KR20110027042A - Terminal and method of controling terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A terminal and a method for controlling the terminal are provide to access an AP which has optimal receiving capacity. CONSTITUTION: A wireless communication unit(110) transmits and receives wireless signal from an AP(Access Point). A control unit(180) decides a strength of a signal receiving and idle property, and controls an image in order to be displayed through a display unit. A broadcasting reception module(111) receives broadcast signal and broadcast related information from an external broadcasting management server.

Description

Terminal and method of controling terminal

The present invention relates to a terminal and a terminal control method, and more particularly, to a terminal capable of selecting an efficient communication line when using a wireless LAN and a control method thereof.

In general, the terminal refers to a device having at least one voice / video call function, information input / output function, and data storage function. Here, the terminal may be divided into a mobile terminal (portable terminal) and a stationary terminal according to whether or not it is mobile, and a handheld terminal and a stationary terminal depending on whether the user can carry it directly. (vehicle mount terminal).

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

In these multimedia devices, various new attempts have been applied in terms of hardware or software to implement complex functions. For example, in order to allow a user to search for or select a function easily and conveniently, a user interface (UI) environment implemented in various forms is provided.

According to the broadcasting terminal according to the related art, after completing a channel scan, a channel list including only channels capable of receiving a broadcast is displayed. As a result of performing a channel scan operation, a channel list is displayed based on a signal strength to indicate a state of a specific access point (AP), but various methods have been attempted to select an AP for maintaining an efficient communication state.

In general, when the terminal accesses the AP for WLAN use, a method of selecting an AP having a high received signal strength among one or more APs detected in the vicinity of the terminal is used. However, even when an AP having a good reception signal strength has a high occupancy rate of another AP with respect to a shared channel used by the terminal, the reception state is deteriorated, such as crosstalk during wireless communication.

Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a terminal and a terminal control method for accessing a specific AP in consideration of received signal strength and channel idleness at the AP for use in a WLAN.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a terminal that can select and access a specific AP desired by the user by displaying the received signal strength and channel idleness of the AP detected by the terminal on the display unit.

Technical problems to be achieved in the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. Could be.

The terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention for realizing the above object is, from the at least one access point through a wireless communication unit, a display unit and the wireless communication unit for transmitting and receiving a wireless signal from at least one access point (Access Point) The received signal strength and channel idleness of each of the one or more access points are determined using the received wireless signal, and the image indicating the determined received signal strength and channel idleness is controlled to be displayed through the display unit. It includes a control unit.

Preferably, the channel idleness may be a value calculated according to the shared channel occupancy rate that other access points may use with respect to the channel used by the access point.

The image may be at least one of digitization of the received signal strength and the channel idleness, text, symbols, and figures. In addition, the image may include different images representing the received signal strength and the channel idleness. The image may be one image representing a reception state derived by considering the received signal strength and the channel idleness.

The controller may control the wireless communication unit to access a specific access point having the best reception state in consideration of the received signal strength and channel validity of the at least one access point.

An embodiment of the present invention may further include a user input unit, and the controller may control the wireless communication unit to access a specific access point selected from the one or more access points through the user input unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a terminal, the method including receiving a radio signal transmitted from at least one access point, and receiving signal strength at the at least one access point based on the received radio signal. And determining channel idleness and displaying an image representing the determined received signal strength and channel idleness.

An embodiment of the present invention may further include controlling to access a specific access point having the best reception state in consideration of the received signal strength and channel idleness of the one or more access points.

Alternatively, the method may further include controlling to access a specific access point selected from the one or more access points through a user input unit.

A terminal related to at least one embodiment of the present invention configured as described above may access an AP having an optimal reception state in consideration of received signal strength and channel idleness when using a WLAN.

In addition, the terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention allows the user to select the optimal AP by displaying the signal strength and channel idleness together on the display unit.

The effects obtainable in the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned above may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. will be.

Hereinafter, a mobile terminal according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The suffixes "module" and "unit" for components used in the following description are given or used in consideration of ease of specification, and do not have distinct meanings or roles from each other.

