JP2013258761A - Terminal device and its connection method - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal and a connection method thereof that enable smooth communication over a wireless LAN.
A portable terminal (2) according to the present invention is a portable terminal that can be wirelessly connected to an access point of a wireless LAN. Connected to the same accessible access point detected continuously as a result of scanning a predetermined number of times at a predetermined time interval among the communication unit (21) connected to one of the points and accessible access points And a connection control unit (273) for controlling the communication unit.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal having a wireless LAN communication function and a connection method thereof.

  In recent years, standard installation of a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) communication function has been progressing in various portable terminals such as personal computers, mobile phones, portable game machines, and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  When a portable terminal tries to connect to the Internet or the like via an access point, in the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 wireless communication system, an association between the portable terminal and the access point is called in advance. It is specified that a predetermined procedure is performed to allow the access point to identify the presence of the mobile terminal.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for establishing an association (connection) between a mobile terminal and an access point.

  The portable terminal broadcasts a probe request including an ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier) that it wants to connect to (step S600).

  If the ESSID included in the probe request is the same as its own ESSID, the access point returns a probe response (step S602). The probe response includes parameters such as BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifier), encryption method, authentication method, and communication speed.

  The portable terminal transmits an authentication request to the access point (step S604).

  The access point determines whether to authenticate the mobile terminal using a predetermined algorithm, and returns an authentication response including the result (step S606). Generally, authentication is performed using a MAC (Media Access Control) address of a mobile terminal as an identifier.

  When the mobile terminal confirms that it has been authenticated by the access point, it transmits an association request to the access point (step S608). The association request includes parameters such as ESSID, support rate, necessity of using polling, and the like.

  When the access point is an authenticated MAC address and can confirm that all the parameters included in the association request correspond to itself, it returns an association response (step S610).

  After the above procedure, the mobile terminal can transmit a data frame (step S612).

JP 2011-259159 A

  By the way, generally, when there are a plurality of access points, the mobile terminal scans all channels and tries to connect to the access point having the strongest signal. Further, even during communication, when an access point with a stronger signal than the current access point is detected, the mobile terminal tries to connect to an access point with a stronger signal. Therefore, when there are a plurality of access points at a short distance, the mobile terminal may frequently switch the connection destination, and smooth communication may be hindered.

  For example, when a user is moving in a vehicle that can move at high speed, such as a train, bus, taxi, etc., and can move in a short time outside the service area of the access point, The connection destination may be switched, such as connecting to an access point outside the vehicle (with a stronger signal) while the vehicle is stopped. However, if the departure and stop are frequently repeated, the connection destination is also frequently switched, and smooth communication may be hindered.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal and a connection method thereof that enable smooth communication by a wireless LAN.

  A portable terminal according to the present invention is a portable terminal that can be wirelessly connected to an access point of a wireless LAN, detects an accessible access point by executing a scan, and is one of the accessible access points. Connection control for controlling the communication unit to connect to the same accessible access point that is continuously detected as a result of executing a predetermined number of scans at a predetermined time interval among the communication unit to be connected and the accessible access point Part.

  Further, in the mobile terminal according to the present invention, the mobile terminal further includes a state detection unit that detects whether or not the user carrying the mobile terminal is in a moving state, and when a change in the state of the user is detected, the connection control unit Preferably, the communication unit is controlled so as to connect to the same accessible access point continuously detected as a result of executing a predetermined number of scans at a predetermined time interval among the accessible access points.

  Moreover, in the mobile terminal according to the present invention, the moving state is a state in which the mobile device is moving by a moving means that can move outside the service area of the access point within a predetermined time determined based on a predetermined time interval and a predetermined number of times. For example, it is in a state where the vehicle is moving on a predetermined vehicle.

  In addition, in the mobile terminal according to the present invention, when the connection to the wireless LAN is turned on, when the connection with the access point is detected to be disconnected, the state detection unit detects that the user has moved It is preferable to detect whether or not there is.

  A mobile terminal connection method according to the present invention is a mobile terminal connection method that can be wirelessly connected to an access point of a wireless LAN, and the mobile terminal executes a scan to access a first access point group. Detecting and detecting a second access point group that can be accessed by executing a scan again after a predetermined time has passed, to the same access point included in both the first access point group and the second access point group Connecting. Note that the number of access points included in the first access point group and the second access point group may be one. Further, the number of scans may be three or more.

