KR20120060135A - A wireless network environment, a mobile device, an information server and a method of providing information in a wireless network environment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A wireless network environment, mobile apparatus, information server, and information providing method in wireless network environment are provided to reduce battery voltages by sharing information between mobile apparatuses. CONSTITUTION: Plural mobile apparatuses contact to plural wireless networks. An information server(30) provides a handover message to the mobile apparatus in handover from one network to other network. A first mobile apparatus negotiates the information server with information share rules. The first mobile apparatus provides the share information according to the information share rules. A second mobile apparatus receives the share information.

Description

WIRELESS NETWORK ENVIRONMENT, A MOBILE DEVICE, AN INFORMATION SERVER AND A METHOD OF PROVIDING INFORMATION IN A WIRELESS NETWORK ENVIRONMENT}

The present invention relates generally to a wireless network environment, a mobile device, an information server, and a method of providing information in a wireless network environment.

Several different wireless networks can exist simultaneously in one particular place. In this particular location, different networks may be serviced by different providers, and different network technologies may overlap. In these different kinds of wireless network environments, wireless devices can select an accessible point at each location, and this selection changes frequently as the mobile device moves.

Protocols, such as IEEE802.21, maintain handheld services throughout the wireless network, while moving from one access point to another, and from one network type to another. HandOver: Has evolved to provide handover service to support HO). These protocols further support services such as predictable handover. Handover is initiated to another access point before losing the signal from the current access point to minimize downtime between access points. However, some mobile devices (eg, not Media Independent Handover (MIH)) cannot participate in additional services for media independent handover. As general background information, WO2006 / 052,805 discloses a medium independent handover (MIH) method featuring a simplified beacon for MIH services.

Many mobile devices can generate location information corresponding to the geographic location of the mobile device. The mobile device can receive location-based services related to a specific geographical location through the location information. For example, the location information is provided to access additional services for media independent handover, such as predictable handover based on the current geographical location of the mobile device. However, obtaining location information increases the power consumption of the mobile device and shortens the life of the battery. In addition, wireless networks carry network traffic to provide location information and support location-based services of mobile devices. On the other hand, devices that are not equipped to generate location information (eg, devices that are not equipped with GPS) cannot use this location based service.

Currently, there is a demand for a wireless network environment in which information is efficiently provided. As one example, a wireless network environment is desired in which network traffic is reduced. As one example, battery power protection of mobile devices is required. As another example, there is a need for a method of providing information that is efficiently provided in a wireless network environment.

Wireless network environment for achieving the above object, a plurality of wireless networks;

A plurality of mobile devices coupled to the plurality of wireless networks, the plurality of mobile devices including at least a first mobile device and a second mobile device; And an information server connected to each of the plurality of wireless networks and providing a handover message to the plurality of mobile devices to support the mobile devices when performing a handover from one of the wireless networks to another. Wherein the first mobile device negotiates information sharing rules with the information server, provides sharing information according to the information sharing rules, and the second mobile device is configured to share the sharing provided by the first mobile device. Receiving information.

In addition, a method for providing information in a wireless network for achieving the above object, the information server in a wireless network environment comprising a plurality of wireless networks to forward handover messages to the first mobile device; Performing, by the first mobile device, a handover from one network to another network using the handover message; Negotiating information sharing rules by the information server and a first mobile device; And

And sharing information from the first mobile device to the second mobile device according to the information sharing rules.

By providing a method of providing information in a wireless network environment, a mobile device, an information server, and a wireless network environment, information can be shared among mobile devices to save battery power and thereby reduce the total traffic of the wireless network. It works.

1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless network environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing information in a wireless network environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing information in a wireless network environment according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to independent handover in different network environments. In particular, the following examples relate to media independent handover using the IEEE802.21 protocol, for example, its contents are described at www.ieee802.org. The principles and content of this are also applicable to other integrated technologies for different kinds of networks and will be recognized by the following description and discussion.

 1 is a diagram illustrating a wireless network environment according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 above, the wireless network environment 10 includes one or more wireless networks 12a, 12b, and 12c, each having a set of associated access points (APs) 14, and thus many individual movements. Devices 20 may connect to the wireless networks at various locations. The wireless network environment 10 may cover an entire city, region, or country. Since the plurality of APs 14 often overlap their range at a particular location (airport or a certain distance), the mobile devices 20 can select the APs 14 available at that location. This set of available APs 14 changes frequently as mobile devices 20 move around the area covered by the wireless network environment 10.