The mobile terminal described herein may include a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), navigation, and the like.

Recently, a multi-mode terminal selects the most suitable network according to a current location, a user's disposition, an application characteristic, and performs communication. Currently, the most widely used wireless network technologies include IEEE 802.11 based wireless LAN, third generation mobile communication network, and IEEE 802.16 based WiMAX / WiBro. Such WLAN technology has the advantage of providing a higher transmission rate than other technologies, but has a disadvantage of relatively narrow service area.

Therefore, due to the characteristics of the technology, multi-mode mobile terminals mainly use the WLAN when the WLAN and other network service areas overlap, and use other network networks serving a wide area in other areas. When the mobile terminal leaves the wireless LAN service area, the mobile station periodically searches for an access point (AP) through a channel scanning process and consists of only channels capable of receiving broadcasts after completing the channel scan. Display the list.

Hereinafter, a terminal related to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

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

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

Hereinafter, the components will be described in order.

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

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

The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and a terrestrial channel. The broadcast management server may mean a server that generates and transmits a broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information or a server that receives a previously generated broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information and transmits the same to a terminal. The broadcast signal may include not only a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, and a data broadcast signal, but also a broadcast signal having a data broadcast signal combined with a TV broadcast signal or a radio broadcast signal.

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

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

The broadcast receiving module 111 may include, for example, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S), Media Forward Link Only (MediaFLO), and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB-H). Digital broadcast signals can be received using digital broadcasting systems such as Handheld and Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T). Of course, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be configured to be suitable for not only the above-described digital broadcasting system but also other broadcasting systems.

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

The mobile communication module 112 transmits and receives a wireless signal with at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. The wireless signal may include various types of data according to transmission and reception of a voice call signal, a video call call signal, or a text / multimedia message.

The wireless internet module 113 refers to a module for wireless internet access and may be embedded or external to the mobile terminal 100. Wireless Internet technologies may include Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Wireless Broadband (Wibro), World Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wimax), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), and the like.

The short range communication module 114 refers to a module for short range communication. As a short range communication technology, Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like may be used.

The location information module 115 is a module for obtaining a location of a mobile terminal, and a representative example thereof is a GPS (Global Position System) module.

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

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

The microphone 122 receives an external sound signal by a microphone in a call mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, etc., and processes the external sound signal into electrical voice data. The processed voice data can be converted into a form that can be transmitted to the mobile communication base station through the mobile communication module 112 when the voice data is in the call mode, and output. The microphone 122 may implement various noise removing algorithms for removing noise generated in the process of receiving an external sound signal.

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

The sensing unit 140 detects the current state of the mobile terminal 100, such as an open / closed state of the mobile terminal 100, a location of the mobile terminal 100, presence or absence of a user contact, orientation of the mobile terminal, acceleration / deceleration of the mobile terminal, and the like. The sensing unit generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, it may sense whether the slide phone is opened or closed. In addition, whether the power supply unit 190 is supplied with power, whether the interface unit 170 is coupled to the external device may be sensed. The sensing unit 140 may include a proximity sensor 141.

The output unit 150 is used to generate an output related to visual, auditory or tactile senses, which includes a display unit 151, an audio output module 152, an alarm unit 153, a haptic module 154, and a projector module ( 155) may be included.

The display unit 151 displays (outputs) information processed by the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal is in a call mode, the mobile terminal displays a user interface (UI) or a graphic user interface (GUI) related to the call. When the mobile terminal 100 is in a video call mode or a photographing mode, the mobile terminal 100 displays photographed and / or received images, a UI, and a GUI.

The display unit 151 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), and a flexible display (flexible). and at least one of a 3D display.

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

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

When the display unit 151 and a sensor for detecting a touch operation (hereinafter, referred to as a touch sensor) form a mutual layer structure (hereinafter referred to as a touch screen), the display unit 151 may be configured in addition to an output device. Can also be used as an input device. The touch sensor may have, for example, a form of a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like.

