JP2003289584A - Wireless communication system, emergency control method for the same, and wireless communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless communication system which can avoid such a situation that communication service cannot be used completely by suitably restricting calling or a continuously-speechable time in case of emergency such as disaster or terrorism outburst, an in-emergency control method for the system, and a wireless communication terminal. <P>SOLUTION: In the wireless communication system wherein a plurality of wireless communication terminals are connected to a single wireless base station via radio channels, the wireless base station transmits an in-emergency mode changeover signal to a plurality of communication terminals to switch the terminals to an in-emergency mode. In response to the in-emergency changeover signal transmitted from the wireless base station, the first wireless communication terminal is switched to the in-emergency mode and requests an outgoing call with use of a control frame having a flag in a specific zone set at ON. The wireless base station allows the outgoing call from the first communication terminal, while refusing an outgoing call from the second communication terminal not using the control frame corresponding to the in-emergency mode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless communication system capable of stably providing a mobile communication service even in a special situation such as a disaster or terrorism occurrence, an emergency control method for the wireless communication system, and the wireless communication system. The present invention relates to a wireless communication terminal applied to a communication system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Mobile communication is a general term for communication that can be performed while one or both users of communication terminals, such as mobile phones and car phones, are moving. The initial mobile communication began with ship telephones and train telephones, and became popular with the practical use of car telephones. Furthermore, the success of miniaturization and weight saving of telephones has led to the explosive spread of mobile phones.

The mobile phone is a general term for a telephone that a person can carry or a telephone service that uses the telephone. In a broad sense, it is the same as a mobile telephone, but the term "mobile phone" has become popular in the sense that you can use a small and lightweight telephone terminal while carrying it around. The mobile phone system is a wireless system in which a subscriber line of a conventional wire phone system is wireless, and a wireless base station and a telephone are connected by a wireless line. Since a range covered by one radio base station is called a cell, the mobile phone is also called a "cellular phone".

In such a cellular type mobile phone system, the number of mobile phones that can be simultaneously connected is limited due to the relationship with the radio frequency, and the telephone line is easily punctured, that is, within the same cell of the radio base station. There are a lot of mobile phones, and if these mobile phones make outgoing calls at the same time, the wireless base station becomes overloaded, and it becomes difficult to connect the lines. The mobile phone system also has no concept of call priority. For example, in the event of a disaster such as a large earthquake, or when a terrorist attack such as the New York-Washington simultaneous terrorist attacks that is new to our memory these days, a large number of call requests for safety are made in a short time in the surrounding area such as the disaster area. Occurs, and the line becomes difficult to connect for a long time. In this case, the cell phone, which is supposed to be useful for disaster relief, is not useful.

Therefore, a solution has been considered in which the connection is controlled on the side of the telephone station (exchange) further ahead of the radio base station, but since the capability is limited not only for the radio base station but also for the exchange, If it becomes overloaded, it may be difficult to connect the lines.

Therefore, a mobile phone (wireless communication terminal)
It is necessary to provide a new operation control function such as outgoing call control on the side and take measures to avoid the situation where the communication service cannot be used at all in the event of an emergency such as a disaster as described above. It can be said to be preferable. But,
Even if such a new operation control function is added to a new mobile phone product or the like, the existence of an old model that does not support the new operation control function may be a loophole and the desired effect may not be obtained.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and in an emergency such as a disaster or terrorism occurrence, the time during which a call can be made or a continuous call can be appropriately regulated and a communication service can be provided. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication system, an emergency control method for the system, and a wireless communication terminal capable of avoiding a situation in which the system cannot be used.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention for solving the above problems and achieving the object is constituted as follows.

A radio communication system according to the present invention is a radio communication system in which a plurality of radio communication terminals are coupled to one radio base station via a radio path. Transmitting an emergency mode switching signal for switching each to the emergency mode, the first wireless communication terminal switches to the emergency mode in response to the emergency mode switching signal transmitted from the wireless base station, A call origination request is made using a control frame in which the flag of the specific area is set to ON, and the radio base station permits the call origination request from the first radio communication terminal, while not using the control frame. It is characterized in that the call request from the wireless communication terminal 2 is rejected.