  The mobile terminal and the connection method thereof according to the present invention connect smoothly to the same access point detected continuously as a result of executing a predetermined number of scans at a predetermined time interval, and maintain the connection with the access point. Communication is possible.

It is a figure which shows an example of the assumed condition. It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of a wireless LAN communication system. It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of a portable terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement flow of a state detection part. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement flow of a connection control part. It is a figure which shows an example of the procedure which establishes association between a portable terminal and an access point.

  Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, it should be noted that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and extends to the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

  In the present embodiment, the user can move at a predetermined speed or higher, such as a train, bus, taxi, etc., and when executing a scan n times within a predetermined time (for example, every t minutes) outside the access point service area, It is assumed that the vehicle travels with a vehicle that can move within (t × (n−1) minutes) (hereinafter referred to as “predetermined vehicle”), and the mobile terminal is connected to the wireless LAN during the movement.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of such a situation.

  The user gets on the vehicle while holding the portable terminal. Then, after the vehicle departs, the user turns on the connection from the portable terminal to the wireless LAN (time (a)).

  The portable terminal detects whether or not the user is in a state of moving with a predetermined vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “movement state”). Then, when it is detected that the user is in the moving state, the portable terminal shifts to the connection control mode.

  In the connection control mode, the mobile terminal performs a scan and detects surrounding accessible access points. In the normal procedure, the mobile terminal attempts to connect to the access point with the strongest signal, but in the present invention, the access point is only recorded and no connection is attempted to any access point (time (b)). ).

  After a predetermined time (for example, 2 minutes) elapses from the previous scan, the mobile terminal performs the scan again and detects surrounding accessible access points. If the number of scan executions is less than a predetermined number (for example, twice), the mobile terminal executes the above procedure again after recording the access point. On the other hand, if the number of scan executions is equal to or greater than the predetermined number, the mobile terminal collates the access points detected in each scan, and the same access point detected in each scan (hereinafter referred to as “fixed access point”). .) Is attempted (time (c)).

  Once a connection with a fixed access point is established, even if an access point with a stronger signal is detected in the next and subsequent scans, the mobile terminal does not attempt to connect to an access point other than the fixed access point (time (D) and (e)).

  After the vehicle arrives at the destination, the user gets off the vehicle and moves. The mobile terminal periodically detects whether or not the user is in a moving state. Then, when it is detected that the user is moving with a moving means other than the predetermined vehicle (for example, walking) and is not in the moving state, the portable terminal shifts to the normal mode.

  In the normal mode, if the mobile terminal is connected to the access point, after disconnecting the connection, the mobile terminal tries to connect to the access point by a normal procedure. That is, the mobile terminal performs scanning, detects surrounding accessible access points, and tries to connect to the access point with the strongest signal (time (f)).

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of the wireless LAN communication system 1.

  The wireless LAN communication system 1 includes a portable terminal 2 having a wireless LAN communication function and a wireless LAN access point 3. The portable terminal 2 can perform wireless communication with the access point 3 within the service area 4 thereof.

  The access point 3 is connected to the backbone network 5. An authentication server 7 for authenticating the user of the portable terminal 2 is connected to the backbone network 5 by a wired LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark).

  When the user is authenticated by the authentication server 7, the portable terminal 2 can connect to the Internet 8 via the gateway 6 that relays the backbone network 5 and the Internet 8. Therefore, the mobile terminal 2 can perform information communication with the server 9 connected to the Internet 8.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of the mobile terminal 2.

  The mobile terminal 2 connects to the server 9 via the access point 3, the backbone network 5, the gateway 6, and the Internet 8, and performs information communication with the server 9. Moreover, the portable terminal 2 detects a user's location, state, and the like. For this purpose, the mobile terminal 2 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit 23, various sensors 24, an operation unit 25, a display unit 26, and a processing unit 27.

  The communication unit 21 includes a communication interface circuit including an antenna whose sensitivity band is a 2.4 GHz band that is used in the wireless communication scheme of the IEEE 802.11 standard, and connects the mobile terminal 2 to the backbone network 5. The communication unit 21 establishes a wireless communication line using the IEEE 802.11 standard wireless communication system with the access point 3 and performs information communication with the access point 3. Then, the communication unit 21 passes the data received from the access point 3 to the processing unit 27. Further, the communication unit 21 transmits the data received from the processing unit 27 to the access point 3.