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

If there is a touch input to the touch sensor, the corresponding signal (s) is sent to the touch controller. The touch controller processes the signal (s) and then transmits the corresponding data to the controller 180. As a result, the controller 180 can know which area of the display unit 151 is touched.

The proximity sensor 141 may be disposed in an inner region of the mobile terminal surrounded by the touch screen or near the touch screen. The proximity sensor refers to a sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object approaching a predetermined detection surface or an object present in the vicinity without using a mechanical contact by using an electromagnetic force or infrared rays. Proximity sensors have a longer life and higher utilization than touch sensors.

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

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the act of allowing the pointer to be recognized without being in contact with the touch screen so that the pointer is located on the touch screen is referred to as a "proximity touch", and the touch The act of actually touching the pointer on the screen is called "contact touch." The position where the proximity touch is performed by the pointer on the touch screen refers to a position where the pointer is perpendicular to the touch screen when the pointer is in proximity proximity.

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

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

The alarm unit 153 outputs a signal for notifying occurrence of an event of the mobile terminal 100. Examples of events occurring in the mobile terminal include call signal reception, message reception, key signal input, and touch input. The alarm unit 153 may output a signal for notifying occurrence of an event in a form other than a video signal or an audio signal, for example, vibration. The video signal or the audio signal may be output through the display unit 151 or the audio output module 152, so that they 151 and 152 may be classified as part of the alarm unit 153.

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

In addition to vibration, the haptic module 154 may be configured to provide a pin array that vertically moves with respect to the contact skin surface, a jetting force or suction force of air through an injection or inlet port, grazing to the skin surface, contact of an electrode, electrostatic force, and the like. Various tactile effects can be generated, such as effects by the endothermic and the reproduction of a sense of cold using the elements capable of endotherm or heat generation.

The haptic module 154 may not only deliver the haptic effect through direct contact, but also may implement the user to feel the haptic effect through a muscle sense such as a finger or an arm. Two or more haptic modules 154 may be provided according to a configuration aspect of the mobile terminal 100.

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

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

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

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

The memory unit 160 may store a program for processing and controlling the controller 180, and temporarily stores input / output data (for example, a phone book, a message, an audio, a still image, a video, etc.). It can also perform a function for. The memory unit 160 may also store the frequency of use of each of the data (for example, each telephone number, each message, and frequency of use for each multimedia). In addition, the memory unit 160 may store data regarding vibration and sound of various patterns output when a touch input on the touch screen is performed.

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

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

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

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

The controller 180 typically controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal. For example, it performs related control and processing for voice calls, data communications, video calls, etc. The controller 180 may include a multimedia module 181 for playing multimedia. In addition, the controller 180 may include a graphic module 182 that controls to change the real-time image state of the image displayed on the display unit 151 according to a predetermined condition. The image includes an 'indicator' and a 'graphical user interface' representing specific information in a fixed area of the display unit. The multimedia module 181 and the graphics module 182 may be implemented in the controller 180 or may be implemented separately from the controller 180.

The controller 180 may perform a pattern recognition process for recognizing a writing input or a drawing input performed on the touch screen as text and an image, respectively.

The power supply unit 190 receives an external power source and an internal power source under the control of the controller 180 to supply power for operation of each component.

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

According to a hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein include application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and the like. It may be implemented using at least one of processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and electrical units for performing other functions. Embodiments described in may be implemented by the controller 180 itself.

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

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

The disclosed portable terminal 100 has a terminal body in the form of a bar. However, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be applied to various structures such as a slide type, a folder type, a swing type, a swivel type, and two or more bodies are coupled to be relatively movable.

The body includes a casing (casing, housing, cover, etc.) that forms an exterior. In this embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 101 and a rear case 102. Various electronic components are built in the space formed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. At least one intermediate case may be further disposed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102.

The cases may be formed by injecting synthetic resin or may be formed of a metal material, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti).