The first radio communication terminal is configured to include a regulation means for regulating a part of the radio communication operation with the radio base station when switching to the emergency mode. May be. The restricting unit includes a call restricting unit that restricts a call from the first wireless communication terminal, and a call time restricting unit that restricts a continuous call available time of the first wireless communication terminal.

An emergency control method for a wireless communication system according to the present invention is an emergency control method for a wireless communication system in which a plurality of wireless communication terminals are coupled to one wireless base station via a wireless path. The base station transmits an emergency mode switching signal for switching each to an emergency mode to a plurality of wireless communication terminals, and the first wireless communication terminal has an emergency mode transmitted from the wireless base station. In response to the switching signal, the mode is switched to the emergency mode, and the call request is made using the control frame in which the flag of the specific area is set to ON, and the wireless base station requests the call from the first wireless communication terminal. While permitting the call, the call request from the second wireless communication terminal not using the control frame is rejected.

The first wireless communication terminal may restrict a part of the wireless communication operation with the wireless base station when switching to the emergency mode. Such restrictions include restricting outgoing calls from the first wireless communication terminal and restricting the continuous talk time of the first wireless communication terminal.

A radio communication terminal according to the present invention is a radio communication terminal which receives an emergency mode switching signal from a radio base station and switches the operation mode to the emergency mode in response to the emergency mode switching signal. A part of a wireless communication operation between a calling means for requesting a call to the wireless base station using a control frame in which a flag of a specific area is set to ON, and the wireless base station in the emergency mode. And a regulation means for regulating the above.

The restriction means includes a transmission restriction means for restricting a call from the wireless communication terminal, and a call time restriction means for restricting a continuous talk time of the wireless communication terminal,
including. Further, the degree of restriction by the restriction means may be changed according to the change point.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, this system is a cellular mobile communication (cellular phone) system. In the figure, 10 is a telephone station and 20 is a wireless base station, both of which are connected by wire. Radio base station 20 is number 1
A wireless communication terminal (mobile phone) that has a radio wave coverage area of about 00 to 20 km and is present in the area.
Wireless communication (telephone) is possible with 1a and 1b. According to the present invention, in such a wireless communication system, a large number of wireless communication terminals generate call requests far exceeding the capacity of the communication line that can be provided by the wireless base station 20 in an emergency such as a disaster or terrorism. It is intended to avoid such a situation by the emergency mode operation, avoid a situation where the mobile communication service is completely unavailable, and provide a stable service.

Therefore, in the event of an emergency such as a disaster, the radio base station 20 has the control frame b1 indicating the emergency mode.
(B2) is broadcast and the wireless communication terminal 1 in the same area is switched to the emergency mode. As shown in FIG. 1, the corresponding wireless communication terminal 1a sets a bit in a predetermined field of a control frame (“true” or a value of 1) to make a call request (c1). Here, an old model wireless communication terminal 1b that does not originally have an emergency mode is provided.
Makes a call request without setting a bit in a predetermined field of the control frame (c2). The wireless base station 20 according to the present embodiment detects such a difference in the control frames (c1, c2) and rejects the call request from the wireless communication terminal 1b.
As a result, only the wireless communication terminal 1a excluding the old model wireless communication terminal 1b can make a call (of course, there is not only one wireless communication terminal 1b and one wireless communication terminal 1a).
Therefore, the load on the line capacity of the wireless base station 20 is reduced, and it is possible to avoid a situation in which the line is difficult to connect.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure in the radio base station when a call request is made from such a radio communication terminal.

First, when a disaster or terrorism occurs, the radio base station 20 receives an emergency mode switching command from the telephone station 10 (step S10). When no emergency mode switching command is received from the telephone station 10, the normal mode is set (step S11).

Upon receiving the emergency mode switching command, the radio base station 20 next broadcasts the emergency control frames b1 and b2 (step S12). In the emergency control frames b1 and b2, the bit of the predetermined field is set ("1") as shown in FIG. In response to this, the wireless communication terminal 1a switches to the emergency mode, but the wireless communication terminal 1b does not have the emergency mode.

In step S13, the wireless communication terminal 1a
Alternatively, when a call request is made from 1b or the like, the wireless base station 20
Determines whether or not the bit of the predetermined field of the control frame relating to the call request is set ("1") (step S14). If the bit of the predetermined field of the control frame relating to the call request is not set, the radio base station 20 rejects the call request in step S15, and returns to step S13. This is the case of the wireless communication terminal 1b. On the other hand, in the case of the wireless communication terminal 1a, since the bit of the predetermined field of the control frame relating to the call request is set, the call request is accepted and the call connection with the other party is permitted (step S16).