  The storage unit 22 includes, for example, at least one of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk device, and an optical disk device. The storage unit 22 stores a driver program, an operating system program, an application program, data, and the like used for processing in the processing unit 27. For example, the storage unit 22 stores, as a driver program, a communication driver program that executes a wireless communication scheme of the IEEE 802.11 standard, an input device driver program that controls the operation unit 25, an output device driver program that controls the display unit 26, and the like. To do. Further, the storage unit 22 stores, as an operating system program, a terminal control program that controls the entire mobile terminal 2, a connection control program that executes authentication processing in the wireless communication scheme of the IEEE 802.11 standard, and the like. In addition, the storage unit 22 includes, as application programs, a state detection program that detects whether or not the user is in a moving state, a web browser program that acquires and displays a web page, an e-mail program that transmits and receives an e-mail, and the like. Remember. In addition, the storage unit 22 stores, as data, the status of the user, that is, status data indicating whether or not the user is moving, the BSSID of the access point 3, the BSSID of the fixed access point 3, video data, image data, and the like. To do. Furthermore, the storage unit 22 may temporarily store temporary data related to a predetermined process.

  The GPS unit 23 includes a GPS circuit including an antenna whose sensitivity band is a 1.5 GHz band used in the GPS positioning method, and receives a GPS signal from a GPS satellite (not shown). The GPS unit 23 decodes the GPS signal and acquires time information and the like. Then, the GPS unit 23 calculates the pseudo distance from the GPS satellite to the mobile terminal 2 based on the time information and the like, and solves the simultaneous equations obtained by substituting the pseudo distance, whereby the position of the mobile terminal 2 ( (Latitude, longitude, altitude, etc.) and error are calculated. The output data of the GPS unit 23 is used for detection of the user state by the processing unit 27 together with the output data of the various sensors 24.

  The various sensors 24 output data indicating the user's acceleration, tilt, vibration, direction, etc., and are, for example, an acceleration sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, or the like. The output data of the various sensors 24 is used for detection of the user state by the processing unit 27.

  The operation unit 25 may be any device as long as the operation of the mobile terminal 2 is possible, for example, a touch pad, a keyboard, or the like. The user can input letters, numbers, and the like using this device. When operated by the user, the operation unit 25 generates a signal corresponding to the operation. The generated signal is input to the processing unit 27 as a user instruction.

  The display unit 26 may be any device as long as it can display images, images, and the like, such as a liquid crystal display and an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The display unit 26 displays a video corresponding to the video data supplied from the processing unit 27, an image corresponding to the image data, and the like.

  The processing unit 27 has one or a plurality of processors and their peripheral circuits. The processing unit 27 controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal 2 and is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). That is, the processing unit 27 includes the communication unit 21, the display unit, and the display unit so that various processes of the mobile terminal 2 are executed in an appropriate procedure according to the operation of the operation unit 25, the program stored in the storage unit 22, and the like. 26 and the like are controlled. The processing unit 27 executes processing based on programs (driver program, operating system program, application program, etc.) stored in the storage unit 22. The processing unit 27 can execute a plurality of programs (such as application programs) in parallel.

  The processing unit 27 includes a state detection unit 271, an operating system 272, a connection control unit 273, and a communication driver 274. Each of these units included in the processing unit 27 is a functional module implemented by a program executed on a processor included in the processing unit 27. Or these each part which the process part 27 has may be mounted in the portable terminal 2 as firmware.

  The state detection unit 271 periodically acquires data indicating the location of the user from the GPS unit 23, and acquires data indicating the user's acceleration, inclination, vibration, direction, and the like from the various sensors 24, and Whether or not the user is in a moving state is detected based on the data. If the user state has changed, the state detection unit 271 notifies the connection control unit 273 of the user state via the operating system 272. Details of the process will be described later.

  The operating system 272 realizes basic functions commonly used by applications and controls the entire mobile terminal 2, and is, for example, Android (registered trademark) OS, iOS (registered trademark), or the like. In addition, the operating system 272 relays notifications such as a user status and a connection status with the access point 3 between the status detection unit 271 and the connection control unit 273.

  The connection control unit 273 executes authentication processing or the like in the wireless communication system of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Further, when the state of the user is notified from the state detection unit 271 via the operating system 272, the connection control unit 273 may select either the normal mode or the connection control mode according to the state and the current operation mode. Works with. In the normal mode, the connection control unit 273 connects to the access point 3 according to a normal procedure defined by the wireless communication system of the IEEE 802.11 standard. On the other hand, in the connection control mode, the connection control unit 273 connects to the access point 3 according to a predetermined procedure. Details of the process will be described later.

