Position particularizing system and charging system

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to a location identification system and a billing system. That is, a system that identifies the position of a mobile communication terminal device that uses a mobile communication network by using the equipment that constitutes the mobile communication network and the equipment that constitutes the data communication network, and its usage pattern. It can be applied to a billing system according to the above.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, with the development of communication technology and communication systems, communication has been rapidly personalized and diversified. For example, the number of mobile communication subscribers (for example, mobile communication such as PHS and mobile phones) has exceeded 70 million in Japan, and one mobile communication terminal device (for example, mobile phone) is used for each Japanese citizen. And PHS, etc.).

【0003】

With the spread of such mobile communication systems, the personalization of mobile communication terminal devices and the convenience of being able to communicate with anyone anytime, anywhere, along with the convenience of being able to communicate with anyone, make full use of the wired-connected unique telephones that are conventionally owned by homes and the like. There is a situation where it is not done.

【0004】

For example, when using a telephone at home, the mobile communication terminal device may be used as it is as a home telephone without using a conventional home telephone (fixed telephone with a wired connection).

【0005】

Even in such a usage pattern, the communication usage fee of the mobile communication system, which is higher than the communication usage fee of the fixed-line communication system, is applied to the user of the mobile communication terminal device, and the user side of the mobile communication system , You have to pay a high communication usage fee, which is not always convenient for the user.

【0006】

As a service provided by a mobile communication system that takes into consideration the usage pattern of such a user, when the user performs mobile communication within a certain range in which a wired fixed telephone or the like at home can be used as shown in FIG. , There is a subscriber billing service that makes the usage fee lower than usual.

【0007】

The mobile communication system service shown in FIG. 2 is provided by a mobile communication management device (not shown) by specifying the position of a mobile communication user.

【0008】

The mobile communication management device registers and stores the range position (local zone) to which the subscriber's service is desired to be applied in advance, and the base station accurately measures the arrival time of the radio wave to the user's mobile communication terminal. By grasping the position of the mobile communication terminal device (that is, the user), it is determined whether or not the user exists within the applicable range (local zone).

【0009】

Based on this judgment, if the user's position is within the applicable range (local zone), the low rate system will be applied, and if the user is outside the applicable range (local zone), the normal rate system will be applied. Applies.

【0010】

That is, in order to provide such a service, it is essential to specify the position of the user, and the position measurement method in the service of the conventional mobile communication system is the distance to the mobile communication terminal device by a plurality of base stations. The position measurement method by the three-point method is used.

【0011】

In addition, by mounting a GPS receiver on the mobile communication terminal device, the mobile communication terminal device itself can obtain location information independently, or by using a method with a relatively narrow cell radius such as PHS, it is accurate. There is a method of measuring the position in.

【0012】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, as described above, the service provided by the conventional mobile communication system has the following problems in identifying the position of the user.

【0013】

First, in order to accurately grasp the position of the user, there is a need for the base station to have a complicated position measurement function, and there is a need for a large amount of system equipment construction / reconstruction and its investment, and the cost of capital investment for that purpose. There is a problem that it becomes large.

【0014】

Next, it is necessary to keep accurately grasping the position of the user while the user is performing mobile communication. In other words, even if the user is in a call, he / she must always keep track of whether or not he / she is within the applicable range by moving, and for that reason, it is necessary to emit useless radio waves that are not for communication purposes. There is also a problem. In addition, if the position measurement accuracy is poor, even if the user exists within the applicable range, the application of the service system is not permitted even if the user is out of the applicable range, and the usage is more expensive than the user expected. The amount will be charged and there is a risk of complaints from users.

【0015】

These problems are caused only by mobile communication networks, but as mentioned at the beginning, the progress of communication systems in recent years has been remarkable, and the same applies to data communication networks.

【0016】

That is, high-speed access means (for example, access means such as ISDN, xDSL, CATV, etc.) have become sufficiently widespread in homes for data communication networks via networks such as the Internet.

【0017】

Therefore, the present invention uses the equipment constituting the existing mobile communication network and the equipment constituting the existing data communication network to position the mobile communication terminal device using the mobile communication network. Provide a location identification system that easily and accurately identifies the above and a billing system according to the usage pattern thereof.

