U.S. patent number 7,171,233 [Application Number 10/625,530] was granted by the patent office on 2007-01-30 for method and device for selecting between telecommunication networks.
This patent grant is currently assigned to NEC Corporation. Invention is credited to Javier Sanchez.
United States Patent |
7,171,233 |
Sanchez |
January 30, 2007 |
Method and device for selecting between telecommunication
networks
Abstract
A method of selecting between telecommunication networks for at
least two terminals capable of exchanging data in a first frequency
band of a first telecommunication network with subscription and in
a second frequency band of a second telecommunication network
without subscription includes the steps of: estimating the relative
distance between the two terminals; and switching the operation
frequency of each of these two terminals from the first frequency
band to the second frequency band if the distance between the two
terminals is smaller than a predetermined value.
Inventors: |
Sanchez; Javier
(Rueil-Malmaison, FR) |
Assignee: |
NEC Corporation (Tokyo,
JP)
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Family
ID: |
29797662 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/625,530 |
Filed: |
July 24, 2003 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20040110531 A1 |
Jun 10, 2004 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jul 25, 2002 [FR] |
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02 09428 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/552.1;
370/338; 455/41.2; 455/421; 455/426.1; 455/440; 455/445; 455/456.1;
455/517 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W
48/18 (20130101); H04W 72/02 (20130101); H04W
88/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04Q
7/20 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;455/552.1,553.1,41.2,41.3,456.1-456.6,517-519,426.1,421,445,440
;370/328,338,465 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Anderson; Matthew D.
Assistant Examiner: Sobutka; Philip J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sughrue Mion, PLLC
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of selecting a network between telecommunication
networks for two terminals capable of exchanging data in a first
frequency band of a first telecommunication network with
subscription and in a second frequency band of a second
telecommunication network without subscription, comprising:
estimating a distance between the two terminals; and switching an
operation frequency of each of the two terminals from the first
frequency band to the second frequency band if the distance between
the two terminals is smaller than a predetermined value, wherein
the estimating of the distance between the two terminals comprises:
receiving from one of the telecommunication networks, by a first
one of the two terminals, its own geographical position P.sub.A and
a geographical position P.sub.B of the second one of the two
terminals determined by one of the telecommunication networks; and
calculating, by the first one of the two terminals, the distance
that separates the first one of the two terminals from the second
one of the two terminals from the geographical positions P.sub.A
and the geographical position P.sub.B.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined value
represents a radius of coverage of the second telecommunication
network.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the switching to the
second telecommunication network depends on QoS assured by the
second telecommunication network.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the estimating of the
distance between the two terminals is performed by the
telecommunication network.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said telecommunication
network used in the estimating of the distance is the first
telecommunication network.
6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: requesting,
by the second one of the two terminals, its own position P.sub.B
from one of the telecommunication networks and transmitting the
geographical position P.sub.B to the first one of the two
terminals.
7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the one of the
telecommunication networks that determines the geographical
position P.sub.A and the geographical position P.sub.B is the first
telecommunication network.
8. The method according to claims 1, wherein the first
telecommunication network is either a UMTS network or a GSM
network, and wherein the second telecommunication network is one of
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and DECT networks.
9. A device for selecting a network between telecommunication
networks for at least two terminals, each comprising a radio access
module for communicating in a first frequency band of a first
telecommunication network with subscription and in a second
frequency band of a second telecommunication network without
subscription, said device comprising: one of the telecommunications
networks having means for determining geographical positions of the
two terminals one of the two terminals having means for estimating
a distance between two terminals based on the determined
geographical positions obtained from said one of the
telecommunication networks; and means for switching an operation
frequency of each of the two terminals from the first frequency
band to the second frequency band if the distance between the two
terminals is smaller than a predetermined value.
10. The device according to claim 9, further comprising means for
estimating the distance between the two terminals according to
spatial coordinates of the two terminals.