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

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

The user input unit 130 is manipulated to receive a command for controlling the operation of the portable terminal 100 and may include a plurality of operation units 131 and 132. The manipulation units 131 and 132 may also be collectively referred to as manipulating portions, and may be employed in any manner as long as the user operates the tactile manner with a tactile feeling.

The content input by the first or second manipulation units 131 and 132 may be variously set. For example, the first operation unit 131 receives commands such as start, end, scroll, and the like, and the second operation unit 132 controls the size of the sound output from the sound output unit 152 or the size of the sound output from the display unit 151 To the touch recognition mode of the touch screen.

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

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

For example, the camera 121 has a low pixel so that the user's face is photographed and transmitted to the counterpart in case of a video call, and the camera 121 'photographs a general subject and does not transmit it immediately. It is desirable to have a high pixel because there are many. The cameras 121 and 121 'may be installed in the terminal body so as to be rotatable or pop-upable.

A flash 123 and a mirror 124 are further disposed adjacent to the camera 121 '. The flash 123 shines light toward the subject when the subject is photographed by the camera 121 '. The mirror 124 allows the user to see his / her own face or the like when photographing (self-photographing) the user using the camera 121 '.

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

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

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

The rear case 102 may be further equipped with a touch pad 135 for sensing a touch. Like the display unit 151, the touch pad 135 may also be configured to have a light transmission type. In this case, if the display unit 151 is configured to output visual information from both sides, the visual information may be recognized through the touch pad 135. The information output on both surfaces may be controlled by the touch pad 135. Alternatively, a display may be additionally mounted on the touch pad 135, and a touch screen may be disposed on the rear case 102 as well.

Hereinafter, a method of searching for an efficient communication line in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 4.

The terminal detects whether there is a WLAN access point available on a wireless network supporting a multi-channel such as IEEE 802.11 and accesses the WLAN. A wireless LAN means a wireless LAN that transmits and receives data between a terminal and a terminal or between a terminal and another communication device by using radio waves (RF) or light. The WLAN has been recently developed according to the rapid development of the Internet service and wireless communication technology, and is mainly installed in a place where wired network is not easy to build, and its use is rapidly increasing due to the ease of maintenance. When accessing the Internet using a WLAN, a user's terminal is generally connected to a wired network such as a router via a WLAN access point and then to a server of a network operator through the Internet. An access point is a bridge that connects wireless users on a network. The access point is a connection device that enables communication with a wired network connected to the access point. After that, the terminal receives various Internet services from the server of the network operator.

When the terminal equipped with the wireless communication unit 110 is connected to a wireless LAN and wishes to receive data service through the wireless LAN access point, the terminal should detect a beacon signal transmitted by the operating wireless LAN access point. The beacon is a signal including timing allocation information and synchronization channel information used by the corresponding AP when data is transmitted between the terminal and the terminal.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network to which a UE performing a WLAN channel scan according to an embodiment of the present invention belongs.

Referring to FIG. 3, in order for the terminal 100 to search for a WLAN channel through the wireless communication unit 110, the terminal 100 may search for a neighboring access point. . In the present specification, one or more access points that a terminal according to an example of the present invention can select to form a new network are referred to as 'candidate access points (candidate APs)'.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the terminal 100 may detect signals transmitted from five candidate access points. The five candidate access points include a Cisco AP 201, a Linksys AP 202, a Linksys2 AP 203, an LGE AP 204, and a WiFi AP 205. The terminal may measure signal strength at predetermined intervals or continuously while receiving a radio signal transmitted from each candidate access point. An example of such a wireless signal is a beacon signal in IEEE 802.11. The beacon signal is transmitted from the IEEE 802.11 AP to the TBET (Taget Beacon Transmission Time) every beacon predetermined period (beacon interval). Since the beacon signal is transmitted with a stronger power than the normal signal, the terminal can receive the beacon signal to determine the signal strength from the AP easier than other signals. The terminal may perform synchronization with the corresponding AP using such a beacon signal, and may sense whether the shared channel is idle, that is, a traffic state of the shared channel. The reception strength of the received signal may be represented by a numerical value such as a received signal strength indication (RSSI). The RSSI indicates the strength of the received radio signal, and the reception strength measurement is mainly performed before the intermediate frequency (IF) is amplified. The reception strength of a signal that a terminal receives from one or more APs is influenced by various factors such as the physical distance between the terminal and the AP, the presence of an obstacle, the transmission power of the AP, or interference between other radio signals in a similar frequency band. I can receive it.

