JP2001061186A - Wireless system, software download method, and wireless terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] To provide a highly versatile wireless terminal having a function of downloading software by wireless. SOLUTION: A wireless terminal which installs software from the outside and executes the software on a CPU or a DSP, accesses a broadcast channel when the terminal itself is in an initial state (S1), and executes a desired software (S2). Is acquired (S4), and based on the acquired information, a predetermined download channel is accessed (S5) to download desired software (S7). This software is for causing a wireless terminal on which it is executed to function as a terminal of a predetermined wireless communication system.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless terminal having a function of executing software, a software download method thereof, and a wireless system including the wireless terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, demand for mobile communication systems including mobile phones is at a very high level, and the terminal market is booming. However, on the other hand, various types of systems are currently in the forest. For example, various types of mobile phones are mixed, such as the PDC system in Japan, the AMPS system and the CDMA system in the United States, and the GSM system in Europe. Furthermore, even in Japan, PHS is separate from mobile phones.
System coexists. In this regard, IMT-20
Although the standardization work of the world unified system of 00 is being promoted, it is unlikely that the same system will be used in Japan, the United States and Europe.

[0003] Under such circumstances, the usage of a single user using a plurality of wireless communication systems (for example, both PDC and PHS) is increasing, and mobile communication that can be used for the plurality of wireless communication systems is increasing. Terminal (wireless terminal),
In other words, the demand for multi-mode terminals has become extremely high.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the configuration of a conventional wireless terminal. In FIG. 13, 100 is a wireless terminal, 1
01 is hardware of the wireless terminal, and 102 is software of the wireless terminal. The hardware 101 includes a DSP (D
It comprises a digital signal processor (digital signal processor) 111, a CPU (central processing unit) 112, an RF unit, an A / D converter, a D / A converter (not shown), and the like. Software 10
Reference numeral 2 includes programs executed by the DSP 111 and the CPU 112.

[0005] The operation of the wireless terminal 100 is, for example, as follows. At the time of reception, the high frequency signal input from the antenna is converted to a low frequency baseband signal by the RF unit,
The A / D converter converts the desired signal into a digital signal and demodulates the transmitted signal using the DSP 11 and the CPU 12. At the time of transmission, C
A modulation operation is performed by the PU 11 and the DSP 12, and the signal is converted into an analog signal by the D / A conversion unit, converted into a high-frequency signal by the RF unit, and transmitted from the antenna.

The programs executed by the DSP 111 and the CPU 112 are stored as software 102 in a memory or the like inside the wireless terminal 100.

Now, in such a conventional wireless terminal, C
Software required for the operation of the PU or DSP is stored in a memory such as a ROM in advance, and the CPU or the DS
During the operation of P, the software is loaded from a memory or the like and the program is executed. For this reason, the software stored in these memories has the disadvantage that it is very difficult to change it once it has been manufactured.

Therefore, a conventional wireless terminal is usually designed and manufactured for a specific purpose. For example, taking a mobile communication terminal as an example, a wireless terminal designed and manufactured for a PDC is another wireless communication system (eg, PH
S) cannot be used, and a wireless terminal designed and manufactured for PHS cannot be used in another wireless communication system (for example, PDC).

Therefore, at present, a user who wants to use a plurality of wireless communication systems carries a plurality of wireless terminals corresponding to a plurality of desired wireless communication systems. For example, a user who wants to use both PDC and PHS had to always carry these two types of terminals.

Therefore, as described above, there is a demand for a multi-mode terminal. However, it is very difficult for a conventional wireless terminal to perform a multi-mode operation. The limitation of dual mode with the simple configuration of being built in was the limit (if the mode was triple or higher, the size of the terminal casing would be large, making it impractical). Also, in the dual mode in this manner, there are problems such as hardware and cost, and a problem that the type of usable wireless communication system is fixed.

[0011]

As described above,
Although there is a demand for multi-mode wireless terminals, there have been various problems in the related art in adding functions corresponding to a plurality of wireless communication systems to one wireless terminal.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a more versatile wireless terminal capable of flexibly and easily supporting a plurality of wireless communication systems, a software download method therefor, and a software download method therefor. It is intended to provide a wireless system including such a wireless terminal.