In a preferred embodiment, the wireless networks 12a-12c are implemented using a plurality of wireless network technologies. The wireless networks 12a-12c may include a cellular telephone network using technologies such as GSM, GPRS, EDGE, or CDMA, or a wireless local area network such as IEEE802.11 (WiFi) or IEEE802.16 (WiMAX). Can be. Recently, protocols and standards such as IEEE802.21 maintain service to mobile devices, moving from one AP 14 to another AP, and from one network 12 to another network. It has evolved to support municipal media independent handover (HO). Most wireless networks 12 provide homogeneous (horizontal) handovers within the same network. However, IEEE802.21 is an integrated example of MIH, which also supports vertical handovers within several different types of network environments. Other examples include the UMA / GAN (Unlicensed Mobile Access / Generic Access Network) and the Access Network Discovery And Selection Function (ANDSF) as part of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute 3rd Gerneration Partnersho \ ip Project (ETSI 3GPP).

The APs 14 may be a suitable equipment or station used to provide a network connection, or may be an access point for wirelessly communicating with the mobile devices 20. For example, APs include base stations or base station transceivers that transmit network traffic to mobile devices 20.

Mobile devices 20 (mobile stations or MNs) may be connected to one or more wireless networks 12. Mobile devices 20 may be smartphones, PDAs, notebooks, webbooks, or other suitable portable communication devices. These mobile devices 20 suitably have multiple wireless functions and can be connected to several different kinds of wireless networks 12.

One or more wired backbone networks 16 may be provided connected to the crab wireless networks 12. These backbone networks allow service to be provided through the respective wireless networks 12. As an example, the backbone is based on the Internet Protocol (IP).

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of servers 30 and 31 are provided connected to the wireless networks 12. An information server 30 and other network server 31 are provided. These servers 30 and 31 provide services to mobile devices 20 across wireless networks 12. For example, the information server 30 may be an information server for a handover service such as a media independent information server (MIIS) for medium independent handover (MIH). As an example, the information server 30 is compatible with protocols for medium independent handover such as 802.21, UMA / GAN, or ANDSF.

Information server 30 appropriately lists neighboring networks indicating a list of available networks (802.11 / 16/22, GSM, UMTS, etc.), link layer information, and geographic location or coverage area area of particular APs 14; Include it. Information server 30 may also provide higher layer services (eg, Internet service provider ISP, multimedia server MMS, etc.). In particular, information server 30 provides an information service that supports network discovery and selection, which in turn allows mobile devices 20 to make more effective handover decisions.

In one example, the mobile devices 20 provide the information server 30 with cell information based on their current point of attachment 14. The information server 30 is properly prepared to respond to events or notifications that support handover when moving from one AP 14 to another. In one example, the handover is initiated by the mobile device 20 and supported by the information server 30 based on information generated by the mobile device (such as cell information). In another example, handover is initiated by the network 12a currently serving and supported by the information server 30 based on the information provided by the mobile device 20. The information server 30 provides handover data to the mobile device 20 or the network 12a to correctly determine the need for handover and to correctly select the target AP 14 to be used later. The handover can then be executed quickly and effectively in a way that minimizes the loss of services for the application or services running on the mobile devices 20.

2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to an embodiment of the present invention, and includes an information server 30, a first mobile device 20a, a second mobile device 20b, and a third mobile device 20c. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating in detail a wireless network environment 10 including.

Referring to FIG. 2 above, the information server 30 includes an information sharing rule database 32 and a handover information service unit 33.

 The first mobile device 20a includes a handover unit 210, a peer communication unit 220, an information sharing unit 230, and a rule setting unit 240.

Meanwhile, the second mobile device 20b also includes a handover unit 210, a peer communication unit 220, an information sharing unit 230, and a rule setting unit 240.

As described above, the handover unit 210 communicates with the wireless networks 12 to efficiently perform handover between the APs 14. As an example, as described above, the handover unit 210 is prepared to communicate with the information server 30 according to a handover protocol such as 802.21.