Assuming that all other factors that may affect the strength of the radio signal transmitted from one or more APs received at the terminal are the same conditions, the strength of the received signal may be affected by the physical distance between the terminal and the candidate AP. This will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

3 is a diagram showing the effect of the distance between the terminal and the AP on the reception strength of the radio signal.

Referring to FIG. 3, it is detected that five APs are located in the vicinity of the terminal 100. APs detected by the UE are Cisco AP 201, Linksys AP 202, Linksys2 AP 203, LGE AP 204, and WiFi AP 205, and the physical distance between the UE and each AP is shown in FIG. 4. Respectively (d ₁ , d ₂ , d ₃ , d ₄ , d ₅ ). The distances (d ₁ , d ₂ , d ₄ , d ₅ ) to the Cisco AP 201, the Linksys AP 202, the LGE AP 204, and the WiFi AP 205 based on the UE have the same or similar values. On the other hand, the distance to the Linksys2 AP 203 is d ₃ and located farther than other APs. Assuming that all factors affecting the received signal strength between the terminal and the plurality of APs are the same or similar, the received signal strength may vary according to the physical distance between the terminal and the AP. In this case, the received signal strength worsens as the distance from the terminal to the AP increases, and the received signal strength is inversely proportional to the distance between the terminal and the AP.

Therefore, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, if it is assumed that factors that may affect the signal strength between the terminal 100 and the five APs are the same or similar, a relatively close distance d ₁ , d ₂ , The received signal strength at the Cisco AP 201, Linksys AP 202, LGE AP 204, and WiFi AP 205 located at d ₄ , d ₅ is better than the received signal strength at Linksys2 AP 203. . In general, it is preferable to select an AP having a good reception signal strength. In the above embodiment, if the AP is selected based only on the reception strength, it is preferable that the UE connects to any one of the Cisco AP 201, Linksys AP 202, LGE AP 204, and WiFi AP 205. Do.

However, the communication reception state between the actual terminal and each access point is not only affected by the received signal strength. Even if the AP has a good signal strength, the actual wireless communication reception state may worsen depending on whether the shared channel is idle or the traffic state of the shared channel. In general, one terminal selects and accesses a specific AP from among a plurality of candidate APs detected in a neighboring vicinity, and at least two candidate APs of the candidate APs may use the same channel. When the number of APs using the same channel as the channel used by the UE increases in the vicinity of the UE, the UE may cause confusion such as transmitting or receiving signals through not only the AP originally connected but also other candidate APs using the same channel. have.

For example, while the UE accesses the candidate AP 1 using the channel 1 and performs wireless communication, the UE receives another signal through the channel 1 from the candidate AP 2 using the channel 1 and receives the other signal. In the meantime, a communication failure may occur as the original terminal does not receive a signal that should be received through the candidate AP 1. Therefore, even if the terminal accesses an AP having a high received signal strength, when there are many other APs using the same channel as the AP accessed by the terminal in the vicinity of the terminal, the terminal uses a bad communication line with high noise, interference or crosstalk occurrence rate. Will result. That is, the higher the AP occupancy rate for the channel used by the terminal, the worse the communication state of the terminal.