[0013]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention (claim 1) provides:
One or more download base stations for transmitting a download channel for downloading software, a broadcast base station for transmitting a broadcast channel for broadcasting information on the download channel, and a function of executing software downloaded by the download channel A wireless terminal comprising: a wireless terminal that accesses the broadcast channel to obtain information about a download channel for downloading desired software; and information about the obtained download channel. And a means for accessing the download channel and downloading desired software based on the program.

The present invention (claim 2) provides one or more download base stations for transmitting a download channel for downloading software, and a broadcast base station for transmitting a broadcast channel for broadcasting information related to the download channel. And a wireless terminal having a function of executing software downloaded by a download channel, wherein the wireless terminal accesses the broadcast channel to download a desired software. Obtaining information on the download channel based on the obtained information on the download channel and accessing the download channel. And wherein the Rukoto.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless terminal having a function of installing and executing software from outside, wherein the wireless terminal accesses a broadcast channel,
Means for obtaining information about a download channel for downloading desired software; and means for accessing the download channel and downloading desired software based on the obtained information about the download channel. And

[0016] Preferably, the software may cause a terminal on which the software is executed to function as a terminal of a specific wireless communication system.

Preferably, the broadcast channel may multiplex information on the download channel for each of a plurality of wireless communication systems and broadcast the multiplexed information.

Preferably, the download channel is provided for each existing wireless communication system, and may use the same frame format and protocol as those of the existing wireless communication system.

Preferably, the download channel is provided for each existing wireless communication system, uses the same modulation scheme, transmission rate and carrier frequency as those of the existing wireless communication system, and is previously unified. A frame format and protocol dedicated to the download channel may be used.

Preferably, the download channel is provided for each existing wireless communication system, uses the same carrier frequency as that of the existing wireless communication system, and uses a modulation scheme dedicated to the download channel that is unified in advance. , A transmission rate, a frame format, and a protocol.

[0021] Preferably, the download base station transmitting the download channel may transmit the download channel to each of a plurality of wireless communication systems in a lump.

Preferably, the download base station transmitting the download channel is provided for each base station of the existing wireless communication system, and transmits the download channel to the same wireless communication system as the base station to which the own base station belongs. It may be.

Preferably, the download channel uses the same frame format and protocol as the broadcast channel.

[0024] Preferably, software for accessing the download channel is downloaded from the broadcast channel, and the downloaded channel is accessed by executing the downloaded software. The desired software may be downloaded.

Preferably, upon terminal reset or power-off, all software downloaded through the download channel is deleted, or only software for accessing the download channel among software downloaded through the download channel is deleted. Other stored and downloaded software may be deleted, or all software downloaded by the download channel may be stored.

Preferably, when the terminal is in an initial state, control necessary for downloading the desired software may be started.

Preferably, when the wireless terminal is powered on, when the user forcibly resets the terminal, when moving out of the range of the currently used wireless communication system, or when performing wireless communication other than the currently used wireless communication system The initial state may be set at at least one timing when moving into the service area of the system.

The present invention relating to the apparatus is also realized as an invention relating to a method, and the present invention relating to a method is also realized as an invention relating to an apparatus.

According to the present invention, software can be easily changed by downloading the software via a wireless line. Then, by downloading necessary software as needed, it is possible to easily realize support for a plurality of wireless communication systems with a single wireless terminal (it is easy to implement multi-mode).
Further, it is possible to flexibly cope with various wireless communication systems. In addition, since the broadcast base station is accessed first and then downloaded, the download operation can be performed reliably. Therefore, for example, even when the information necessary for download is unknown, the necessary software can be surely downloaded by acquiring the necessary information by broadcasting and downloading the software based on the information. Also,
By unifying the format and protocol of the download channel, base stations and terminals can be easily configured.