In one example, handover messages are exchanged between the wireless devices 12 and the mobile device 20 performing the handover. The messages may include event notifications such as' wireless link going down ', commands such as'' handover initiation 'which may include a list of other APs, or performance information (eg, wireless layer). Delays from), network information (eg, current ISP name request), or availability of location based services.

In a typical handover process, the handover unit 210 in the mobile device 20a indicates a 'link going down' indication for the cellular network 12a that the mobile device is currently using (called 'serving network'). Receive The handover unit 210 checks from policy configuration variables whether the link falls below a threshold for a certain period of time, and if so, sends a 'Get Information Request' to the information server 30. The serving network 12a then responds with information about neighboring networks 12b and 12c including a list of networks, connection costs, security variables, quality of service, operator ID, and the like. Appropriately, the neighbor information is based on cell ID information provided by the mobile device 20a related to the current AP 14. The handover unit 210 then evaluates the list of networks based on policy configuration variables and determines one or more candidate networks. The handover unit 210 then sends a query request, such as a 'candidate query request', to the selected candidate networks 12b and 12c. The query request is generally sent to a mobility management server (not shown) in the candidate networks 12b and 12c. After the candidate query response of the candidate network, the handover unit 210 sends a 'commit request' to the mobility management server in each candidate network. After the commit response, the handover unit 210 opens a link adapter for the new network 12b and 12c or the new AP 14 to begin preparing the selected link adapter. If the adapter open is successful, the handover unit 210 sends a 'complete request' to the new candidate networks 12b and 12c. After the 'Complete Request', the handover unit 210 sends the mobile device 20a (e.g., Voice Call Continuity (VCC), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Mobile Internet Protocol for handover. Notify the selected candidate network 12b or 12c of the relevant applications running on the Mobile Internet Protocol (MIP, etc.).

Movement from one of the APs 14 to another within the same network 12a, 12b, and 12c is usually supported by the network's associated radio technology. For example, a VoIP call from a Wi-Fi handset to a Wi-Fi AP may be handed over to another Wi-Fi AP in the same network, for example in a corporate network. However, if the handover moves from a Wi-Fi AP in the corporate network to a public Wi-Fi hotspot, vertical handover is needed. This is because the two APs cannot communicate with each other at the link layer, since the two APs are typically on different IP subnets.

In FIG. 2, peer communication unit 220 is directly connected to other mobile devices such as second mobile device 20b and / or third mobile device 20c located in the vicinity of first mobile device 20a. Communicate As one example, peer communication unit 220 performs personal area networking using Bluetooth. As another example, peer communication unit 220 uses Near Field Communication (NFC). Therefore, peer communication unit 220 may communicate directly with other mobile devices 20b and 20c in the vicinity.

The information sharing unit 230 shares the information of the first mobile device 20a with other mobile devices 20b and 20c using the peer communication unit 220. That is, the information sharing unit 230 properly transmits the information to the nearby mobile devices 20b and 20c according to the information sharing rule.

The rule setting unit 240 negotiates information sharing rules with the information server 30 and sets sharing rules in the mobile device 20a. The information sharing unit 230 then applies sharing rules for determining information sharing with other nearby devices 20b and 20c.

In FIG. 2, the information sharing rule database 32 has appropriately information sharing rules associated with the respective mobile devices 20a, 20, b. In the present embodiment, the rules are negotiated by the handover information service unit 33 while a capability exchange message is transmitted between the related mobile devices 20a and 20b and the information server 30. In addition, the rules may be updated, for example, using the "get_information_indication" service. As one example, information sharing rules are negotiated for the first mobile device 20a according to 'permitted information sharing if the battery is 50% or more'. Therefore, the information sharing rules are based on the state of mobile devices. The state of such devices is related to the hardware components of mobile devices such as batteries. As another example, the sharing rules are based on the location of the mobile devices (eg, sharing information "out of home" and not sharing "out of home" or vice versa).

As an example, the first mobile device 20a further includes a positioning unit 250, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) that estimates positional information (eg, position coordinates) based on the satellite signals. . Of course, other location tracking devices are also applicable. The mobile device 20 appropriately transmits the location information to the information server 30 using the handover unit 210. Optionally, the location information further comprises direction information and / or speed information obtained from a speed sensor and / or a direction sensor mounted in the mobile device 20a or obtained by continuously displaying a continuous position.