As described above, in this embodiment, the radio base station 2
0 refers to the control frame relating to the transmitted call request, selects a wireless communication terminal, and preferentially permits the call and the call to the terminal having the emergency mode. On the other hand, the wireless communication terminal (1a) according to the present embodiment voluntarily makes a call on the terminal side and regulates the call time as described below.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the wireless communication terminal according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure,
A wireless communication terminal (mobile phone) 1 according to this embodiment includes an antenna 2 that is coupled to a wireless base station 20 via a wireless communication path.
And a receiver 3 and a transmitter 4 connected to the antenna 2. Further, the communication device 9 includes a speaker, a microphone, various function buttons including a call button, a ten-key button for dial input, and the like.

The receiver 3 is transmitted from the radio base station 20 and is received by the antenna 2 to generate a digital reception signal from the radio wave. This received signal is sent to the communication device 9 to generate an analog voice signal, which is output from the speaker. On the other hand, the transmitter 4 generates a digital transmission signal from the voice of the speaker or the like input from the microphone of the communication device 9. This transmission signal is transmitted to the radio base station 20 through the antenna 2.

The wireless communication terminal 1 according to the present embodiment is
As a mechanism for operating in a special mode in an emergency such as a disaster, a mode storage unit 5, a mode determination unit 6, a control unit 7,
It is equipped with a point table 8 and the like.

The mode storage unit 5 stores the operation mode set to either the normal mode or the emergency mode according to the value of the predetermined field of the control frame broadcast from the radio base station 20. The mode storage unit 5 is referred to by the mode determination unit 6, and the wireless communication terminal 1
The current operating mode of the is determined. The control unit 7 switches to operation in the normal mode or the emergency mode according to the current operation mode determined by the mode determination unit 6. Especially during the operation in the emergency mode, the communication device 9 and the transmitter 4
The control unit 7 provided between and operates to refer to the point table 8 and regulate the calling or talking time. The point table 8 constitutes a look-up table that stores a threshold value of a call time or a waiting time (for example, “minute”) according to the value of the point.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation in the emergency mode of the wireless communication terminal 1 according to this embodiment configured as described above. The operation of the wireless communication terminal 1 in the emergency mode is to variably restrict these operations at the time of making a call or during a call according to the conditions based on the given points.

If a fixed priority is set for outgoing calls and calls in the emergency mode, if the priority is high, the terminal will be frequently used, which may result in load on the line. Absent. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the regulation based on the changing points is internally performed so that the more the wireless communication terminal 1 is used, the more severe the regulation of the outgoing call and the call time. As a result, it is possible to expect a preferable suppression effect that the wireless communication terminal 1 is not excessively used even in an emergency such as a disaster and is used only at a minimum necessary time.

The operation of the wireless communication terminal 1 according to this embodiment in the emergency mode will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

First, when the power of the wireless communication terminal 1 is turned on (step S1), it is determined whether or not the emergency mode switching signal from the wireless base station 20 is received (step S2). When the emergency mode switching signal is not received, the normal mode is set, and no restrictions are placed on outgoing calls, call times, etc. (step S3). On the other hand, when the emergency mode switching signal is received from the wireless base station 20, the operation mode of the wireless communication terminal 1 becomes the emergency mode, and step S4
It operates according to the following.

First, in step S4, the mode determination unit 6 refers to the mode storage unit 5 and determines whether the previous mode was the normal mode or the emergency mode (step S4). If the previous mode was the normal mode, the points are initialized in step S5, and the process proceeds to step S7 (step S5).

Here, the point has a value that varies depending on the time interval of call origination, call time, etc., and dynamically determines the degree of regulation of call origination, call time, etc. in the wireless communication terminal 1 in the emergency mode. It is for changing to. As described above, the degree of this restriction is that the more the wireless communication terminal 1 is used, the more stringent the restrictions on call origination and call time. Such points are held as variables in the control unit 7 by a non-volatile memory or the like (not shown).