[0030]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the basic configuration and operation of the wireless terminal according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the wireless terminal. FIG.
1, 1 is hardware of the wireless terminal 20, 2 is software of the wireless terminal 20, 3 is a software download device, and 4 is a download information acquisition device. The hardware 1 is a DSP (Digital Signal)
Processor; digital signal processor) 11,
It includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12, an RF unit (not shown), and A / D and D / A conversion units. Software 2
It includes programs executed by the DSP 11 and the CPU 12.

The wireless terminal 20 is provided with an FPGA (Field Pr) instead of or in addition to the DSP.
It is also possible to provide a configuration in which an programmable gate array or the like is provided, and a configuration in which only a CPU is provided as a device for executing software.

The software 2 is installed in the wireless terminal 100
Is stored in an internal memory or the like (not shown).

In the initial state such as when the power is turned on, the radio terminal 20 first accesses the predetermined broadcast channel using the download information acquisition device 4,
Get the information you need. That is, the download information acquisition device 4 includes at least information for accessing the broadcast channel (for example, carrier frequency and transmission rate of the broadcast channel, modulation scheme, and other information necessary for reception), and communication necessary for the access. The means is provided in advance, and in an initial state such as when power is turned on, access to the broadcast channel is automatically performed, for example. The necessary information (download information) obtained by accessing the broadcast channel is, for example, a download channel (carrier frequency, time slot) to download software, a modulation method, a transmission rate, and the like. This may include a connection control procedure such as a frame format or a protocol.

The radio terminal 20 changes the receiving frequency to the download channel based on the information obtained from the broadcast channel, and downloads necessary software from the download channel using the software download device 3. This software is a program executed by a CPU or DSP for causing the wireless terminal to function as a communication device corresponding to a certain wireless communication system.

Further, by installing the software obtained by the above operation, the wireless terminal 20 performs a desired operation. For example, the wireless terminal 20 that has installed and executed the software corresponding to the PDC can function as a wireless device that supports the PDC, and the wireless terminal 20 that has installed and executed the software corresponding to the PHS can operate the wireless terminal 20 that supports the PHS. Can function as a machine.

Next, FIG. 2 shows an example of an operation procedure of the wireless terminal.

As shown in FIG. 2, first, the wireless terminal 2
0 is initialized (step S1). The initialization is performed, for example, when the power is turned on. In addition, the initialization may be performed, for example, when the user performs a forced reset (terminal reset), or when the mobile communication system moves out of the wireless communication system that has been used.

Next, an access is made to the broadcast channel based on the predetermined information (step S2).

Information necessary for downloading software is transmitted from the broadcast channel (step S3). Upon receiving this, the wireless terminal 20
Access the download channel based on the information sent from the broadcast channel (step S4,
S5).

Then, necessary software is transmitted from the download channel (step S6). Upon receiving the software, the wireless terminal 20 completes the software download and installs the downloaded software (steps S7 and S7).
8), a series of procedures ends.

When another software has already been installed in the wireless terminal 20 at the time of installation, the newly downloaded software may be overwritten, or another already installed software may be replaced with some other software. The data may be backed up by a storage unit. Further, when there is a common part between the software already installed and the newly downloaded software, only the changed part may be rewritten.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in more detail.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the overall system configuration of the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 20 denotes the wireless terminal, 2
1 is a wireless communication system A (for example, PDC and PH
S), a wireless communication system A zone 22, a wireless communication system B different from the wireless communication system A (for example, the other of PDC and PHS), and a wireless communication system B 24. , 25 indicates a broadcast base station (broadcast station) that provides a broadcast channel, and 26 indicates a zone of the broadcast base station. In FIG. 3, an explicit description of the entity that provides the download channel is omitted.

Download information is always broadcast from the broadcast base station 25 as a broadcast. As described above, the contents of the information include a channel to download software of a certain wireless communication system, a modulation method thereof, a transmission rate, and the like. Further, it is assumed that the coverage 26 of the broadcast base station 25 is within the area at least where the wireless terminal 20 exists.

The operation of the wireless terminal in this case is as follows.

It is assumed that the wireless terminal 20 has been initialized by turning on the power or resetting the terminal. At this time, the wireless terminal 20 performs an operation of receiving the broadcast channel of the broadcast base station 25 transmitting the download information according to the above-described procedure.