Accordingly, the present invention proposes a method for selecting an AP for wireless communication in an optimal reception state in consideration of the channel state and the reception strength. The AP selection process of the terminal accordingly will be described with reference to FIG.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of selecting an AP in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. For convenience of description, it is assumed that the terminal mentioned below includes at least one of the components of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 4, the terminal 100 searches for one or more connectable candidate APs located near the terminal through the wireless communication unit 110 (S201). The candidate AP periodically broadcasts a beacon signal to announce its existence, and the beacon includes system information including the AP location information, synchronization information, and band band information used by the AP. Accordingly, the terminal 100 searches for a candidate AP and receives a radio signal including the beacon from the found one or more candidate APs (S202). In this step, the terminal synchronizes with the beacon. At this time, the terminal 100 is connected to the broadcast receiving module 111, the mobile communication module 112, the wireless Internet module 113, the short-range communication module 114 and the location information module 115 of the wireless communication unit 110. It can receive a wireless signal through.

While receiving the radio signal from the candidate AP, the terminal 100 measures the strength of the received signal and monitors the channel used by the candidate AP (S203). In this case, the measured reception signal strength may be inversely proportional to the physical distance between the UE and the candidate AP when the factors affecting the reception signal strength are the same as described above. In addition, the terminal 100 may obtain channel information used by each candidate AP in real time through continuous channel monitoring. The channel information may include one or more channels used by each candidate AP, available regional information for each channel, allocated frequency information for each channel, channel identification information (for example, channel name, channel ID, etc.). In addition, the candidate AP connected to the terminal may include the frequency of use of the shared channel of the AP with respect to a channel shared with other APs near the terminal. Therefore, while receiving a radio signal from each candidate AP, the UE can know information about whether the shared channel is idle or the traffic state of the shared channel at each candidate AP. The channel idleness is a value calculated according to the shared channel occupancy that other APs can use with respect to the channel used by the candidate AP to which the UE is to access. The channel idleness may also determine the share of the shared channel that can be used by other terminals in each candidate AP.

The controller 180 derives the reception state at each candidate AP by combining the reception strength and the channel information measured in step S203 (S204). The reception state of the terminal periodically receives a beacon signal in step S202 and continuously performs channel monitoring, and is changed in real time based on information on a candidate AP that can be recognized by the terminal and channel information of each candidate AP. Can be. The controller 180 may generate a channel information list indicating channel idleness including reception strength, channel ID, shared channel frequency, etc. of one or more candidate APs recognized by the terminal at this step.

Then, the controller 180 can display a channel information list indicating a reception state of each candidate AP in a predetermined region of the display unit 151 (S205). Whether to display the channel information list is made according to a user selection through the user input unit 130. The graphic module 182 may digitize the reception status of each candidate AP derived by combining the reception strength and channel information of each candidate AP measured in the previous step, or display the result in a graph, figure, or text form, or separately. It can also be represented by the figure of.

Next, the terminal 100 selects a specific AP via wireless communication in order to generate a new network based on signal strength and channel information (S206 to S210). According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of selecting a specific AP may be divided into an AP automatic selection mode and an AP manual selection mode according to user designation.

The AP automatic selection mode is performed by a method of selecting a specific AP by the controller 180 (S206 and S207). The controller 180 selects a specific AP that can satisfy an optimal reception state in wireless communication via each candidate AP from among the recognized one or more candidate APs (S207). Specifically, a specific AP may be selected by comparing available channels, shared channel frequencies, and reception strengths of each candidate access point. Meanwhile, in the AP automatic selection mode, the step of displaying the channel information list (S205) may be arbitrarily performed according to a user selection or may be omitted.

Next, in the AP manual selection mode according to the user designation, when a user attempts to connect to another network in a network state that is currently connected directly or wants to make a new network connection, the user manually inputs a specific AP through the user input unit 130. To select. When the user sets the specific AP selection mode to the manual selection mode through the user input unit 130 to set up a new network (S208), the controller 180 attempts to connect with the specific AP selected through the user input unit 130. do. In this case, the user may select a specific AP from one or more candidate APs based on the channel information list displayed on the display unit 151 in step S204 (S209).

As described above, the channel information list includes at least one candidate AP that can be accessed, reception strength when using each candidate AP, channel information (including frequency of using shared channels), and the like. Receive information about the reception status can be obtained.