  The communication driver 274 executes an IEEE 802.11 standard wireless communication system.

  Hereinafter, processing by the state detection unit 271 will be described.

  When it is detected that the connection to the wireless LAN is turned on, the state detection unit 271 initializes the state of the user stored in the storage unit 22 to “non-moving state”.

  The state detection unit 271 acquires data indicating the location of the user from the GPS unit 23, acquires data indicating the user's acceleration, inclination, vibration, direction, and the like from the various sensors 24, and based on the data , It is detected whether the user is in a moving state. In addition, the method described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2011-171908 is utilized for a user's state detection. However, other methods can be used.

  In this method, the presence / absence of the user's movement is detected by tracking the location of the user. Further, the moving means of the user is detected by collating the change pattern such as the acceleration of the user with a reference pattern such as the acceleration of each moving means of the user. Then, based on the detection results, it is determined whether or not the user is moving with a predetermined moving means (moving state). It is assumed that the predetermined moving means is determined in advance according to the time interval and the number of scan executions.

  In the case of movement on foot, the right foot and left foot are alternately put forward, and the cycle of the movement is about 0.5 to 2 seconds. During one period from when one of the right foot and the left foot is put forward and then the foot is put out next, acceleration and deceleration are repeated, not necessarily at a constant speed. During acceleration and deceleration, values such as acceleration and inclination change. In addition, when the legs are alternately put forward, the body moves slightly up and down, so the values of vibration and the like also change.

  In the case of movement by train, when leaving the station, there is a greater acceleration than in the case of movement by foot, and when arriving at the station, there is a greater deceleration than in the case of movement by foot. Therefore, values such as acceleration and inclination are larger than in the case of walking. Also, it may shake greatly during movement, but most of the movement is possible to read newspapers, books, etc., so the value of vibration etc. will be smaller than that of walking movement. It is done.

  In addition, in the case of movement by bus, there are many opportunities to stop by bus stops, signals, etc., and not only the number of accelerations and decelerations is greater than in the case of movement by train, but there is a tendency to sudden acceleration and deceleration. is there. Therefore, values such as acceleration and inclination are larger than in the case of traveling by train. Moreover, since it is more difficult to read characters in the car than in the case of movement by train, the value of vibration or the like is considered to be larger than in the case of movement by train. On the other hand, values such as vibration are considered to be smaller than in the case of movement on foot. This is because the vertical movement is considered to be smaller than in the case of movement on foot because the tire is driven to rotate on a substantially horizontal road surface.

  Thus, since the change pattern of acceleration and the like varies depending on the user's moving means, the change pattern of acceleration and the like is registered in advance as a reference pattern for each user's moving means, and the change pattern of the user's acceleration and the like By collating, it becomes possible to determine the moving means of the user.

  When the state of the user stored in the storage unit 22 is “non-moving state”, when it is detected that the user is in the moving state, the state detecting unit 271 changes the state to “moving state”. To do. In addition, the state detection unit 271 notifies the connection control unit 273 of the state “movement state” via the operating system 272.

  On the other hand, when the state of the user stored in the storage unit 22 is “moving state”, when it is detected that the user is not in the moving state, the state detecting unit 271 changes the state to “non-moving state”. Change to In addition, the state detection unit 271 notifies the connection control unit 273 of the state “non-moving state” via the operating system 272.

  Next, processing by the connection control unit 273 will be described.

  When it is detected that the connection to the wireless LAN is turned on, the connection control unit 273 starts operation in the normal mode.

  In the normal mode, if the connection control unit 273 is connected to the access point 3, after disconnecting the connection, the connection control unit 273 connects to the access point 3 according to a normal procedure defined by the wireless communication system of the IEEE 802.11 standard. To do.

  When it is detected that the connection with the access point 3 is disconnected due to the movement of the access point 3 out of the service area or the like, the connection control unit 273 executes the above procedure again.

  In addition, when the state detection unit 271 notifies the user state “movement state” via the operating system 272, the connection control unit 273 shifts to the connection control mode.

  In the connection control mode, the connection control unit 273 initializes the number of scans stored in the storage unit 22 to “0”.

  The connection control unit 273 executes a scan via the communication driver 274, detects the accessible access point 3 in the vicinity, and increases the number of scan executions stored in the storage unit 22 by one. Then, the connection control unit 273 stores the detected BSSID of the access point 3 in the storage unit 22.

  The connection control unit 273 waits for a predetermined time.