Access to the broadcast channel,
After the information necessary for the download is obtained, the program shifts to the download channel according to the information and downloads the software actually required there. The required software is a wireless communication system that the wireless terminal 20 can use at the location where the wireless terminal 20 is located. In the case of the example of FIG. 3, the necessary software is software required to use the wireless communication system A or the wireless communication system B. is there.

After that, by installing the downloaded software, the terminal 20 can communicate using the wireless communication system A or the wireless communication system B.

According to the above-described method, it becomes possible to download necessary software by an appropriate means according to the functions provided in advance in the wireless terminal. Also,
The information transmitted from the broadcast channel is only information relating to the download channel, and has a very small amount of information, and thus can be transmitted using a relatively low-speed communication path. For example, it can be used as a message transmitted from a pager base station.

Next, information transmitted from the broadcast base station will be described.

FIG. 4 shows an example of information from the broadcast base station.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which a signal is broadcast by time division multiplexing. The content of the broadcast information includes, for example, download information of the wireless communication system A, download information of the wireless communication system B,
The download information of each available wireless communication system is repeated as appropriate. The download information acquisition device 4 of the wireless terminal 20 that has received this broadcast,
The necessary download information is extracted from the received content.

Here, the case where the broadcast channel is time-division multiplexed (TDM) has been described. Of course, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) or code division multiplexing (CDM) may be used.

Next, the download channel will be described.

As the structure of the download channel, for example, the following three types can be considered. (Type 1) Make the frame format / protocol of the download channel the same as the frame format / protocol of the existing wireless communication system. (Type 2) The carrier frequency of the download channel matches or almost matches the carrier frequency of the existing wireless communication system, but the frame format / protocol is different from that of the existing wireless communication system. (Type 3) The frequency / frame format / protocol of the download channel is the same as the frequency / frame format / protocol of the broadband channel.

Hereinafter, each of the above three types will be described in more detail.

First, in the (type 1) download channel configuration, software corresponding to at least one wireless communication system has already been downloaded to the wireless terminal, and connection to at least one existing wireless communication system is possible. In such a state, the wireless terminal can download software to the terminal via the wireless communication system in which the terminal currently has the software. That is, the wireless terminal once accesses the broadcast channel,
Information required for download is obtained from the broadcast channel base station, and based on the information, an existing wireless communication system already held in the terminal is accessed to download software (for example, PD
C to download PHS software).

In this case, the wireless terminal needs to have at least one wireless communication system function in advance, but software download can be performed without changing the format or protocol of the existing wireless communication system. There is an advantage.

Next, in the above (type 2) download channel configuration, the download channel is based on the existing radio communication system and the carrier frequency and modulation scheme,
This is the case where the transmission rate is the same or almost the same, and the format and protocol are different from those of the existing wireless communication system and are dedicated to the download channel. In this case, the wireless terminal already has a function related to the format and protocol of the download channel or can receive the function through the broadcast channel, and the wireless terminal can access based on the information specified in the broadcast channel. Download the software from the download channel of the appropriate carrier frequency.

In order to realize such a function, it is more effective to configure the download channel as follows. That is, certain specific channels of various wireless communication systems are reserved in advance as download channels, and each wireless terminal connects to an accessible download channel based on information specified by the broadcast channel to download software. It is a method of performing. For example, as shown in FIG.
A wireless communication system (for example, PD
Only the first channel C) is used as a download-only channel, and a frame format and protocol different from those of other control channels and communication channels are used. Further, FIG.
In the second wireless communication system (for example, PHS) using TDMA / TDD shown in (1), only the first channel is used as a download-only channel, and a frame format and protocol different from other control channels and communication channels are used. The format and protocol are the same as those of the first wireless communication system. By doing so, if the wireless terminal has only the format information and protocol function of the download-only channel that can be used unifiedly, based on the information given from the broadcast channel, By accessing a specific download channel of a wireless communication system that can access the software, required software can be downloaded.

In this case, since the download channel is used only for software download, it is possible to use, for example, a protocol different from other communication channels. In this case, since it is exclusively for download, for example, a method of using a simple protocol or using a high speed bit rate exclusively for download can be adopted.