【0018】

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve such a problem, the first invention is a position specifying system for specifying the position of a mobile communication terminal device, which is mounted on a mobile communication terminal device connectable to a mobile communication network and performs short-range wireless communication. A first short-range wireless communication device and a second short-range wireless communication device that is mounted on a data communication access device that can be connected to a data communication network and performs short-range wireless communication with the first short-range wireless communication device, and a short distance. The mobile communication terminal device identification information that has been wirelessly communicated over a distance is given through the mobile communication network or the data communication network, and the mobile communication terminal device is authenticated based on the mobile communication terminal device identification information and the preset registration information. The mobile communication terminal device is provided with a management device for specifying the position of the mobile communication terminal device according to the authentication result.

【0019】

The second invention is a billing system that employs the location identification system of the first invention, and the management device charges by changing the communication charge according to the specified position of the mobile communication terminal device. It is characterized by being provided with a billing processing means.

【0020】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(A) First Embodiment Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the location identification system and the billing system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 3 to 5.

【0021】

The first embodiment is for a data communication access device in which the location identification system according to the present invention is connected to a network (for example, ISDN, xDSL, CATV, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), etc.) at home. It is intended to identify the position of the mobile communication terminal device when a subscriber existing in the vicinity makes a call by the mobile communication terminal device instead of the fixed telephone.

【0022】

Further, the billing system according to the present invention intends to reduce the mobile communication charge to the subscriber who determines that the service can be applied based on the location identification of the mobile communication terminal device.

【0023】

(A-1) Configuration of First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conceptual diagram of the overall configuration of the position identification system according to the first embodiment.

【0024】

As shown in FIG. 1, the location identification system of the first embodiment is roughly classified into a mobile communication system 20, a data communication system 30, and a network 40 connected to each other.

【0025】

The communication mode of the network 40 can be flexibly applied, for example, a PSTN, an ISDN network, an Internet network, an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network, or a network in which a plurality of these are connected.

【0026】

In the following, the configurations of the mobile communication system 20 and the data communication system 30 will be described, and their functional configurations will be described in detail. First, the configuration of the mobile communication system 20 will be described in detail.

【0027】

The mobile communication system 20 is a conventional mobile communication system (for example, PDC, cdmaOne, IMT-2000, etc.), and its system configuration is slightly different depending on various mobile communication systems, but as a basic configuration, a user's mobile communication terminal device It includes 3, a base station 4, a base station control device 5, a mobile switching device 6, and a mobile communication management device 7.

【0028】

Here, the mobile communication system 20 shown in FIG. 1 shows the minimum system configuration required for one user to perform mobile communication. By increasing the number of users, the base station 4 It goes without saying that the number of mobile units and base station control devices 5 can be increased accordingly.

【0029】

The mobile communication terminal device 3 is a conventional mobile communication terminal device (for example, a mobile phone, PHS, etc.). Therefore, when there is a call to / from another user or a third party, the mobile communication terminal device 3 gives or receives mobile communication data to the base station 4.

【0030】

Further, the mobile communication terminal device 3 is equipped with the short-range wireless communication device 11. The short-range wireless communication device 11 will be described later, but is provided with a wireless communication connection function with another device such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

【0031】

The base station 4 is a base station intervening in a conventional mobile communication system, and transmits / receives mobile communication data to / from the mobile communication terminal device 3. Further, the base station 4 also transmits / receives mobile communication data to / from the base station control device 5 connected by wire.

【0032】

The base station control device 5 is a conventional base station control device, which connects a plurality of base stations (not shown) and transmits / receives mobile call data to and from the plurality of base stations. Further, the base station control device 5 also transmits / receives mobile communication data to / from the mobile switching device 6.

【0033】

The mobile exchange device 6 transmits and receives mobile call data to and from the base station control device 5, and exchanges calls for a mobile communication system via a network.