When it is determined in step S4 that the previous mode is the emergency mode, the control unit 7 refers to the point table 8 (step S6). That is, step S6 is executed when the previous call, call or the like was performed in the emergency mode, and then another call or the like is to be made again during the emergency mode.

The point table 8 is, as described above,
A threshold value of a call time or a waiting time (for example, “minute”) according to the value of the point is held in the form of a lookup table. In step S6, the point table 8 is referred to with the current point value, and the threshold value of the corresponding call time (minute) or waiting time (minute) is read.

Thereafter, the calling restriction operation (step S7) and the talking restriction operation (step S8) are performed based on the read threshold value.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the call restriction operation.

In the outgoing call restriction operation, it is first determined whether or not the current state is still the emergency mode (step S71), and if so, the elapsed time from the previous outgoing call exceeds the threshold value. It is determined whether or not (step S72). The threshold value here is a value read from the point table 8 based on the current value of the point of the wireless communication terminal 1. FIG. 7 shows an example of the point table 8. For example, when the current point value is “5”, the waiting time threshold is “1 minute” according to the point table 8. The threshold value determination in step S72 is performed by setting the elapsed time from the previous transmission to "1.
This is for disabling transmission from the wireless communication terminal 1 in step S74 while the time is less than "minutes". After "1 minute" or more has elapsed from the previous call, the call can be made in step S73. A control unit 7 interposed between the communication device 9 and the transmitter 4 performs such control related to the calling restriction operation.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the restricting operation during a call.

In the call restriction operation, it is first determined whether or not the current state is still the emergency mode (step S81), and if so, whether the call time up to the present time exceeds the threshold value. It is determined whether or not (step S82). The threshold value here is a value read from the point table 8 based on the value of the current point of the wireless communication terminal 1, as in the previous case. Figure 7
With reference to the point table 8 of FIG. 1, for example, when the value of the current point is “5”, the threshold value of continuous talk time is “7 minutes”. The threshold value determination in step S82 does not depend on whether the call is from me or the call is received from the other party, and when the call time up to the present time exceeds "7 minutes", the wireless communication terminal 1 in step S83 is judged.
And forcibly disconnecting the call with the other party. Unless the call time exceeds "7 minutes", step S8
The call can be continued at 4.

Then, in step S9, the point value is updated. Specifically, the point value is changed (here, decreased) in accordance with the increase in the number of outgoing calls and the call time. Hereinafter, until the power is turned off in step S10,
The operations after step S2 are repeated.

According to the operation of the wireless communication terminal according to the present embodiment as described above, when the emergency mode switching signal is transmitted from the wireless base station 20, all the wireless communication terminals in the coverage area are in the emergency mode. When the mobile communication service is viewed from the whole centering on the wireless base station 20,
It is possible to avoid the situation where the line is difficult to connect and the service cannot be used at all. Moreover, in the emergency mode, the wireless communication terminal according to the embodiment is prioritized over the old model that does not have such an emergency operation mode, whereby fairness can be achieved.

[Point system] Under the point system, points (electronic data) themselves that enable stable transmission and call in an emergency such as a disaster are distributed as paid information values such as prepaid. Preferably. The electronic data of the points is transmitted from the separately provided service system or the like via the network to the wireless communication terminal 1
It may be configured to be downloadable to. It is also a consideration to allow electronic data of points to be bought and sold between users. Alternatively, a user who uses the wireless communication terminal 1 more frequently or a user who uses the wireless communication terminal 1 more frequently may be given higher points from the carrier. of course,
The carrier may give each wireless communication terminal 1 free of charge and impartially. The points stored in the internal storage area of the wireless communication terminal 1 are preferably encrypted so that they cannot be easily modified.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be implemented by being modified in various ways.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the emergency mode switching signal is transmitted from the wireless base station, the wireless communication terminals in the coverage area are switched to the emergency mode, and outgoing call and call time are regulated. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the line is difficult to connect from the viewpoint of the entire mobile communication service centering on the wireless base station and the service cannot be used at all.
Moreover, in the emergency mode, the wireless communication terminal according to the present invention is prioritized over the old model that does not have such an emergency operation mode, whereby fairness can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic configuration of an entire wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation in an emergency mode in the radio base station according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a wireless communication terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation in an emergency mode of the wireless communication terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a call restriction operation in the wireless communication terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a call restriction operation in the wireless communication terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary view showing an example of a point table in the wireless communication terminal according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Wireless communication terminal (mobile phone) 2 ... antenna 3 ... Receiver 4 ... Transmitter 5 ... Mode storage section 6 ... Mode determination unit 7 ... Control unit 8 ... Point table 9 ... Communication device 10 ... Telephone office 20 ... Wireless base station

