Electronic device 1001 includes one or more processors (eg AP) 1010, communication module 1020, subscriber identity module 1024, memory 1030, sensor module 1040, input device 1050, display 1060, interface 1070, audio module 1080, camera module 1091, power management a module 1095 , a battery 1096 , an indicator 1097 , and a motor 1098 .

The processor 1010 may control a plurality of hardware or software components connected to the processor 1010 by, for example, driving an operating system or an application program, and may perform various data processing and operations. The processor 1010 may be implemented as, for example, a system on chip (SoC). According to an embodiment, the processor 1010 may further include a graphic processing unit (GPU) and/or an image signal processor. The processor 1010 may include at least some of the components shown in FIG. 10 (eg, a cellular module 1021 ). The processor 1010 may load and process commands or data received from at least one of other components (eg, non-volatile memory) into the volatile memory, and store various data in the non-volatile memory.

The communication module 1020 may have the same or similar configuration to the communication module 130 of FIG. 1 . The communication module 1020 includes, for example, a cellular module 1021, a Wi-Fi module 1023, a Bluetooth module 1025, a GNSS module 1027 (eg, a GPS module, a Glonass module, a Beidou module, or a Galileo module), an NFC module 1028, and a radio frequency (RF) module. frequency) module 1029.

The cellular module 1021 may provide, for example, a voice call, a video call, a text service, or an Internet service through a communication network. According to an embodiment, the cellular module 1021 may use a subscriber identification module (eg, a SIM card) 1024 to identify and authenticate the electronic device 1001 within a communication network. According to an embodiment, the cellular module 1021 may perform at least some of the functions that the processor 1010 may provide. According to an embodiment, the cellular module 1021 may include a communication processor (CP).

Each of the Wi-Fi module 1023, the Bluetooth module 1025, the GNSS module 1027, or the NFC module 1028 may include, for example, a processor for processing data transmitted and received through a corresponding module. According to some embodiments, at least some (eg, two or more) of the cellular module 1021, the Wi-Fi module 1023, the Bluetooth module 1025, the GNSS module 1027, or the NFC module 1028 may be included in one integrated chip (IC) or IC package. can

The RF module 1029 may transmit and receive, for example, a communication signal (eg, an RF signal). The RF module 1029 may include, for example, a transceiver, a power amp module (PAM), a frequency filter, a low noise amplifier (LNA), or an antenna. According to another embodiment, at least one of the cellular module 1021, the Wi-Fi module 1023, the Bluetooth module 1025, the GNSS module 1027, and the NFC module 1028 may transmit/receive an RF signal through a separate RF module.

The subscriber identification module 1024 may include, for example, a card including a subscriber identification module and/or an embedded SIM (SIM), and may include unique identification information (eg, integrated circuit card identifier (ICCID)) or subscriber information. (eg, international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)).

The memory 1030 (eg, the memory 120 ) may include, for example, an internal memory 1032 or an external memory 1034 . The internal memory 1032 may include, for example, a volatile memory (eg, dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), etc.), a non-volatile memory (eg, OTPROM ( one time programmable ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable and programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), mask ROM, flash ROM, flash memory (e.g. NAND flash) flash) or NOR flash (NOR flash, etc.), a hard drive, or a solid state drive (SSD).

External memory 1034 is a flash drive, for example, CF (compact flash), SD (secure digital), Micro-SD, Mini-SD, xD (extreme digital), MMC (MultiMediaCard), or a memory stick ( memory stick) and the like may be further included. The external memory 1034 may be functionally and/or physically connected to the electronic device 1001 through various interfaces.

The sensor module 1040, for example, may measure a physical quantity or sense an operating state of the electronic device 1001, and may convert the measured or sensed information into an electrical signal. The sensor module 1040 may include, for example, a gesture sensor 1040A, a gyro sensor 1040B, a barometric pressure sensor 1040C, a magnetic sensor 1040D, an acceleration sensor 1040E, a grip sensor 1040F, a proximity sensor 1040G, a color sensor 1040H (eg, an RGB sensor), a biometric sensor 1040I , a temperature/humidity sensor 1040J, an illuminance sensor 1040K, or a UV (ultra violet) sensor 1040M may include at least one. Additionally or alternatively, the sensor module 1040 may include, for example, an olfactory sensor (E-nose sensor), an electromyography (EMG) sensor, an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor, an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, an iris sensor, and / or may include a fingerprint sensor. The sensor module 1040 may further include a control circuit for controlling at least one or more sensors included therein. In some embodiments, the electronic device 1001 may further include a processor configured to control the sensor module 1040 as part of the processor 1010 or separately, to control the sensor module 1040 while the processor 1010 is in a sleep state .