Next, in the (type 3) download channel configuration, the same download channel as the broadcast channel is used, and the download is performed in the same format / protocol as the information to be broadcast. By using this method, the wireless terminal does not need to hold anything in advance, and can download the program following the broadcast channel information. However, the method of using this broadcast channel as it is,
Since the download method is such that the software is flown during the period of download information broadcasting that should be performed by the broadcast channel, the bit rate may be low and the download may take time, and all software It may be inconvenient to broadcast by using this broadcast channel. In such a case, it is preferable to limit the software to relatively versatile and small software.

It should be noted that the three types of download channel configuration methods described above are not mutually exclusive, and it is also possible to configure a download channel by combining some or all of them. For example, small-scale and general-purpose (or required) software is obtained from a download channel, such as the (Type 3) example, in which the functions and protocols that the wireless terminal must have for downloading are minimal, It is conceivable to download large-scale and large-sized software such as the entire system in a short time and surely by a method in which stable communication is guaranteed as in the example of (Type 1) or (Type 2).

Here, in connection with the broadcast channel configuration, an example of the configuration of a wireless terminal having only a function of accessing the broadcast channel as an initial state of the wireless terminal will be described.

A wireless terminal having only a function of accessing a broadcast channel as an initial state automatically accesses the broadcast channel immediately after power-on. In the broadcast channel, information for downloading is constantly broadcast. However, since this wireless terminal has only a function of accessing the broadcast channel, at this time, the above-mentioned (type 1) or (type 2) is used. ) The software cannot be downloaded by the download channel. Then, when the download information flowing on the broadcast channel is subsequently obtained from the broadcast channel, the software flowing between the broadcasts is downloaded next.

This software is small in scale, but is, for example, software for accessing a (type 2) download-only channel having a simple protocol and a frame format. The wireless terminal that has installed the download-only channel access software subsequently accesses the download-only channel and downloads all software of the wireless communication system A.

The wireless terminal that has obtained the necessary software through the above procedure can be used by installing the obtained software for the wireless communication system A.

Next, an operation in the case where the user ends the use of the wireless terminal of this embodiment and resets (or turns off the power) will be described with reference to FIG.

At this time, three types of operations of the radio terminal are considered, for example, as follows. When type a returns to a completely initial state, that is, when only access to the broadcast channel is possible, type b is Remember the download-only channel access protocol,
In the case where the rest is erased, all types c are retained.

In the case of type a, the initial state (step S
Returning to 11), the flowchart of FIG. 7 is again traced from top to bottom. That is, access to the broadcast channel to obtain download information,
Software (for accessing a download-only channel) is downloaded from a broadcast channel, software (for a desired wireless communication system) is downloaded from a download-only channel, and installation is performed (steps S12 to S12).
19).

In the case of type b, the initial state (step S
Return to 11) to obtain download information (step S)
12, S13) Up to this point, the process is the same as in the case of (type a), but after that, it is possible to access the download-only channel (Yes in step S14), and it is not possible to access the existing wireless communication system (step S13). (No in S20), and directly accesses the dedicated download channel (steps S20, S17). Thereafter, the work of downloading → installation is performed (step S1).
8, S19).

In the case of the type c, the process from the initial state to the acquisition of the download information (steps S11 to S13) is the same as in the case of the (type a) and the (type b). S1
The status is the same as that of the case b, but since the existing wireless communication system can be accessed here (Yes in step S20), the download is performed from the existing wireless communication system and the installation work is performed (step S20). S
21).

Next, a method of configuring a download-only channel according to the above (Type 2 (the carrier frequency matches or almost matches the existing wireless communication system and the frame format / protocol is different)) will be described.

In this case, the download-only channel is configured as follows, for example.

As an example, a configuration is conceivable in which the modulation method and the transmission rate are adapted to the specifications of another channel of an existing wireless communication system.

