KR20100093717A - Mobile communication terminal and service method therof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A mobile communication terminal and a service method thereof are provided to restrict functions of the mobile communication terminal which is not used in a corresponding country during oversea roaming. CONSTITUTION: A location based service providing unit(162) grasps current location information of a mobile communication terminal. The location based service providing unit provides a location based service. A data communication unit(164) performs a data communication function of the mobile communication terminal. If the mobile communication terminal performs the oversea roaming function, a function limiting unit(166) limits the function of the location based service providing unit.

Description

Mobile terminal and service method {MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL AND SERVICE METHOD THEROF}

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and a service method.

Roaming service refers to a service that can communicate with other operators in other regions outside the service area of the telecommunication company to which the user subscribes without relying on a single service provider. Overseas roaming service extends this concept to other countries and uses a mobile communication terminal in a foreign country by using a network of a foreign operator that has a contract with a domestic mobile carrier. For example, suppose there is a company A that provides telecommunications services in Korea and a company B that provides telecommunications services in the United States with a contract with company A. At this time, a user joined to Company A may go to the United States to communicate using Company B's communication system.

Recently, a mobile communication terminal supporting an automatic roaming function has been released. When a user uses a mobile communication terminal abroad through an overseas roaming service, some of the functions provided by the mobile communication terminal cannot be used. For example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module mounted in a mobile communication terminal cannot be used abroad where GPS-based services are different or not provided. This is because the communication services provided in different countries are different. As a result, the mobile communication terminal has a problem in that a function that cannot be used when roaming abroad operates to degrade performance and cause unnecessary battery consumption.

An object of the present invention is to limit the function of a mobile communication terminal that is not used in the country when roaming abroad.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the battery consumption of the mobile communication terminal by limiting the function of the mobile communication terminal that is not used in the country when roaming abroad.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a mobile communication terminal performing an overseas roaming function is disclosed.

The mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention grasps the current location information of the mobile communication terminal and provides a location-based service providing unit, a data communication unit performing a data communication function of the mobile communication terminal and the When the mobile communication terminal performs the overseas roaming function, it includes a function limiting unit for limiting the function of the location-based service provider.

Here, the function limiting unit restricts the function of the data communication unit when the country cannot perform the data communication function.

Here, the function limiting unit limits the call transmission / reception according to whether or not the preset call transmission / reception is limited.

In this case, the function limiting unit displays a user setting menu to preset whether or not to restrict a call transmission and reception, and selectively receives any one of a transmission prohibition, a reception prohibition, and a transmission prohibition.

The apparatus may further include a storage unit configured to store a country table for a country in which the data communication function cannot be performed, wherein the function limiter determines whether data communication function is restricted in a country receiving an overseas roaming service using the country table. .

Here, the data communication function includes a text message or wireless internet, and the country table includes whether to provide a service of each text message or wireless internet for each country.

Here, the function limitation unit determines whether to provide an overseas roaming service using system information received from a mobile communication system, and the system information includes a mobile communication service provider and country information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a service method performed by a mobile communication terminal performing an overseas roaming function is disclosed.

The service method according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of receiving system information from a mobile communication system to which the mobile communication terminal is connected, determining whether to roam overseas using the system information, the determination result, overseas roaming service In this case, the position measuring module is turned off, the corresponding application is inactivated, and the data communication function of the country that provides the overseas roaming service is determined by limiting the data communication function in the country. .

Here, the method may further include limiting telephone transmission / reception according to whether the telephone transmission / reception is preset.

Here, whether or not the preset call transmission / reception is limited is one of transmission prohibition, reception prohibition or transmission prohibition.

Here, in the limiting of the data communication function, the data communication function is limited by using a country table in which country information that does not provide a data communication service is registered.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a program of instructions that can be executed by a mobile communication terminal is implemented to perform a service method, and a recording medium recording a program that can be read by the mobile communication terminal is disclosed.

The recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of receiving system information from the mobile communication system to which the mobile communication terminal is connected, determining whether to roam overseas using the system information, the determination result, overseas roaming service In the case of, the position measuring module OFF (OFF), the step of deactivating the application and determining whether or not the data communication function of the country that provides the overseas roaming service to limit the data communication function in the country; Run the service method.

The present invention has the effect of automatically limiting the function of the mobile communication terminal not used in the country when roaming abroad.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of improving the performance of the mobile communication terminal by reducing the operation of the function of the mobile communication terminal not used in the country when roaming abroad, it is possible to reduce the battery consumption.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of reducing the charges imposed on the user by limiting the telephone reception function of the mobile communication terminal when roaming abroad.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all transformations, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

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

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

In the configuration diagram of FIG. 1, components except for the location-based service providing unit 162, the data communication unit 164, and the function limiting unit 166 correspond to components commonly included in the mobile communication terminal. The study 162, the data communication unit 164 and the function limiting unit 166 correspond to the configuration specifically added for the implementation of the service method according to the embodiment of the present invention. It will be described according to the embodiment of.