11. A mobile communication terminal, comprising: a radio access
module that communicates with at least a second terminal in a first
frequency band of a first telecommunication network with
subscription and in a second frequency band of a second
telecommunication network without subscription, and a network
selection module that estimates a distance between the mobile
terminal and the second terminal and for switching an operation
frequency of said mobile terminal from the first frequency band to
the second frequency band if the distance between the two terminals
is smaller than a predetermined value, wherein the network
selection module estimates the distance between the first mobile
terminal and the second mobile terminal based on corresponding
geographical positions of the first mobile terminal and the second
mobile terminal as obtained from one of the first telecommunication
network and the second telecommunication network.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of telecommunication, and it relates
to a method and a device for allowing a mobile terminal to select
between at least two radio access technologies: one technology
providing access to a cellular telephone network, and another
allowing access to an alternative network when it is shown that the
recipient of a call is located close to the caller. More
specifically, the invention relates to a method of selecting
between telecommunication networks for at least two terminals
capable of exchanging data in a first frequency band of a first
telecommunication network with subscription and in a second
frequency band of a second telecommunication network without
subscription.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, two persons having a subscription with a cellular
telephone carrier have to use their telephone service to make calls
even when the distance that separates them is relatively short, for
example a few dozen meters. This situation can take place in a
railway station, on streets, or in an office building. However,
there are gratuitous radio bands such as for example 2.4 GHz ISM
(Industrial Scientific and Medical) band, which may be used within
a limited geographical zone. These frequency bands generally
requires a specific modem such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (Wireless
Fidelity) modem characterized by their simplicity, low cost, and
low energy consumption.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the invention is to allow subscribers of a
telecommunication network to use these alternative networks in
limited zones such as for example within a company. In this way,
economies in the communication costs may be achieved for the
communication being made, especially when the volume of information
to be exchanged is significant.
The invention proposes a method of selecting between
telecommunication networks for at least two terminals capable of
exchanging data in a first frequency band of a first
telecommunication network with subscription and in a second
frequency band of a second telecommunication network without
subscription.
The method according to the invention comprises the steps of:
estimating the relative distance between two terminals; and
switching the operation frequency of each of these two terminals
from the first frequency band to the second frequency band if the
distance between the two terminals is smaller than a predetermined
value R.
Preferably, the switching to the second network also depends on the
QoS (Quality of Service) assured by this second network.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the estimating of the
distance between the two terminals is performed by the network.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the estimating of
the distance between the two terminals is achieved by the calling
terminal according to the following steps:
The calling terminal receives its own geographical position P.sub.A
and the geographical position P.sub.B of the called terminal from
the network; and
This calling terminal calculates the distance that separates it
from the called terminal from the positions P.sub.A and
P.sub.B.
According to a third embodiment of the invention, the estimating of
the distance between the two terminals is achieved by the calling
terminal according to the following steps:
the called terminal requests its own geographical position P.sub.B
from the network and transmits position P.sub.B to the calling
terminal; and
the calling terminal requests its own geographical position P.sub.A
from the network and calculates the distance that separates the
calling terminal from the called terminal according to P.sub.A and
P.sub.B.
The first network is either a UMTS (Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System) network or a GSM (Global System for
Mobile Communications) network, for example. The second network is
one of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and DECT (Digital European Cordless
Telephone) networks, for example.
The invention also relates to a device for selecting the operation
frequency of at least two terminals, each comprising a radio access
module for communicating in a first frequency band of a first
telecommunication network with subscription and in a second
frequency band of a second telecommunication network without
subscription.
The device according to the invention comprises:
means for estimating the relative distance between two terminals;
and
means for switching the operation frequency of each of these two
terminals from the first frequency band to the second frequency
band if the distance between the two terminals is smaller than the
radius R of the coverage of the second network.
Preferably, the device according to the invention comprises means
for calculating the distance between the two terminals according to
the spatial coordinates of the terminals.
The invention also relates to a mobile communication terminal
comprising a radio access module for communicating with at least a
second terminal in a first frequency band of a first
telecommunication network with subscription and in a second
frequency band of a second telecommunication network without
subscription.
The terminal according to the invention comprises a network
selection module suitable for estimating the distance between the
mobile terminal and the second terminal and for switching the
operation frequency of said first terminal from the first frequency
band to the second frequency band if the distance between the two
terminals is smaller than the radius R of the coverage of the
second network.
In the present invention, since the second telecommunication
network without subscription is selected instead of the first
telecommunication network with subscription if the distance between
the interlocutors is small, the communication costs between the
interlocutors are remarkably reduced.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the
present invention will become apparent from the following
description with reference to the accompanying drawings which
illustrate an example of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile terminal comprising
a device according to the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an architecture of the
terminal of FIG. 1 in a particular embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of the method
according to the invention; and
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a second embodiment of the
method according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the following description, the terminals under consideration are
mobile telephones whose hardware architecture conforms to a
cellular telephony standard, for example GSM or UMTS. However, the
invention can be applied to any user equipment (UE) capable of
exchanging data.