In an embodiment of the invention, the second mobile device 20b also communicates with the information server 30. In this case, the handover unit 210 in the second mobile device 20b may send information sharing request information related to the second mobile device 20b such as location information, device state information, and what is needed for the device. Inform).

For example, the second mobile device 20b requests the information server 30 to obtain GPS type location information with the help of the devices. Therefore, the second mobile device 20b is a device that wants to receive the functions and features performed by the shared information.

In one example, the second mobile device 20b informs the information server 30 of its location. Thus, the information server 30 can identify other nearby devices suitable for sharing information.

In one example, the second mobile device 20b scans other nearby mobile devices to obtain ID information of nearby devices. For example, the second mobile device 20b uses the peer communication unit 220 to scan for nearby devices and obtain a peer communication ID (eg, a Bluetooth ID) of the first mobile device 20a. Then, appropriately, the second mobile device transmits the collected ID to the information server 30 to confirm the ID of the first mobile device as a candidate for providing the information.

The information server 30 generates a command based on the rules negotiated with the one or more mobile devices near the second mobile device 20b by referring to the rule setting database 32. In one example, the information server 30 is the first mobile device 20a whose identity is verified to perform rule negotiation or update of the negotiated rule generated by the information sharing request by a second mobile device in the vicinity. Contact with

In one example, the first mobile device 20a includes a tag that confirms the identifier and its ID to the information server 30 (eg, a Bluetooth ID). Further, the tag properly defines whether or not the mobile device can perform information sharing. For example, the tag includes " MIH " for identifying whether the device is a MIH interoperable device. If the second mobile device 20b has a need for functionality or information, the second mobile device 20b scans nearby devices to identify devices that are compatible with each other. After the first mobile device 20a is identified as a potentially interoperable device, information sharing rules are negotiated and implement with the information server 30.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the information server 30 generates an information sharing command received via the handover unit 210 of the first mobile device 20a and transmits it to the information sharing unit 230. In response, the peer communication unit 220 generates a location generated by the location information unit 210 throughout the peer communication network to be received by the nearby second mobile device 20b, for example NFS or Bluetooth. Start sending information.

As described above, the first mobile device 20a negotiates information sharing rules with the information server 30 during the transmission of the function exchange message between the first mobile device and the information server. During the function exchange message transmission, the first mobile device 20a may include shared information included in one of the messages. For example, the first mobile device 20a may include its location in the 'get info request (location)' message. The message is generally used to identify nearby APs 14 for the handover process.

In this case, the information server 30 extracts the shared information from the first mobile device 20a during the function exchange message transmission, and then transmits the shared information to the second mobile device 20b.

After the information server 30 receives a function exchange message such as 'get info request (location)', if information sharing rules have already been negotiated, location information of the first mobile device 20a is extracted, and The location information may be sent to the second mobile device 20b.

Table 1 shows an example of a message used to set information sharing rules with mobile devices 20. In an embodiment of the present invention, information sharing rules are exchanged using structured information such as XML.

MIH Header Source Identifier = sending MIHF ID (Source MIHF ID TLV) Destination Identifier = receiving MIHF ID InfoResponseBinaryDataList (Optional) InforResponseRDFDataList (Optional)

Table 2 shows an example of an information response provided from the information server 30 to the mobile device 20. In an embodiment of the present invention, if the battery of the first mobile device 20a is 70% or more remaining, the information server 30 determines that the first mobile device 20a is a mobile device having a client ID of 'Client MIHF_ID' and the next 10. Set up an information sharing rule that is expected to share GPS location information for minutes.

Sample Info response RDF Data List from information server:
0:
<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8"?>
<sparql xmlns = "http://www.w3.org/2005/sparql-results#">
<head>
<variable name = "rule startup"/>
</ head>
<results>
<result>
<binding name = " rule start up "><literal> config rule </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "GPS sharing"><literal> ON </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "Client ID"><literal> Client MIHF_ID 1 </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "Accept Clients"><literal> ON </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "Time interval"><literal> 10 min </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "Battery Level"><literal> 70% </ literal></binding>
</ result>
</ results>
</ sparql>

The mobile devices 20a and 20b are properly adjusted to send a 'get_information_client' request message and a corresponding 'get_information_client' response message for peer to peer communication between the mobile devices 20a and 20b. Thus, the mobile devices 20a and 20b may use a nearby community communication interface (such as a Bluetooth interface) for directly sharing information between the devices.