For example, in PHS, π / 4 shift QPS
A transmission rate of 192 ksymbol / sec is used in the K modulation method. The download channel uses a transmission system of π / 4 shift QPSK and 192 ksps according to this specification. However, the frame format adopts a common download format as a download channel different from that of the PHS. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the downlink (base station → terminal) slot is made longer and the uplink slot (terminal → base station) is made shorter by adopting a unique format, so that the downlink can be extended without increasing the bandwidth. Can be increased in transmission rate.

On the other hand, in PDC, π / 4 shift QPSK
A transmission rate of 21 ksps is used in the modulation scheme of FDM, and the FDM differs in frequency between uplink and downlink unlike PHS.
The A method is adopted. The PDC download-dedicated channel adopts the modulation scheme and the transmission rate, but adopts a common download format for the frame format so as to be unified with the above PHS. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, there is a configuration in which there is a gap in both the uplink and downlink, that is, a configuration in which the downlink block is an empty slot in the uplink and the uplink slot is an empty slot in the downlink. The slot and the downlink slot of the downlink are configured to have the same frame format (for example, preamble length, slot length, etc.) as the PHS.

The protocol of the download channel (connection procedure, download procedure, etc.) is common to PDC, PHS, and other wireless communication systems.

With the above-described configuration, the wireless terminal can download necessary software by accessing a common download channel from any wireless communication system accessible at that time. At this time, although the specifications related to the physical layer such as the modulation scheme and the transmission rate vary depending on each wireless communication system, the specifications related to the upper layer such as the connection procedure can be used in common. There is an advantage that there is little difference depending on the wireless communication system and there is very little change in the wireless device. Further, since there are few system changes, there is an advantage that there are very few changes to the existing base station, and it is possible to cope with software changes.

Next, another configuration example of the download channel will be described.

In this example, the specifications of the physical layer such as the modulation method and the transmission rate are all common to the download channel.
This is a method of configuring a channel completely different from that of an existing wireless communication system. That is, for example, regardless of whether the download channel is of the PDC, of the PHS, or of another wireless communication system, the same modulation scheme and transmission including the specification of the physical layer are all used. It uses a rate and a frame format. In this configuration method, the wireless terminal is provided with a function related to the specification of the physical layer of the download channel, the frame format, and the protocol in advance, so that only the information on which download channel of the wireless communication system to download from the broadcast channel is obtained. By doing so, you can easily download,
The advantage is that the amount of information that must be obtained from the download channel is very small.

However, when such a method is adopted, one channel having a bandwidth different from that of the existing wireless communication system must be prepared, and the channel must be used exclusively for download. Due to incompatibility at the physical layer level with the traffic channel, an impact on the infrastructure may occur. That is, when an existing base station is used, a change to the base station may not only be a software change, but may also require addition or change of hardware.

As a configuration method taking this point into consideration, several methods are considered as follows.

The first method is to newly install a download-only base station (download channel base station) separately from an existing base station and collectively collect signals in various frequency bands corresponding to various wireless communication systems. And send it. With this configuration, an existing base station can configure a download-only channel without any change. This is shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 27 denotes a download channel base station;
Is a zone of the download base station 27 (20 to 26)
Is the same as in FIG. 3).

According to the second method, a new download-only base station is installed separately from the existing base station.
This method is the same as the method described above, except that the download channel base station is installed in such a manner as to be installed in a known station. With this configuration, the existing base station can configure the download-only channel without any change. This is shown in FIG. 11, reference numeral 29 denotes a download channel base station of the wireless communication system A, and reference numeral 30 denotes a download channel base station of the wireless communication system B (20 to 26 are the same as those in FIG. 3).

Further, the configuration of the wireless terminal when the configuration method described here is adopted may be as follows. That is, since all parts including the part depending on the modulation method and the transmission rate can be used in various wireless communication systems in a unified manner, the only different part is the carrier frequency. Therefore, if the wireless terminal is configured to be able to change only the RF reception frequency, all of the baseband signal processing portions can be commonly used. In the above-described method, the software of the upper layer such as the protocol is common, but in the present configuration example, the control of the physical layer including the hardware is also common and can be uniformly used.

Now, description will be made below regarding initialization of the wireless terminal and access to the broadcast channel at that time.

When the wireless terminal is initialized, the following cases can be considered.