The specific AP selection mode may be switched from the automatic selection mode to the manual selection mode as shown in FIG. 5 (S210). Although not shown in FIG. 6, the specific AP selection mode may be switched from the manual setting state to the automatic setting method.

As such, when a specific AP passing through to perform wireless communication is selected according to an embodiment of the present invention, the terminal undergoes an authentication process and an association process with the selected specific AP, and then wirelessly through the corresponding AP. Communication can be performed.

Hereinafter, an example of displaying the channel information list on the display unit 151 of the terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8. 5 to 8 illustrate an example in which a channel information list is displayed on the display unit 151 according to a user selection in a specific AP automatic selection mode or a manual selection mode.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the terminal may modify the state of the indicator indicating the reception state information through the graphic module 182 of the controller based on whether the channel idleness is greater than or equal to a predetermined reference value. The predetermined reference value may be set based on the interference rate generated when the terminal 100 wirelessly communicates with the base station via the candidate AP or based on the frequency of the shared channel used by the candidate AP. The frequency of shared channel usage represents the frequency of use of a channel shared with other APs among the available channels used by the candidate AP as described above.

5 is a diagram illustrating a display unit displaying an example of a channel information list in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which a channel information list of five candidate APs 201 to 205 detected by a terminal 100 illustrated in FIG. 3 is displayed nearby.

Referring to FIG. 5, the graphic module 182 of the terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention may represent the reception state of the candidate AP derived from the controller 180 as one image. The controller 180 derives a reception state of each candidate AP by combining received signal strength and channel idleness measured for each of the one or more candidate APs detected by the terminal 100. When the display function of the channel information list is set through the user input unit 130, the channel information list is displayed by using the indicators 301 to 305 indicating the reception status information of the terminal 100 in a predetermined region of the display unit 151. Can be displayed.

In the above embodiment, the Cisco AP 201, the Linksys AP 202, the LGE AP 204, and the WiFi AP 205 have short physical distances from the UE, so that the received signal strength is high. Therefore, channel idleness is not good because of the high frequency of shared channels. On the other hand, in case of the Linksys2 AP 203, the received signal strength is measured because the distance to the terminal is long, but channel idleness is measured among the five candidate APs. Accordingly, the controller 180 may display the reception state image of each AP in consideration of both the reception strength and channel idleness. For example, in the antenna image indicating the reception strength, the color of the image may be changed according to channel idleness. In FIG. 5, the reception status images 301, 302, 304, and 305 of the Cisco AP 201, the Linksys AP 202, the LGE AP 204, the WiFi AP 205 and the Linksys2 AP via the graphics module 182. According to the channel idleness of the reception state image 303 of (203).

In the above embodiment, the Cisco AP 201, the Linksys AP 202 uses channel 1, the Linksys2 AP 203 uses channel 3, the LGE AP 204, the WiFi AP 205 is channel 6 In this case, the colors of the reception state images 301 and 302 of the Cisco AP 201 and the Linksys AP 202 are set to the first color, and the color of the reception state image 303 of the Linksys2 AP 203 is set. The reception intensity and channel idleness may be represented by setting the second color and setting the colors of the reception state images 304 and 305 of the LGE AP 204 and the WiFi AP 205 as the third color.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a channel identifier that explicitly indicates a channel used by each candidate AP may be displayed together with the reception status indicator of each candidate access point. Therefore, the user can determine the channel idleness of each candidate AP through the channel identifier.