In an embodiment of the present invention, information sharing is accomplished by the relatively high battery power first mobile device 20a, which assists the relatively low battery power second mobile device 20b. The second mobile device 20b does not have a GPS function by itself (for example, the second mobile device 20b is a non-GPS device), and the second mobile device 20b is currently the first mobile device 20a. Can be used to provide GPS location tracking in an efficient manner. In another example, even if the second mobile device 20b is provided with the same location tracking unit 250 as the GPS device, the location tracking unit 250 of the second mobile device 20b may temporarily save power at this time. You can turn off the power. As a result, the battery power of the second mobile device 20b can be saved. In addition, since the first and second mobile devices 20a and 20b share information directly through peer communication, the total traffic of the wireless network 12 may also be reduced.

In general, location-based services are currently provided at an inaccurate level based on cellular location, such as the cell ID of the AP 14. However, the location based services are provided at a precise level when more accurate and detailed coordinate based location information, such as specific coordinates derived from the location tracking unit 250 such as a GPS location tracker, is available. Therefore, the use of coordinate-based location information, such as GPS location information shared by the first mobile device 20a, allows for better service that the second mobile device 20b near the first mobile device 20a obtains. Let's do it.

In one example, the sharing roles as the information provider and the information receiver are properly changed and periodically redistributed. For example, after a predetermined time, while the location tracking unit 250 of the first mobile device 20a is turned off to save power, the second mobile device 20b may move its own location tracking unit. Restart and share GPS position tracking information with the first mobile device 20a.

3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which shows a further embodiment including the same mobile devices 20a, 20b, 20c, and the like described above. Drawing.

Referring to FIG. 3, the third mobile device 20c appropriately includes a peer communication unit 220 such as Bluetooth or NFS, thereby receiving information shared by the first mobile device 20a. The third mobile device 20c also includes an information receiving unit 290 for processing and delivering the received shared information to be used in the application in the third mobile device 20c. In the embodiment of the present invention, the third mobile device 20c does not include the handover unit 210 and thus cannot communicate directly with the information server 30. However, the third mobile device 20c may benefit from information sharing that occurs using the information server 30.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing information in a wireless network environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, step 401 includes handover message transfer between the information server 30 and the plurality of mobile devices 20a, 20b, and 20c.

Step 402 includes performing a handover performed by at least one mobile device 20a using a handover message when moving from one wireless network 12a to another wireless network 12b. In one example, step 402 uses AP information provided by the information server 30 in handover messages to access the APs 14 in the second network at one of the APs 14 in the first network 12a. It further comprises performing a handover to one of the.

Step 403 includes negotiation of information sharing rules that are performed with the information server 30 by the first mobile device 20a. For example, the first mobile device 20a allows the GPS location tracking information to be shared when more than 50% of the battery is left.

Step 404 includes direct information sharing from the first mobile device 20a to the second mobile device 20b by peer communication (such as Bluetooth) in accordance with the information sharing rules. Here, the second moving device 20b is located in a range near the vicinity of the first moving device 20a. The information sharing continues for a predetermined period of time. Optionally, the information sharing roles may be interchanged between the first mobile device 20a and the second mobile device 20b that share current GPS location tracking information.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing information in a wireless network environment according to another embodiment of the present invention. Steps 401, 402, and 403 are the same as steps 401, 402, and 403 of FIG.

The method proposed in FIG. 5 further includes a step 405 of requesting information sharing transmitted from the second mobile device 20b to the information server 30. The request is conveniently a second movement such as whether a location tracking unit 250, such as a GPS device, is present in the device, whether the location unit is powered off, or whether the power of the battery is below a preset threshold. It is based on the hardware components of the device. The method further includes the step 406 of generating an information sharing command to the first mobile device 20a according to the information sharing rules. That is, the information server 30 properly checks the information sharing rule database 32 and finds out whether the first mobile device 20a will share GPS information or located near the second mobile device 20b. Accordingly, the information server 30 issues a command to the first mobile device 20a. For example, the command requests sharing of GPS location information for 10 minutes and provides a Bluetooth ID of the second mobile device 20b. As in step 404 of FIG. 4, the method transmits information shared by peer communication from the first mobile device 20a to the second mobile device 20b according to information sharing rules in response to the command. It further includes 407.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a third embodiment of the present invention, wherein a wireless network environment 10 including the same mobile devices 20a, 20b, 20c, and the like described above is added. Shows an example.