  After a predetermined time has elapsed, the connection control unit 273 performs a scan again via the communication driver 274 to detect the surrounding accessible access point 3 and execute the scan stored in the storage unit 22. Increase the number by one. If the number of scans is less than the predetermined number, the connection control unit 273 executes the above procedure again after recording the access point 3.

  On the other hand, if the number of scan executions is equal to or greater than the predetermined number, the connection control unit 273 collates the detected BSSID of the access point 3 with the BSSID of the access point 3 stored in the storage unit 22, and the BSSID is The same access point (hereinafter referred to as “fixed access point”) 3 is specified. Then, the connection control unit 273 stores the BSSID of the specified fixed access point 3 in the storage unit 22.

  The connection control unit 273 tries to connect to any one of the fixed access points 3 via the communication driver 274. Once the connection with any one of the fixed access points 3 is established, even if the access point 3 having a stronger signal is detected in the subsequent scan, the BSSID of the access point 3 is stored in the storage unit 22. If it is not included in the stored BSSID of the fixed access point 3, the connection control unit 273 does not attempt to connect to the access point 3.

  When it is detected that the connection with the fixed access point 3 is disconnected due to the movement of the fixed access point 3 out of the service area or the like, the connection control unit 273 executes the above procedure again.

  When the state detection unit 271 notifies the user state “non-moving state” via the operating system 272, the connection control unit 273 shifts to the normal mode.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation flow of the state detection unit 271. The operation flow described below is mainly executed by the processing unit 27 in cooperation with each element of the mobile terminal 2 based on a program stored in the storage unit 22 in advance.

  When it is detected that the connection to the wireless LAN is turned on, the state detection unit 271 initializes the state of the user stored in the storage unit 22 to “non-moving state” (step S400).

  The state detection unit 271 detects whether or not the user is in a moving state (step S402).

  When it is detected that the user is not in the moving state when the state of the user stored in the storage unit 22 is “non-moving state” (step S404—No), the state detecting unit 271 proceeds to step S402. Return.

  On the other hand, when it is detected that the user is in the moving state (step S404-Yes), the state detecting unit 271 changes the user state to “moving state” (step S406).

  In addition, the state detection unit 271 notifies the connection control unit 273 of the user state “movement state” via the operating system 272 (step S408).

  On the other hand, when the state of the user stored in the storage unit 22 is “moving state”, if it is detected that the user is in the moving state (step S404—No), the state detecting unit 271 displays the step S402. Return to.

  On the other hand, when it is detected that the user is not in the moving state (step S404-Yes), the state detecting unit 271 changes the user state to the “non-moving state” (step S406).

  Further, the state detection unit 271 notifies the connection control unit 273 of the user state “non-moving state” via the operating system 272 (step S408).

  Then, the state detection unit 271 returns to step S402.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation flow of the connection control unit 273. The operation flow described below is mainly executed by the processing unit 27 in cooperation with each element of the mobile terminal 2 based on a program stored in the storage unit 22 in advance.

  When it is detected that the connection to the wireless LAN is turned on, the connection control unit 273 starts operation in the normal mode (step S500).

  In the normal mode, the connection control unit 273 disconnects the connection if connected to the access point 3 (step S520).

  Further, the connection control unit 273 connects to the access point 3 according to a normal procedure defined by the wireless communication scheme of the IEEE 802.11 standard (Step S522).

  When it is detected that the connection with the access point 3 is disconnected (step S502—Yes), the connection control unit 273 returns to step S500.

  Further, when the state detection unit 271 does not notify the user state via the operating system 272 or notifies the “non-moving state” (No in step S504), the connection control unit 273 returns to step S502. .

  On the other hand, when the user state “movement state” is notified (step S504—Yes), the connection control unit 273 shifts to the connection control mode (step S506).

  In the connection control mode, the connection control unit 273 initializes the number of scans stored in the storage unit 22 to “0” (step S540).

  The connection control unit 273 executes a scan via the communication driver 274, detects the accessible access point 3 in the vicinity, and increments the number of scan executions stored in the storage unit 22 by 1 (step S542). ).

  The connection control unit 273 stores the detected BSSID of the access point 3 in the storage unit 22 (step S544).

  The connection control unit 273 waits for a predetermined time (step S546).

  After a predetermined time has elapsed, the connection control unit 273 performs a scan again via the communication driver 274 to detect the surrounding accessible access point 3 and execute the scan stored in the storage unit 22. The number of times is increased by 1 (step S548).