The input device 1050 may include, for example, a touch panel 1052, a (digital) pen sensor 1054, a key 1056, or an ultrasonic input device 1058. The touch panel 1052 may use, for example, at least one of a capacitive type, a pressure sensitive type, an infrared type, and an ultrasonic type. Also, the touch panel 1052 may further include a control circuit. The touch panel 1052 may further include a tactile layer to provide a tactile response to the user.

The (digital) pen sensor 1054 may be, for example, a part of a touch panel or may include a separate recognition sheet. Key 1056 may include, for example, a physical button, an optical key, or a keypad. The ultrasound input device 1058 may detect an ultrasound generated by the input tool through a microphone (eg, the microphone 1088 ), and may check data corresponding to the detected ultrasound.

The display 1060 (eg, the display 160 ) may include a panel 1062 , a hologram device 1064 , or a projector 1066 . The panel 1062 may have the same or similar configuration to the display 160 of FIG. 1 . The panel 1062 may be implemented to be flexible, transparent, or wearable, for example. The panel 1062 may be configured with the touch panel 1052 as one module. The hologram device 1064 may display a stereoscopic image in the air by using light interference. The projector 1066 may display an image by projecting light onto the screen. The screen may be located inside or outside the electronic device 1001, for example. According to an embodiment, the display 1060 may further include a control circuit for controlling the panel 1062, the hologram device 1064, or the projector 1066.

The interface 1070 may include, for example, HDMI 1072, USB 1074, optical interface 1076, or D-sub (D-subminiature) 1078. The interface 1070 may be included in, for example, the communication module 130 illustrated in FIG. 1 . Additionally or alternatively, the interface 1070 may include, for example, a mobile high-definition link (MHL) interface, an SD card/MMC interface, or an infrared data association (IrDA) standard interface.

The audio module 1080 may interactively convert a sound and an electrical signal, for example. At least some components of the audio module 1080 may be included in, for example, the input/output interface 150 illustrated in FIG. 1 . The audio module 1080 may process sound information input or output through a speaker 1082, a receiver 1084, an earphone 1086, or a microphone 1088, for example.

The camera module 1091 is, for example, a device capable of capturing still images and moving images, and according to an embodiment, one or more image sensors (eg, a front sensor or a rear sensor), a lens, an image signal processor (ISP), or It may include a flash (eg, an LED or a xenon lamp).

The power management module 1095 may manage power of the electronic device 1001, for example. According to an embodiment, the power management module 1095 may include a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), a charger integrated circuit (IC), or a battery or fuel gauge. The PMIC may have a wired and/or wireless charging method. The wireless charging method includes, for example, a magnetic resonance method, a magnetic induction method or an electromagnetic wave method, and may further include an additional circuit for wireless charging, for example, a coil loop, a resonance circuit, or a rectifier. there is. The battery gauge may measure, for example, the remaining amount of the battery 1096, voltage, current, or temperature during charging. The battery 1096 may include, for example, a rechargeable battery and/or a solar battery.

The indicator 1097 may display a specific state of the electronic device 1001 or a part thereof (eg, the processor 1010 ), for example, a booting state, a message state, or a charging state. The motor 1098 may convert an electrical signal into mechanical vibration, and may generate vibration or a haptic effect. Although not shown, the electronic device 1001 may include a processing unit (eg, GPU) for supporting mobile TV. The processing device for supporting mobile TV may process media data according to a standard such as Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), or MediaFLOTM.

Each of the components described in this document may be composed of one or more components, and the name of the component may vary depending on the type of the electronic device. In various embodiments, the electronic device may be configured to include at least one of the components described in this document, and some components may be omitted or may further include additional other components. In addition, since some of the components of the electronic device according to various embodiments are combined to form a single entity, the functions of the components prior to being combined may be identically performed.

11 is a block diagram of a program module according to an embodiment;

Referring to FIG. 11 , according to an embodiment, the program module 1110 is an operating system (OS) that controls resources related to an electronic device (eg, the electronic device 100) and/or various applications ( Example: application program). The operating system may be, for example, Android, iOS, Windows, Symbian, Tizen, or bada.

The program module 1110 may include a kernel 1120, middleware 1130, API 1160, and/or application 1170. At least a portion of the program module 1110 may be preloaded on the electronic device or downloaded from an external electronic device.

The kernel 1120 may include, for example, a system resource manager 1121 or a device driver 1123 . The system resource manager 1121 may control, allocate, or recover system resources. According to an embodiment, the system resource manager 1121 may include a process manager, a memory manager, or a file system manager. The device driver 1123 may include, for example, a display driver, a camera driver, a Bluetooth driver, a shared memory driver, a USB driver, a keypad driver, a Wi-Fi driver, an audio driver, or an inter-process communication (IPC) driver. .