In FIG. 6, the information server 30 integrates the plurality of mobile devices 20 into the sharing group 300 based on the location information provided by the mobile device 20. For example, the information server 30 determines that the first mobile device 20a and the second mobile device 20b are at the same location and are suitable for sharing information using peer communication. As a result, the information server 30 assigns the first and second mobile devices 20a and 20b to a sharing group and starts sharing information between the mobile devices as described above. For example, the first mobile device 20a starts sharing GPS location information, and the location tracking unit 250 of the second mobile device 20b temporarily turns off to save power.

In one example, the information server 30 forms a sharing group based on the speed and direction information received from the mobile devices 20. For example, the mobile devices 20 are all mounted on a train and move along the same road at the same speed. The information server 30 activates the information sharing group based on the location information of these coordinates. The information is shared by peer communication between mobile devices 20 in sharing group 300 according to previously arranged sharing rules. In addition, the second mobile device 20c mounted and moving in the same train also receives information shared from the first mobile device 20a through peer communication.

In one embodiment, the information server 30 further includes the sending of foreseeable events or notifications to support foreseeable handover when moving from one AP 14 to another. Conveniently, these foreseeable events or notifications use the location information provided by the mobile devices 20. Therefore, GPS coordinate based location information enables location based service provision at a detailed level. As described above, GPS location information sharing by the first mobile device 20a allows the second mobile device 20b to use the location based service. In one example, mobile devices 20 of sharing group 300 are arranged to share AP information associated with AP 14 of wireless networks 12a-12c. That is, the information server 30 provides foreseeable notifications related to the order of the APs 14 available to the sharing group based on the provided location information and route information (speed and direction).

For example, the mobile devices 20 of the sharing group 300 are determined to be located on a train and will be in contact with the APA. The APB then encounters a tunnel with no coverage. This AP information is shared from the first mobile device 20a to the second mobile device 20b. Compared with the information server 30 directly providing AP information to each mobile device separately, sharing of AP information between the mobile devices 20 can reduce total network traffic. The shared AP information is also provided to other devices, such as third mobile device 20c. In an embodiment of the invention, the mobile devices 20 of the sharing group 300 are all currently able to predict the extent of the loss in the tunnel and prepare the application accordingly, such as withholding the application while there is no network coverage. You can. In addition, all mobile devices 20 are provided with AP information for performing predictable handover to the prepared APB when the train exits the tunnel. In an embodiment of the present invention, each mobile device 20 in the sharing group 300 experiences a better service, and the service extends to a wider group of devices, reducing total network traffic.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. As described above, an additional embodiment including the same mobile devices 20a, 20b, 20c, and the like is shown. .

 Users often find it difficult to misplace important devices such as their cell phones and Bluetooth headsets. In FIG. 7, mobile device 20a includes an information collection unit 260 that collects and optionally stores peer information for a plurality of peer communication devices 40a and 40b. The information is properly collected by peer communication unit 220 in accordance with previously set information collection rules. The information collection rules are properly negotiated by the rule setting unit 240. In addition, the information collection rules may be mainly stored in the information collection rule database 34 in a remote server such as the information server 30.

As an example, an information collection rule is set up whereby the information collection unit 260 collects and stores the peer communication IDs of the respective peer devices 40a and 40b encountered by the peer communication unit 220, and the peer If the devices 40a and 40b are out of range, they store the peer communication ID associated with their location information. In this case, the information collection rule is appropriately formed as shown in Table 3.

RULE:
<Store Bluetooth devices WHEN out of coverage>
<Periodicity = 1 day>

  In an embodiment of the invention, whenever the Bluetooth device is out of range in the local environment, the information collection unit 260 immediately stores the Bluetooth ID, time, and GPS location of the peer devices 40a and 40b.