5 and 6 illustrate channel idleness as a color variation of the antenna image, but may be represented together with the antenna image by a separate figure, character or numerical value. Hereinafter, an example of representing channel idleness as a separate figure will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

7 is a diagram illustrating a display unit displaying another example of a channel information list in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The graphic module 182 of the terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention may change state in the form of adding an auxiliary image to a predetermined portion of the reception state image according to channel related information of each candidate AP. Referring to FIG. 7, a bar graph is illustrated as an example of the auxiliary image. In the above embodiment, the graphics module 182 shows a bar graph indicating channel idleness for the Cisco AP 201, the Linksys AP 202, the LGE AP 204, and the WiFi AP 205, which have poor channel idleness. The reception state images 301, 302, 304, 305 are transformed in such a way as to show 401, 402, 404, 405 small. On the other hand, the secondary image 403 indicating channel idleness of the Linksys2 AP 203 may indicate that the channel idleness of the candidate AP is good by the height or number of graph bars. The shape of the auxiliary image is not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and may be represented in various image forms.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 8, a channel identifier explicitly indicating a channel used by each candidate AP may be displayed together with the reception status indicator of each candidate access point.

As described above, in FIGS. 5 to 8, the reception signal strength and channel idleness of the candidate AP are displayed by distinguishing and displaying the number and color of antenna bars in one image, or separately by displaying different images. A reception state derived by combining received signal strength and channel idleness may be digitized to represent a reception state of each candidate AP by numbers or letters.

The terminal 100 may receive the detected radio signal transmitted by the candidate AP in real time and continuously perform channel monitoring. The controller 180 may derive the reception state of the candidate AP in real time and list the channel information. It can also be changed in real time. Therefore, the user can check the information on the candidate AP through the channel information list displayed on the display unit 151 in real time, and select a specific AP to enter the new network or enter the current network to obtain an optimal wireless reception state. Can switch to another network. In addition, when the terminal moves, it may search for APs in the moved position and select a specific AP to enter a new network.

Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the above-described method can be implemented as a code that can be read by a processor on a medium on which the program is recorded. Examples of processor-readable media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, and may be implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet). Include.

(Mobile terminal) having the above-described (name) is not limited to the configuration and method of the embodiments described above, the embodiments are all or all of the embodiments so that various modifications can be made Some may be optionally combined.

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

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

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

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network to which a UE performing a WLAN channel scan according to an embodiment of the present invention belongs.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of selecting an AP in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a display unit displaying an example of a channel information list in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram illustrating a display unit displaying another example of a channel information list in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram illustrating a display unit for displaying another example of a channel information list in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram illustrating a display unit for displaying another example of a channel information list in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (14)

A wireless communication unit for transmitting and receiving a wireless signal from at least one access point; A display unit; And The received signal strength and channel idleness of each of the one or more access points are determined by using the wireless signal received from the one or more access points through the wireless communication unit, and the determined received signal strength and channel idleness are determined. And a controller configured to control an image representing the image to be displayed through the display unit. The method of claim 1, And the channel idleness is a value calculated according to the share of the shared channel available to other access points for the channel used by the access point. The method of claim 1, The image is a terminal, characterized in that at least one of the digitization of the received signal strength and the channel idleness, text, symbols, figures. The method of claim 1, And the image comprises different images representing the received signal strength and the channel idleness. The method of claim 1, The image is a terminal, characterized in that one image representing a reception state derived in consideration of the received signal strength and the channel idleness. The method of claim 1, And the controller controls the wireless communication unit to access a specific access point having the best reception state in consideration of the received signal strength and channel validity of the at least one access point. The method of claim 1, It further includes a user input unit, And the control unit controls the wireless communication unit to access a specific access point selected from the one or more access points through the user input unit. Receiving a wireless signal from one or more access points; Determining received signal strength and channel idleness at the one or more access points based on the received wireless signal; And And displaying an image representing the determined received signal strength and channel idleness. The method of claim 8, The channel idleness is a value calculated based on a share of a shared channel that can be used by other terminals in the access point. The method of claim 8, And the image is at least one of digitization of the received signal strength and the channel idleness, text, symbols, and figures. The method of claim 8, And the image comprises different images representing the received signal strength and the channel idleness. The method of claim 8, And the image is one image representing a reception state derived by considering the received signal strength and the channel idleness together. The method of claim 8, And controlling to connect to a specific access point having the best reception state in consideration of the received signal strength and channel idleness of the at least one access point. The method of claim 1, And controlling access to a specific access point selected through a user input unit from among the one or more access points.

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