For example, the middleware 1130 may provide functions commonly required by the application 1170 or provide various functions to the application 1170 through API 1160 so that the application 1170 can efficiently use limited system resources inside the electronic device. there is. According to an embodiment, the middleware 1130 includes a runtime library 1135, an application manager 1141, a window manager 1142, a multimedia manager 1143, a resource manager 1144, and a power manager. ) 1145, database manager 1146, package manager 1147, connectivity manager 1148, notification manager 1149, location manager 1150, graphic manager 1151 , and may include at least one of a security manager 1152.

The runtime library 1135 may include, for example, a library module used by the compiler to add a new function through a programming language while the application 1170 is being executed. The runtime library 1135 may perform functions for input/output management, memory management, or arithmetic functions.

The application manager 1141 may manage, for example, a life cycle of at least one application among the applications 1170 . The window manager 1142 can manage GUI resources used in the screen. The multimedia manager 1143 may identify a format required for reproduction of various media files, and may encode or decode the media file using a codec suitable for the format. The resource manager 1144 may manage resources such as a source code, a memory, or a storage space of at least one of the applications 1170 .

The power manager 1145 may, for example, operate together with a BIOS (basic input/output system), etc. to manage a battery or power, and provide power information required for an operation of an electronic device. The database manager 1146 may create, search, or change a database to be used by at least one of the applications 1170 . The package manager 1147 may manage installation or update of applications distributed in the form of package files.

The connection manager 1148 may manage a wireless connection such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, for example. The notification manager 1149 may display or notify an event such as an arrival message, an appointment, or a proximity notification in a non-obstructive manner to the user. The location manager 1150 may manage location information of the electronic device. The graphic manager 1151 may manage a graphic effect to be provided to a user or a user interface related thereto. The security manager 1152 may provide various security functions necessary for system security or user authentication. According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (eg, the electronic device 100) includes a phone function, the middleware 1130 may further include a telephony manager for managing the voice or video call function of the electronic device.

The middleware 1130 may include a middleware module that forms a combination of various functions of the aforementioned components. The middleware 1130 may provide a specialized module for each type of operating system in order to provide differentiated functions. Also, the middleware 1130 may dynamically delete some existing components or add new components.

API 1160 (eg, API) is, for example, a set of API programming functions, and may be provided in a different configuration according to an operating system. For example, in the case of Android or iOS, one API set may be provided for each platform, and in the case of Tizen, two or more API sets may be provided for each platform.

Application 1170 may be, for example, Home 1171, Dialer 1172, SMS/MMS 1173, Instant Message (IM) 1174, Browser 1175, Camera 1176, Alarm 1177, Contacts 1178, Voice Dialer 1179, Email 1180, Calendar 1181, Media Player. 1182, album 1183, or watch 1184, to perform a function, such as health care (eg, measuring exercise volume or blood sugar), or providing environmental information (eg, providing information on air pressure, humidity, or temperature, etc.). It may contain one or more possible applications.

According to an embodiment, the application 1170 may include an application supporting information exchange between the electronic device (eg, the electronic device 100 ) and an external electronic device (hereinafter, for convenience of description, “information exchange application”). The information exchange application may include, for example, a notification relay application for transmitting specific information to an external electronic device or a device management application for managing the external electronic device.

For example, the notification delivery application may include a function of delivering notification information generated by another application of the electronic device (eg, an SMS/MMS application, an email application, a health management application, or an environment information application) to an external electronic device. can Also, the notification delivery application may receive notification information from, for example, an external electronic device and provide it to the user.

The device management application may be, for example, turn-on/turn-off of at least one function of the external electronic device communicating with the electronic device (eg, the external electronic device itself (or some component) or brightness (or resolution) of the display. ), applications running on the external electronic device or services (eg, call service or message service, etc.) provided by the external electronic device (eg, installation, deletion, or update).

According to an embodiment, the application 1170 may include an application designated according to a property of the external electronic device (eg, a health management application of a mobile medical device). According to an embodiment, the application 1170 may include an application received from an external electronic device. According to an embodiment, the application 1170 may include a preloaded application or a third party application downloadable from a server. Names of components of the program module 1110 according to the illustrated embodiment may vary depending on the type of the operating system.

According to various embodiments, at least a portion of the program module 1110 may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of at least two or more thereof. At least a part of the program module 1110 may be implemented (eg, executed) by, for example, a processor (eg, the processor 1010 ). At least a portion of the program module 1110 may include, for example, a module, a program, a routine, sets of instructions, or a process for performing one or more functions.