(1) When power is turned on When a wireless terminal that has been turned off is turned on, download information is obtained from a broadcast channel. If software for communicating with any wireless communication system is already installed in the wireless terminal, the user has the option of selecting (for example, using an already installed wireless communication system,
Or go to listen to a broadcast channel).

(2) Forced Reset by User When the user stops the wireless communication system currently used and desires to download another wireless communication system, the user performs a forced reset to access the broadcast channel.

(3) Out of Service Movement When the wireless terminal moves out of the service area of the wireless communication system currently used, it accesses the broadcast channel and downloads another wireless communication system.

(4) When moving within range of another system The mobile terminal moves into an area of a wireless communication system (for example, wireless communication system B) other than the wireless communication system (for example, wireless communication system A) currently used by the wireless terminal. In this case, the user accesses the broadcast channel and downloads the wireless communication system B. In this case, it is assumed that the wireless terminal has means for knowing that it has moved into the area of a certain wireless communication system.

Here, a specific example related to the above-described initialization and the like will be described.

FIG. 12 shows an example of an environment where a plurality of wireless communication systems exist. The specific example here is an example of the operation at the time of out-of-service movement in the case where the wireless terminal is initialized. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 20 denotes a mobile communication terminal;
1d is a wireless base station of the wireless communication system A, 22a-22
d denotes a zone of the radio communication system A, 23a denotes a radio base station of the radio communication system B, 24a denotes a zone of the radio communication system B, 25 denotes a broadcast base station, and 26 denotes a zone of the broadcast base station. FIG.
In the figure, only one wireless base station of the wireless communication system B is shown, and other wireless base stations are omitted.

In FIG. 12, download information is always broadcast from the broadcast base station 25 as a broadcast. The contents of the information include a channel to download software of the wireless communication system, a modulation method thereof, a transmission rate, and the like. Further, the coverage 26 of the broadcast base station 25 covers the entire range covered by the wireless communication system A and the wireless communication system B.

The wireless terminal 20 existing in the area where the wireless communication system A can be used (22d in FIG. 12)
However, the area where the wireless communication system A cannot be used and the wireless communication system B can be used instead (2 in FIG. 12)
4a). At this time, the wireless terminal 20 that has become unable to use the wireless communication system A receives the signal from the broadcast base station 25, and downloads the software of the wireless communication system B that can be used at the location after the movement. Communication system B
Get the information to download the software. The software of the wireless communication system B is downloaded based on the download information of the wireless communication system B obtained in this manner, and the wireless terminal 20 is newly changed to a wireless device for the wireless communication system B and uses the wireless communication system B. Communication can be performed.

As the broadcast base station of the present embodiment, only one broadcast base station with a large transmission power covering a large zone may be installed, or a plurality of broadcast base stations in a small zone may be installed. It may be configured to cover a large zone.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be implemented with various modifications within the technical scope.

[0101]

According to the present invention, a more versatile wireless terminal that can flexibly and easily correspond to a plurality of wireless communication systems can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a wireless terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of the wireless terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing an example of the overall communication system configuration according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a broadcast channel.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a download channel in a wireless communication system using TDMA / FDMA.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a download channel in a wireless communication system using TDMA / TDD.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the wireless terminal according to the embodiment at the time of terminal reset;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format of a download channel of the TDMA / TDD system.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format of a download channel of the TDMA / FDMA system.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary view for explaining an example of a method of installing a download channel base station according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary view for explaining another example of the installation method of the download channel base station according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary view for explaining system roaming of the wireless terminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a conventional wireless terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hardware 2 ... Software 3 ... Software download apparatus 4 ... Download information acquisition apparatus 11 ... DSP 12 ... CPU 20 ... Wireless terminal 21, 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d ... Wireless base station 22,22a of wireless communication system A 22b, 22c, 22d: Zone of the wireless communication system A 23, 23a: Wireless base station of the wireless communication system B, 24, 24a: Zone of the wireless communication system 25: Broadcast base station 26: Zone of the broadcast base station 27: Download channel Base station 28: Zone of download channel base station 29: Download channel base station of wireless communication system A 30: Download channel base station of wireless communication system B