Then, when the user wants to find the location of the peer device that is difficult to find, the Bluetooth headset 40a retrieves the collected peer information indicating the last known location of the peer device. Thus, the user can more easily track and find the location of lost devices.

In one example, mobile device 20 uploads all collected peer information to be stored in collected information database 35 to a remote server such as information server 30. The collected information is periodically uploaded as appropriate according to the information collection rules, in this case once a day.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and shows a further embodiment including the same mobile devices 20a, 20b, 20c, and the like as described above. . In FIG. 8, each of the plurality of mobile devices 20a, 20b, and 20c is provided with an information collection unit 260 and uses a peer communication unit 220 for each peer device 40a and 40b encountered. Collect peer information 50. As a result, the collected peer information 50 is collected in the common database 35 by uploading the collected peer information 50 to a remote server such as the information server 30.

As an example, the user of the first mobile device 20a does not find his or her Bluetooth headset 40a. On the other hand, the headset 40a is in contact with the second mobile device 20b which has collected and uploaded the relevant peer information 50 into the database 35. Thereafter, the first mobile device 20a requests peer information related to the peer ID (in this case, provides the Bluetooth ID of the headset 40a), and in response, the information server 30 sends a message to the headset 40. Provide peer information 50 collected by a second mobile device that provides last known time and location information.

Table 4 shows an example of a request that the information server 30 makes to the mobile device 20 similar to Table 2, wherein information related to two Bluetooth entities is also requested. Table 5 further shows the corresponding response from the mobile devices 20 providing GPS location information related to the two devices.

Sample Info response RDF Data List from server:
0:
<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8"?>
<sparql xmlns = "http://www.w3.org/2005/sparql-results#">
<head>
<variable name = "rule startup"/>
<variable name = "rule info sharing"/>
</ head>
<results>
<result>
<binding name = "rule start up"><literal> config rule </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "GPS sharing"><literal> ON </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "Client ID"><literal> Client MIHF_ID 1 </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "Accept Clients"><literal> ON </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "Time interval"><literal> 10 min </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "Battery Level"><literal> 70% </ literal></binding>
</ result>
<result>
<binding name = " rule info sharing "><literal> Sharing </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "Bluetooth objID"><literal> my_keys </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "Bluetooth objID"><literal> my_camera </ literal></binding>
</ result>
</ results>
</ sparql>

Sample Info response RDF Data List from client:
0:
<? xml version = "1.0" encoding = "utf-8"?>
<sparql xmlns = "http://www.w3.org/2005/sparql-results#">
<head>
<variable name = "rule info sharing"/>
</ head>
<results>
<result>
<binding name = "rule info sharing"><literal> Sharing </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "my_keys"><literal> GPS: 108,100,100 </ literal></binding>
<binding name = "my_camera"><literal> GPS: 190,110,110 </ literal></binding>
</ result>
</ results>
</ sparql>

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless network environment according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. As described above, FIG. 9 illustrates a further embodiment including the same mobile devices 20a, 20b, 20c, and the like. . In FIG. 9, the first mobile device 20a further includes a camera 270. The information collecting unit 260 activates the camera 270 to collect the position image of the peer device 40a. The image is properly stored as part of the collected peer information 50 to assist in tracking the location of the lost device.

In one example, the camera 270 remains powered on when the mobile device 20a has sufficient battery power. Each time the mobile device 20a contacts an object that the user wants to track, such as a car key, the object is tagged by the mobile device and the image is collected in a database of information collected along with location, time, and the like. Therefore, if the user wants to know the location of the item, the collected information provides an indication of the last time and location the object was in contact with the mobile device 20a.

At least some of the elements discussed herein may be configured in part or in whole using special purpose dedicated hardware. Terms such as 'component', 'module' or 'unit' as used herein refer to field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that perform arbitrary tasks. Hardware devices such as, but are not limited thereto.

At least some of the elements may be configured to reside in an addressable storage medium and may be configured to run on one or more processors. That is, the elements may be embodied in the form of a computer readable storage medium containing recording instructions used for execution by a computer or other suitable apparatus. The elements are, for example, software components, object oriented software components, class components, task components, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, program code segments, drivers, firmware , Microcodes, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. Tangible media may take any suitable form, but examples include solid state memory devices (ROM, RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.), optical disks (eg, compact discs, DVDs, and others), magnetic disks, magnetic tapes, and Magneto-optical storage devices.