In the configuration diagram of FIG. 1, the location-based service providing unit 162, the data communication unit 164, and the function limiting unit 166 are displayed as separate blocks because the mobile communication terminal in which the service method is implemented according to the present invention. It is merely to distinguish the existing mobile communication terminal more clearly. That is, the controller 160 may perform the functions and roles performed by the location-based service providing unit 162, the data communication unit 164, and the function limiting unit 166 by integrating them.

Referring to FIG. 1, the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention includes a display unit 110, a camera unit 120, a key input unit 130, a handset unit 140, a wireless unit 150, a controller 160, and a storage unit. And may include 170.

The display unit 110 displays various display data and messages generated by the mobile communication terminal. The display unit 110 may display an image received from the camera unit 120 or display an image received from a counterpart terminal during a video call. The display unit 110 may display a screen for receiving input from the user whether or not the mobile communication terminal limits the transmission and reception when roaming abroad.

The camera unit 120 photographs an image input from the outside and transmits the captured image to the controller 160. The camera unit 120 photographs the user's appearance in real time during a video call and transmits the image to the controller 160.

The key input unit 130 receives an external key required for the operation of the mobile communication terminal such as a video or a general call request, data input. In addition, the key input unit 130 according to the present invention may receive from the user whether or not to limit the transmission and reception of the mobile communication terminal when roaming abroad.

The handset 140 may be a component used in a voice call and may include a microphone and a speaker.

The radio unit 150 processes RF signals transmitted and received over the air. The wireless unit 150 may convert an image and an audio into an RF signal and transmit and receive. The wireless unit 150 may receive a call request signal and caller's telephone number information from a caller from a base station (not shown) and transmit the received call request signal to the control unit 160.

The storage unit 170 includes a read only memory (ROM), a memory, and the like for storing a plurality of programs and data. The storage unit 150 stores various data, messages, etc. generated in the mobile communication terminal. The storage unit 170 stores a country table that does not provide a data communication service. Here, the data communication service may be a service such as a text message or wireless Internet. The country table may include a country in which a service such as a text message or wireless Internet is not provided or the quality of service is poor. The country table may store and store services for which services are not provided for each item such as text messages and wireless Internet. Therefore, the mobile communication terminal can automatically limit the use of data communication in a country that does not provide services when roaming abroad using a country table.

The controller 160 controls the display unit 110, the camera unit 120, the key input unit 130, the handset 140, the wireless unit 150, and the storage unit 170. The controller 160 includes a digital signal processor, a microprocessor, and the like. The controller 160 may include a module or an apparatus for providing a location service.

The controller 160 may drive an application capable of providing a location service and display the same on the display 110. Here, the module or device for providing the location service may include a location measurement module such as a location identification (eg, Global Positioning System (GPS)) module. Here, the position measuring module may be a module capable of measuring a position using a satellite or a base station. In the following description, it is assumed that the position measuring module is a GPS module for the purpose of understanding the present invention. However, the positioning module is not limited to the GPS module.

The controller 160 may limit the function of the mobile communication terminal when roaming abroad. For example, the controller 160 turns off the GPS module when roaming abroad. In this case, the controller 160 may deactivate an application for providing a location service and hide a menu for the location service.

The controller 160 may limit data communication when roaming abroad in a country not provided by the data communication service by using a country table of a country that does not provide the data communication service stored in the storage 170.

The controller 160 may limit data communication according to a user's selection. For example, when "OK" and "NO" are displayed on the menu for data communication use, and "NO" is input, the controller 160 may limit data communication. The controller 160 may automatically limit the data communication service when overseas roaming is set to a country registered in the country table.

The controller 160 may limit the call transmission / reception according to a user setting when roaming overseas. The controller 160 may display a setting menu on the display unit 110 for receiving a call from the user, and may receive input from the user through the key input unit 130. In this case, the controller 160 may transmit a setting menu for selectively limiting at least one function of the telephone transmission and the telephone reception to the display unit 110.

Hereinafter, the location-based service providing unit 162, the data communication unit 164 and the function limiting unit 166 will be described according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The location based service provider 162 grasps the location information of the current mobile communication terminal. The location-based service provider 162 may provide a service by using the identified location information. The location-based service provider 162 may include an application and a GPS module for providing a location-based service. The location-based service providing unit 162 may have a limited function when roaming overseas.