  If the number of scan executions stored in the storage unit 22 is less than the predetermined number (step S550-No), the connection control unit 273 returns to step S544.

  On the other hand, if the number of scan executions is equal to or greater than the predetermined number (step S550-Yes), the connection control unit 273 determines the detected BSSID of the access point 3 and the BSSID of the access point 3 stored in the storage unit 22. And the fixed access point 3 is specified (step S552).

  The connection control unit 273 stores the BSSID of the specified fixed access point 3 in the storage unit 22 (step S554).

  The connection control unit 273 connects to any one of the fixed access points 3 via the communication driver 274 (step S556).

  When it is detected that the connection with the fixed access point 3 has been disconnected (step S508—Yes), the connection control unit 273 returns to step S506.

  Further, when the status detection unit 271 does not notify the user status via the operating system 272 or notifies the “movement state” (No in step S510), the connection control unit 273 returns to step S508.

  On the other hand, when the user status “non-moving state” is notified (step S510—Yes), the connection control unit 273 shifts to the normal mode (step S500).

  As described above, smooth communication is possible by connecting to the same access point detected continuously as a result of scanning a predetermined number of times at predetermined time intervals and maintaining the connection with the access point. Become.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, in the present embodiment, when the connection to the wireless LAN is turned on, the state detection unit 271 periodically detects whether or not the user is in a moving state, but the state detection unit 271 When the wireless LAN is being connected and when the connection to the wireless LAN is turned off, the operation is stopped, and when the connection with the wireless LAN is disconnected, and the connection to the wireless LAN is turned on. If so, the operation may be resumed. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress the consumption of a battery.

  In addition, when the display unit 26 (for example, a liquid crystal display) is turned off, the user cannot visually confirm the connection status, content, and the like, so the state detection unit 271 When the operation is stopped and the display unit 26 is turned on, the operation may be resumed. Thereby, it becomes possible to further suppress the consumption of the battery.

  The display unit 26 may be turned off manually by the user, automatically turned off due to a timeout, or the like. In addition, since the user may manually turn it on, the state detection unit 271 may stop the operation after a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed since the display unit 26 was turned off. Good. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress the consumption of a battery, without impairing a user's convenience.

  Further, the state detection unit 271 may stop and restart its operation according to an instruction from the user and / or the server. This makes it possible to control the battery consumption.

  In the present embodiment, the connection control unit 273 executes the scan twice at intervals of 2 minutes and detects the access point 3, but other time intervals and / or times may be employed. Further, the time interval and / or the number of scan executions may be changeable by the user and / or the system using a setting file or the like. Thereby, it becomes possible to cope with various moving means, communication environments, and the like.

  A computer program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the processing unit 27 according to the present embodiment may be provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a magnetic recording medium or an optical recording medium. Good.

  It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, substitutions, and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wireless LAN communication system 2 Portable terminal 21 Communication part 22 Storage part 23 GPS part 24 Various sensors 25 Operation part 26 Display part 27 Processing part 271 State detection part 272 Operating system 273 Connection control part 274 Communication driver 3 Access point 4 Service area 5 Backbone network 6 Gateway 7 Authentication server 8 Internet 9 Server

Claims (3)

A portable terminal that can be wirelessly connected to a wireless LAN access point,
Executing a scan to detect an accessible access point and connecting to one of the accessible access points;
When the connection to the wireless LAN is turned on and when it is detected that the connection with the access point has been disconnected, the state of detecting whether or not the user carrying the mobile terminal is in a moving state A detection unit;
When a change in the state of the user is detected, among the accessible access points, as a result of scanning a predetermined number of times at predetermined time intervals, connection is made to the same accessible access point detected continuously. A connection control unit for controlling the communication unit,
A portable terminal characterized by comprising:   The movement state is a state in which the vehicle is moving by a moving means that can move outside the service area of the access point within a predetermined time determined based on the predetermined time interval and the predetermined number of times. The portable terminal described. A method of connecting a mobile terminal that can be wirelessly connected to an access point of a wireless LAN,
The portable terminal is
In the case where the connection to the wireless LAN is turned on, when it is detected that the connection with the access point is disconnected, it is detected whether or not the user carrying the mobile terminal is in a moving state,
When a change in the user's state is detected, a first access point group that is accessible by performing a scan is detected;
Execute the scan again after a predetermined time to detect the accessible second access point group,
Connecting to the same access point included in both the first access point group and the second access point group;
A connection method characterized by that.

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