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yasuhiko Suzuki             1st Komukai Toshiba-cho, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa             Inside the Toshiba Research and Development Center (72) Inventor Masao Suga             1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Co., Ltd.             Toshiba headquarters office (72) Inventor Akihiro Kasahara             1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Co., Ltd.             Toshiba headquarters office (72) Inventor Akio Okazaki             70 Yanagicho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture             Toshiba Yanagimachi Office (72) Inventor Kenichi Hiramatsu             70 Yanagicho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture             Toshiba Yanagimachi Office (72) Inventor Obama Wada             1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Co., Ltd.             Toshiba headquarters office (72) Inventor Koji Mikami             1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Co., Ltd.             Toshiba headquarters office (72) Inventor Akira Tojima             70 Yanagicho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture             Toshiba Yanagimachi Office (72) Inventor Naoki Endo             No. 1 Toshiba-cho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo Toshiba Corporation             Fuchu Office (72) Inventor Koichi Noguchi             1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo Co., Ltd.             Toshiba headquarters office F term (reference) 5K027 AA11 BB00 CC08 EE01 EE11                       GG08 HH11                 5K067 AA21 BB04 DD11 DD27 EE02                       EE10 EE16 FF02 GG01 GG11                       GG21 HH12 HH22

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A wireless communication system capable of wirelessly communicating with a wireless base station and a plurality of wireless communication terminals, wherein the wireless base station causes a plurality of wireless communication terminals to switch each to an emergency mode. And a first wireless communication terminal, wherein the first wireless communication terminal switches to the emergency mode in response to the emergency mode switching signal transmitted from the transmitting means of the wireless base station. And a calling means for making a call request to the wireless base station using a control frame in which a flag of a specific area is set to ON, wherein the wireless base station sends a call from the first wireless communication terminal. A wireless communication system, which permits a call request from a calling means while rejecting a call request from a second wireless communication terminal not using the control frame. 2. The first wireless communication terminal includes a restriction unit that restricts a part of a wireless communication operation with the wireless base station when the mode switching unit switches to the emergency mode. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The restriction means includes a call restriction means for restricting a call from the first wireless communication terminal, and a call time restriction means for restricting a continuous talkable time of the first wireless communication terminal. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein
The wireless communication system according to. 4. An emergency control method for a wireless communication system in which a wireless base station and a plurality of wireless communication terminals can wirelessly communicate with each other, wherein the wireless base station provides each of the plurality of wireless communication terminals with an emergency. An emergency mode switching signal for switching to the mode is transmitted, and the first wireless communication terminal switches to the emergency mode in response to the emergency mode switching signal transmitted from the wireless base station, and flags the specific area. A call request is made using a control frame set to ON, the radio base station permits the call request from the first radio communication terminal, and a second call that does not use the control frame.
A method for emergency control of a wireless communication system, wherein a call request from the wireless communication terminal is rejected. 5. The first wireless communication terminal regulates a part of a wireless communication operation with the wireless base station when switching to the emergency mode. The method described. 6. The method according to claim 2, wherein a call from the first wireless communication terminal is restricted and a continuous talk time of the first wireless communication terminal is restricted. 7. A wireless communication terminal which receives an emergency mode switching signal from a wireless base station and switches the operation mode to the emergency mode in response to the emergency mode switching signal, wherein a flag of a specific area is turned on in the emergency mode. Calling means for making a call request to the wireless base station using the control frame set to, in the emergency mode, a regulating means for regulating a part of the wireless communication operation with the wireless base station, The wireless communication terminal according to claim 7, further comprising: 8. The restriction means includes a call restriction means for restricting a call from the wireless communication terminal, and a call time restriction means for restricting a continuous talk time of the wireless communication terminal. The wireless communication terminal according to claim 7. 9. The wireless communication terminal according to claim 7, wherein the degree of restriction by the restriction means is changed according to a change point.