As used herein, the term “module” may refer to, for example, a unit including one or a combination of two or more of hardware, software, and firmware. The term “module” may be used interchangeably with terms such as, for example, unit, logic, logical block, component, or circuit. A “module” may be a minimum unit or a part of an integrally formed component. A “module” may be a minimum unit or a part of performing one or more functions. A “module” may be implemented mechanically or electronically. For example, a “module” is one of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or programmable-logic device, known or to be developed, that performs certain operations. It may include at least one.

At least a portion of an apparatus (eg, modules or functions thereof) or a method (eg, operations) according to various embodiments is, for example, a computer-readable storage medium in the form of a program module It can be implemented as a command stored in . When the instruction is executed by a processor (eg, the processor 110 ), the one or more processors may perform a function corresponding to the instruction. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, the memory 120 .

Computer-readable recording media include hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic media (eg, magnetic tape), optical media (eg, CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), magnetic- It may include a magneto-optical media (eg, a floptical disk), a hardware device (eg, ROM, RAM, or flash memory, etc.), etc. In addition, the program instructions are created by a compiler It may include high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc., as well as machine language code such as an interpreter, etc. The above-described hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of various embodiments. and vice versa.

A module or a program module according to various embodiments may include at least one or more of the above-described components, some may be omitted, or may further include additional other components. Operations performed by a module, a program module, or other components according to various embodiments may be executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively, or in a heuristic method. Also, some operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or other operations may be added.

In addition, the embodiments disclosed in this document are provided for description and understanding of the disclosed, technical content, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of this document should be construed to include all modifications or various other embodiments based on the technical spirit of the present invention.

Claims (30)

In an electronic device,
wireless communication circuitry;
Memory;
A processor coupled to the wireless communication circuitry and the memory, the processor comprising:
performing a first network scan by searching the frequency band of the first network indicated by the previous access network information stored in the memory;
If the search of the first network from the first network scan fails, a second network scan is performed by sequentially searching for frequency bands based on a list including preset frequency bands,
When country information is obtained from the second network scan, a third network scan is performed by searching for at least one second frequency band associated with a country indicated by the country information;
If the country information is not obtained from the second network scan, the electronic device is configured to perform a fourth network scan using frequency bands supported by the wireless communication circuit. The method according to claim 1,
and the processor is configured to perform the first network scan when the electronic device is not connected to a cellular network. 3. The method according to claim 2,
The first network is a cellular network to which the electronic device is recently connected or a predefined network. The method according to claim 1,
The processor performs the second network scan:
Search for a first frequency band associated with a first radio access technology (RAT),
and to perform by searching for a third frequency band associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT when the acquisition of the country information from the first frequency band fails. 5. The method according to claim 4,
The first frequency band has a wider global coverage than the third frequency band, the electronic device. The method according to claim 1,
and the processor is configured to perform the second network scan to find at least one public land mobile network identifier (PLMN ID). The method according to claim 1,
and the processor is configured to obtain the country information from a PLMN ID retrieved from the second network scan. The method according to claim 1,
and the at least one second frequency band comprises an available frequency band within a country identified by the country information. 9. The method of claim 8,
and the processor is configured to identify the available frequency band from the memory. delete A method for an electronic device, comprising:
performing a first network scan on a frequency band of a first network indicated by previous access network information stored in the memory of the electronic device;
performing a second network scan by sequentially searching for frequency bands based on a list including preset frequency bands when the first network search fails from the first network scan;
when country information is obtained from the second network scan, performing a third network scan by searching for at least one second frequency band associated with a country indicated by the country information; and
If the country information is not obtained from the second network scan, performing a fourth network scan using frequency bands supported by a wireless communication circuit of the electronic device. 12. The method of claim 11,
The performing the first network scan includes performing the first network scan when the electronic device is not connected to a cellular network. 13. The method of claim 12,
wherein the first network is a cellular network to which the electronic device is recently connected or a predefined network. 12. The method of claim 11,
The operation of performing the second network scan includes:
searching for a first frequency band associated with a first radio access technology (RAT); and
and searching for a third frequency band associated with a second RAT different from the first RAT if the acquisition of the country information from the first frequency band fails. 15. The method of claim 14,
The first frequency band has a wider global coverage than the third frequency band, the method. 12. The method of claim 11,
The operation of performing the second network scan includes:
performing the second network scan to find at least one public land mobile network identifier (PLMN ID). 12. The method of claim 11,
and obtaining the country information from the PLMN ID retrieved from the second network scan. 12. The method of claim 11,
and the at least one second frequency band comprises an available frequency band within a country identified by the country information. 19. The method of claim 18,
and identifying the available frequency band from the memory.

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