The above embodiments have been described with reference to the example components, modules, and units discussed herein. These functional elements may be combined into a few elements or may be appropriately separated into separate elements. In some cases, the elements are separated into a plurality of separate computing devices connected to a suitable communication network, including a wired or wireless network.

While some preferred embodiments have been discussed above, as those claimed in the claims below, any person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention may make various changes and modifications. It will be said that the technical spirit of this invention is to the extent possible.

30: information server 33: handover information service unit
210: handover unit 220: peer communication unit
230: information sharing unit 240: rule setting unit
250: location tracking unit 260: information collection unit
270: camera 290: information receiving unit

Claims (14)

In a wireless network environment,
A plurality of wireless networks;
A plurality of mobile devices coupled to the plurality of wireless networks, the plurality of mobile devices including at least a first mobile device and a second mobile device; And
An information server connected to each of the plurality of wireless networks and providing a handover message to the plurality of mobile devices to support the mobile devices when performing a handover from one of the wireless networks to another; Include,
The first mobile device negotiates information sharing rules with the information server, and provides sharing information according to the information sharing rules,
And the second mobile device receives the shared information provided by the first mobile device. The method of claim 1,
And the first mobile device transmits the shared information directly to the second mobile device via peer communication. The method of claim 1,
And the second mobile device initiates information sharing by sending an information sharing request to the information server. The method of claim 3,
The second mobile device uses peer communication to confirm that the first mobile device is nearby, obtain a peer communication identifier associated with the first mobile device, and in the information sharing request, the peer communication identifier Wireless network environment, characterized in that provided to the information server. The method of claim 1,
And wherein the first mobile device negotiates the information sharing rules with the information server while transmitting a capability exchange message between the first mobile device and the information server. The method of claim 1,
And said information sharing rules are based on the device state of a hardware component of said first mobile device. The method of claim 1,
The first mobile device includes a location tracking device that obtains location information based on the geographical location of the first mobile device, and shares the location information with the second mobile device as shared information,
And the second mobile device accesses location-based services throughout the wireless network using the location information shared by the first mobile device. The method of claim 1,
The information server is a sharing group for the plurality of mobile devices based on location information, speed information, and / or direction information provided from the mobile devices indicating that the plurality of mobile devices exist at the same location for information sharing. Wireless network environment, characterized in that the integration. The method of claim 1,
The first mobile device collects item information about one or more items that the mobile device encounters according to the information sharing rules,
The information server receives the collected item information from the first mobile device, and selectively provides the collected item information to one or more other mobile devices in response to the request for the item information. Wireless network environment. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein said first mobile device collects said item information as peer information for one or more peer communication devices that said peer communication encounters, and / or as image information taken by a camera of said first mobile device. Wireless network environment. The method of claim 1, wherein the information server,
An information sharing rule database for storing information sharing rules associated with the first mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices; And
Upon receiving an information sharing request from the second mobile device among the plurality of mobile devices, it is determined that the first mobile device can share information based on the stored information sharing rules. A handover information service unit for causing the first mobile device to share information with the second mobile device in response to the command by issuing an information sharing request command to the first mobile device according to information sharing rules for the first mobile device. Wireless network environment, characterized in that. According to claim 1, The mobile device,
A handover unit for performing handovers in the wireless network environment with reference to handover messages provided by the information server;
A peer communication unit in direct communication with one or more other mobile devices near the mobile device;
A rule setting unit for negotiating information sharing rules with the information server; And
And an information sharing unit for sharing information with other mobile devices in accordance with information sharing rules negotiated by said rule setting unit. The method of claim 12, wherein the information sharing unit,
And receiving sharing information from other mobile devices according to the information sharing rules negotiated by the rule setting unit. In the method for providing information in a wireless network,
Delivering, by the information server, handover messages to the first mobile device in a wireless network environment including a plurality of wireless networks;
The first mobile device performing a handover from one network to another network using the handover message;
Negotiating information sharing rules by the information server and a first mobile device; And
And sharing information from the first mobile device to the second mobile device in accordance with the information sharing rules.

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