The data communication unit 164 is a component for providing a data communication function. The data communication unit 164 may perform a data communication function through the wireless unit 130. Data communication functions include services such as text messaging and wireless Internet. The data communication unit 164 may perform data communication according to whether the mobile communication system receiving the service provides data communication and the type of data communication provided. For example, when the mobile communication system provides only a text message service, the data communication unit 164 may perform a text message service function.

When roaming abroad, the function of the data communication unit 164 may be limited. For example, by providing services such as text messages and wireless Internet in the country, the data communication unit 164 may perform a data communication function without limitation. However, when the mobile communication system of the corresponding country does not provide at least one or more of a service such as a text message or wireless Internet when roaming abroad, the function of the service that the data communication unit 164 does not provide may be limited.

The function limiting unit 166 may limit a function that cannot be used in a country that is roaming service when roaming abroad.

The function limiting unit 166 first determines whether the mobile communication terminal is roaming overseas. The determination of roaming abroad may be performed by a call processing procedure of the mobile communication terminal. That is, the function limiting unit 166 may determine whether to change the mobile communication system by receiving system information from the mobile communication system after the power of the mobile communication terminal is applied. Here, the system information may include information such as a mobile communication service provider and a country supporting the service.

In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, a call processing procedure of a mobile communication terminal will be briefly described below.

The overall call processing procedure of the mobile communication terminal can be classified into an initialization state, an idle state, a system access state, and a traffic state based on the operation of the mobile communication terminal. have. The initialization state refers to booting the mobile communication terminal and receiving a pilot channel and a sink channel. The standby state means that the mobile communication terminal receives all system information, completes normal operation, and then continuously receives a paging channel. The system connection state is a state for the mobile communication terminal to connect to the system. The traffic state refers to a state in which the mobile communication terminal is busy.

Referring to the call processing procedure of the mobile communication terminal, first, when the power is applied, the mobile communication terminal reads the necessary system information from the internal memory and sets it in the RAM. Next, the mobile communication terminal synchronizes with the mobile communication system using a pilot channel and a sync channel and receives necessary system information.

In the above four states, the mobile communication terminal returns to the standby state or the traffic state when a specific operation is completed in the system connection state. However, if the mobile communication terminal does not receive the paging channel message in the standby state, the mobile communication terminal circulates again by starting the initialization process.

At this time, when the user of the mobile communication terminal changes the mobile operator or moves abroad, and the mobile communication system that previously received the mobile communication service is changed, the mobile communication terminal is changed through the sink channel when the power is applied and is in an initial state. Receive information of the communication system. The mobile communication terminal displays time. The mobile communication terminal transitions to the standby state after the offset of the PN code and receives the mobile communication service from the changed mobile communication system.

Again, the function restriction unit 166 will be described below.

If it is determined that roaming abroad, the function limiting unit 166 limits a function that cannot be used in a country that is roaming service when roaming abroad. That is, the function limiter 166 limits the function of the location-based service provider 162. For example, the function limiter 166 may turn off the GPS module of the location-based service provider 162, deactivate a corresponding application, and hide a menu. Hereinafter, an implementation example will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

2 is an exemplary view showing a screen of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the mobile communication terminal displays a standby screen 200 when power is applied when roaming abroad. At this time, the mobile communication terminal may display a pop-up window 202 to indicate that the GPS module is off.

In addition, the mobile communication terminal may display a service menu screen 210 that the user can select. In this case, the mobile communication terminal may deactivate the menu 212 related to the location-based service. The mobile communication terminal may deactivate the menu 212 related to the location-based service as shown in FIG. 2 or display it invisibly on the menu screen.

Again, the function limiting unit 166 will be described below with reference to FIG. 1.

The function limiting unit 166 limits the data communication function when roaming abroad in the corresponding country by using the country table stored in the storage unit 170. The country table may include a country in which a service such as a text message or wireless Internet is not provided or the quality of service is poor. The function limiting unit 166 may selectively limit the data communication function according to the country and the type of provided service. For example, assuming that country A is not provided with a wireless Internet service, the function restriction unit 166 may limit only the wireless Internet function of the mobile communication terminal when roaming abroad in country A. FIG.

In addition, the function limiting unit 166 may display a user setting menu on the display unit 110 to receive an input of whether or not a telephone is transmitted or received. In this case, the function limiting unit 166 may selectively receive the transmission, reception, transmission and reception of the telephone and selectively limit the reception. For example, the setting menu may be displayed as "1: prohibition of transmission 2: prohibition of reception 3: prohibition of transmission and reception". Thus, the function limiting unit 166 may limit the transmission / reception function of the phone according to the value input through the key input unit 130.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, first, the mobile communication terminal receives system information from the mobile communication system by a call processing procedure (S310). Here, the system information may include information such as a mobile communication service provider and a country supporting the service. The mobile communication terminal may determine whether to roam abroad based on the received system information.