As can be seen in FIG. 1, these telephones comprise a stage 2
accommodating a plurality of applications that may be activated by
a user from a presentation menu, a module 4 for handling call
requests coming from the stage 2, a network selection module 6, a
first modem 8 allowing access to a first frequency band of a first
telecommunication network with subscription which is a GSM or UMTS
network, and a second modem 10 allowing access to a second
frequency band of a second telecommunication network without
subscription. The second frequency band is preferably a free or
gratuitous radio band such as 2.4 GHz ISM band.
FIG. 2 schematically illustrates one embodiment of an architecture
in which the second modem 10 appears as an application to the
GSM/UMTS electronic card 12.
With reference to FIG. 2, the electronic card 12 supporting the
GSM/UMTS access networks is connected, via an interface, to a
Bluetooth modem 14, a Wi-Fi modem 16, and a DECT modem 18
respectively. These modems remain inactive so long as the GSM/UMTS
electronic card 12 is active.
In another embodiment (not shown), the modems 14, 16, and 18 share
with the electronic card 12 electronic components such as a
microprocessor, a memory, and a radio frequency section.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart schematically illustrating the functional
role of the network selection module 6. This module comprises a
software program allowing the following tasks to be performed:
1) When a caller terminal A wants to establish communication with a
recipient terminal B, a call request is generated at the stage 2 at
step 20, and then transmitted to the module 4 for handling call
requests.
2) The software program generates a request, at step 22, to access
a locating service being subscribed with by at least one of the two
parties in communication. This request is transmitted at step 24 to
the GSM/UMTS cellular network that provides a service of locating
subscribers.
3) Upon receiving this call at step 26, this locating service
determines, at step 28, the geographical coordinates of the
terminals A and B and calculates, at step 30, the distance D that
separates the two terminals A and B. At step 32, the caller A
receives the calculated distance D and compares, at step 34, the
distance D with the value R representing the coverage of the second
network that may be as much as several dozen meters.
4) At this step, the network selection module 6 of the terminal A
determines which frequency band is to be used for carrying out the
next call in the following manner:
If the calculated distance D is greater than R, the module 6
selects the GSM/UMTS network at step 36;
If the calculated distance D is smaller than R, the module 6
selects the second network at step 38.
5) Once a telecommunication network is selected, the software
program initiates a call according to the protocols associated with
respective networks.
In a variant embodiment in which the terminal A knows a priori the
position of the terminal B, the selection between telecommunication
networks may be made manually.
Note that there is a great number of service providers that offer
the possibility of finding out the distance that separates two
mobile terminals in communication (see for example www.webraska.com
and www.jlocationservices.com).
FIG. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the method of the
invention in which the network carrier does not give the distance
between terminals, giving only the coordinates of the caller.
In this case, the terminal A establishes communication with the
terminal B at step 40 via the UMTS/GSM network and requests the
terminal B to ask for own position of the terminal B at step 42,
and then disconnects the communication at step 44.
Upon receiving the call from the terminal A at step 46, the
terminal B requests its own position from the network 6 at step 48.
Simultaneously, the terminal A requests its own position from the
network at step 56. The network estimates the position of the
terminal A at step 58 and transmits the estimated position to the
terminal A, which receives the position at step 59. Then the
network estimates the position of the terminal B at step 60 and
transmits it to the terminal B. Upon receiving its own position at
step 62 the terminal B establishes communication with the terminal
A at step 64 via the UMTS/GSM network and provides the position of
the terminal B to the terminal A, which receives it at step 66.
Estimating the distance from the positions of the terminals A and
B:
With the positions given by the geographical coordinates of
terminals A and B, the mobile terminal A can estimate, at step 68,
the distance D that separates the terminal A from the terminal B
according to a digitized electronic map stored formerly in the
memory of the terminal A. It is only necessary then to locate the
users in this map in order to determine the distance by means of an
appropriate software program.
The determined distance D is compared with the value R at step
69:
If the estimated distance D is greater than value R, the module 6
selects the GSM/UMTS network at step 70; and
If the calculated distance D is smaller than value R, the module 6
selects the second network at step 72.
Once a telecommunication network is selected, the software program
initiates a call according to the protocols associated with
respective networks.
* * * * *
References