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Minoru Minoru 1 Tokoba, Komukai Toshiba-cho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (72) Inventor Hiroshi Tsurumi Toshiba Komukai, Kochi-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa No. 1, Toshiba R & D Center (72) Inventor Yuzo Tamada 1, Komukai Toshiba, Koyuki, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Pref. Toshiba R & D Center F-term (reference) 5B076 BB06 5B089 GA01 GA25 HA11 JA34 JB07 JB22 KA09 KC02 KC28 KC51 KE07 KG04 KG05 MB02 5K033 AA09 CA11 DA01 DA17 5K067 AA34 BB04 CC14 DD53 EE02 EE10 EE12 HH23

Claims (15)

[Claims] At least one download base station for transmitting a download channel for downloading software, a broadcast base station for transmitting a broadcast channel for broadcasting information on the download channel, A wireless terminal having a function of executing software, wherein the wireless terminal accesses the broadcast channel and acquires information about a download channel for downloading desired software; and Means for accessing the download channel based on the information about the download channel and downloading desired software. 2. A download base station transmitting one or more download base stations for transmitting a download channel for downloading software, a broadcast base station transmitting a broadcast channel for broadcasting information on the download channel, and downloading on the download channel. A software download method in a wireless system including a wireless terminal having a function of executing software, wherein the wireless terminal accesses the broadcast channel and obtains information on a download channel for downloading desired software. And accessing the download channel based on the information on the download channel and downloading desired software. Shift hardware download method. 3. A wireless terminal having a function of installing and executing software from outside, comprising: means for accessing a broadcast channel to obtain information on a download channel for downloading desired software; Means for accessing the download channel based on information about the download channel and downloading desired software. 4. The wireless terminal according to claim 3, wherein the software is for causing a terminal on which the software is executed to function as a terminal of a specific wireless communication system. 5. The wireless terminal according to claim 3, wherein the broadcast channel multiplexes and broadcasts information on the download channel for each of a plurality of wireless communication systems. 6. The download channel according to claim 3, wherein the download channel is provided for each existing wireless communication system, and uses the same frame format and protocol as the existing wireless communication system. Wireless terminal. 7. The download channel is provided for each existing wireless communication system, uses the same modulation scheme, transmission rate, and carrier frequency as those of the existing wireless communication system. 4. The wireless terminal according to claim 3, wherein a frame format and a protocol dedicated to a channel are used. 8. The download channel is provided for each existing wireless communication system, uses the same carrier frequency as that of the existing wireless communication system, and has a unified modulation scheme dedicated to the download channel.
The wireless terminal according to claim 3, wherein a transmission rate, a frame format, and a protocol are used. 9. The wireless terminal according to claim 8, wherein the download base station transmitting the download channel transmits the download channel to each of a plurality of wireless communication systems at a time. 10. A download base station for transmitting the download channel is provided for each base station of the existing wireless communication system, and transmits a download channel to the same wireless communication system as the base station to which the own base station is attached. The wireless terminal according to claim 8, wherein: 11. The wireless terminal according to claim 3, wherein the download channel uses the same frame format and protocol as the broadcast channel. 12. Downloading software for accessing the download channel from the broadcast channel, accessing the download channel by executing the downloaded software, and accessing the download channel from the accessed download channel. The wireless terminal according to claim 3, wherein desired software is downloaded. 13. When the terminal is reset or the power is turned off,
Either delete all the software downloaded by the download channel, or store only software for accessing the download channel among software downloaded by the download channel, and delete other downloaded software, 4. The wireless terminal according to claim 3, wherein all the software downloaded through the download channel is stored. 14. The wireless terminal according to claim 3, wherein when the terminal itself is in an initial state, control required to download the desired software is started. 15. A wireless communication system other than the currently used wireless communication system when the wireless terminal is powered on, when the user forcibly resets the terminal, when the wireless communication system moves out of the service area of the currently used wireless communication system. The wireless terminal according to claim 14, wherein the wireless terminal enters the initial state at at least one timing when the mobile terminal moves into a service area.