Next, the mobile communication terminal determines whether it is roaming overseas (S320), and in case of overseas roaming, the GPS module of the mobile communication terminal is turned off (OFF) and the application is deactivated (S330). In this case, the mobile communication terminal may deactivate an application for providing a location service and hide a menu related to the location-based service.

Next, the mobile communication terminal determines whether the data communication service is a country for the country currently receiving the communication service with reference to the country table stored in the storage unit 170 (S340).

As a result of determination, when it is determined that the data communication is not possible in the country, the mobile communication terminal limits the data communication function (S350). Data communication may include services such as text messaging and wireless Internet. The mobile communication terminal can selectively limit functions according to the type of data communication service provided. Whether or not to selectively limit the function may be preset by the user, and the mobile communication terminal may selectively limit the function according to a setting value.

In addition, the mobile communication terminal may automatically limit the data communication function when roaming is set in a country registered in the country table. That is, when overseas roaming is set in a country registered in the data country table, data services such as a text service cannot be transmitted and received and the Internet cannot be used.

Next, the mobile communication terminal determines whether to limit the transmission and reception of the phone (S360). Whether or not a call is restricted may be set in advance through a user setting menu. In this case, the mobile communication terminal may be selectively set whether to restrict the call transmission, the telephone reception, the telephone transmission and reception.

The mobile communication terminal limits the transmission and reception according to whether or not the preset telephone transmission and reception is limited (S370).

The service method according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. Computer-readable media may include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like.

The program instructions recorded on the computer readable medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as magneto-optical media and ROM, RAM, flash memory and the like. In addition, the above-described medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal wire, a waveguide, or the like including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal specifying a program command, a data structure, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be understood that the invention may be varied and varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

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

2 is an exemplary view showing a screen of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a service method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

160: control unit 162: location service provider

164: data communication unit 166: function limitation unit

Claims (12)

In the mobile communication terminal performing an overseas roaming function, A location-based service providing unit for providing location-based services by identifying current location information of the mobile communication terminal; A data communication unit performing a data communication function of the mobile communication terminal; And When the mobile communication terminal performs the overseas roaming function, a mobile communication terminal including a function limiting unit for limiting the function of the location-based service providing unit. The method of claim 1, And the function limiting unit restricts the function of the data communication unit when the country cannot perform the data communication function. The method of claim 1, The function limiting unit is a mobile communication terminal, characterized in that for limiting the transmission and reception of the telephone set in accordance with whether or not preset. The method of claim 3, The function limiting unit displays a user setting menu in advance to set whether or not to restrict transmission and reception of a mobile communication terminal, and selectively receives any one of a transmission prohibition, a reception prohibition, or a transmission prohibition. The method of claim 1, Further comprising a storage unit for storing a country table for a country that can not perform the data communication function, The function limiting unit is a mobile communication terminal, characterized in that for determining whether or not to limit the data communication function in the country receiving the overseas roaming service using the country table. The method of claim 5, The data communication function includes a text message or wireless internet, and the country table includes whether to provide each of the text message or wireless Internet service for each country. The method of claim 1, The function limiting unit determines whether to provide an overseas roaming service using system information received from a mobile communication system, and the system information includes a mobile communication service provider and country information. In the service method performed by a mobile communication terminal performing an overseas roaming function, Receiving system information from a mobile communication system to which the mobile communication terminal is connected; Determining whether to roam abroad using the system information; As a result of the determination, in the case of an overseas roaming service, turning off the location measurement module and deactivating the corresponding application; And Determining whether to limit the data communication function of the country that provides the overseas roaming service, and limiting the data communication function in the country. The method of claim 8, Restricting the call transmission and reception according to whether or not the preset call transmission and reception restriction. 10. The method of claim 9, The preset call transmission / reception is a service method, characterized in that any one of the transmission prohibition, reception prohibition or transmission prohibition is selectively set. The method of claim 8, Limiting the data communication function And limiting the data communication function by using a country table in which country information that does not provide a data communication service is registered. In the recording medium recording a program that can be read by the mobile communication terminal is implemented to perform a service method, the mobile communication terminal, Receiving system information from a mobile communication system to which the mobile communication terminal is connected; Determining whether to roam abroad using the system information; As a result of the determination, in the case of an overseas roaming service, turning off the location measurement module and deactivating a corresponding application; And Determining whether the data communication function of the country that provides the overseas roaming service is limited, and limiting the data communication function in the country.

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