【0034】

The mobile communication management device 7 manages the mobile communication system 20. Further, the mobile communication management device 7 receives the mobile communication terminal device identification information from the data communication system 30 via the network 40, and the authentication function of the mobile communication terminal device based on the mobile communication terminal device identification information, or a user thereof. It has a billing function according to the usage pattern of the mobile communication system used by.

【0035】

That is, in the mobile communication management device 7, the registration information of the user's mobile communication terminal device 3 is registered in advance, and the mobile communication terminal device identification information received via the network 40 and the registered registration information are stored. In comparison, the mobile communication terminal device 3 is authenticated. Further, the mobile communication management device 7 authenticates the mobile communication terminal device, and when it is determined that the mobile communication terminal device 3 is the registered mobile communication terminal device 3 based on the authentication result, the mobile communication management device 7 charges the service.

【0036】

Here, as for the registration of the registration information in the mobile communication management device 7, for example, the registration of the data communication system 30 (for example, the usage contract with the provider) can be used as the subscriber registration as it is.

【0037】

Further, in the authentication of the mobile communication terminal device 3 by the mobile communication management device 7, for example, the registration information (for example, the telephone number information of the mobile communication terminal device) registered in advance by the storage means (not shown) possessed by the mobile communication management device 7 is performed. , Number identification information, etc.), and the mobile communication terminal received by the subscriber detection means (not shown) of the mobile communication management device 7 based on the registration information stored in the storage means. If the device identification information is compared and matched, it is determined that the mobile communication terminal device 3 is used. When the mobile communication management device 7 authenticates to be the registered mobile communication terminal device 3, the mobile communication management device 7 switches to the corresponding service (in the present embodiment, a service that charges a low usage fee for the mobile communication system) and applies the service.

【0038】

Next, the configuration of the data communication system 30 will be described in detail.

【0039】

The data communication system 30 includes a data communication access device 1, a communication terminal device 2, a base station 8, a line concentrator 9, and a data communication management device 10.

【0040】

The data communication access device 1 enables access to data communication connected to the communication terminal device 2, and is a conventional data communication access device. Further, the data communication access device 1 is equipped with a short-range wireless communication device 12, and the short-range wireless communication device 12 is short from the short-range wireless communication device 11 when the mobile communication terminal device 3 makes a call. It receives the mobile communication terminal device identification information transmitted over a distance and gives the received mobile communication terminal device identification information to the base station 8. That is, the mobile communication terminal device identification information is transmitted through the data communication system 30.

【0041】

The base station 8 is connected to the data communication access terminal device 1, and supplies the data from the data communication access terminal device 1 to the line concentrator device 9.

【0042】

The concentrator 9 receives data from the base station 8 and supplies the data to the data communication management device 10 or the mobile communication management device 7 via the network 40.

【0043】

The data communication management device 10 receives the mobile communication terminal device identification information from the line concentrator 9 via the network 40, and the mobile communication received by the mobile communication management device 7 that manages the use of the mobile communication system by the user. It gives terminal device identification information.

【0044】

As described above, the mobile communication terminal device 3 and the data communication access terminal device 1 include short-range wireless communication devices 11 and 12. Hereinafter, the short-range wireless communication devices 11 and 12 will be described.

【0045】

The short-range wireless communication devices 11 and 12 enable periodic wireless communication connection between two devices within a certain range, such as Bluetooth (PAN (Personal Area Network) using the 2.4 GHz band). It has a wireless communication function. Further, even after the mobile communication terminal device 3 makes a call, the short-range wireless communication device 11 and the short-range wireless communication device 12 periodically perform wireless communication of the mobile communication terminal device identification information. It is possible to confirm that the user is in the vicinity of the data communication access device 1 without moving.

【0046】

FIG. 3 shows a conceptual diagram regarding short-range wireless communication between the short-range wireless communication device 11 mounted on the mobile communication terminal device 3 and the short-range wireless communication device 12 mounted on the data communication access device 1. Is.

【0047】

As shown in FIG. 3, the short-range wireless communication device 11 is mounted on the data communication access terminal device 1 when the user performs mobile communication by the mobile communication terminal device 3 (that is, when there is an incoming / outgoing call). The mobile communication terminal device identification information is transmitted to the range wireless communication device 12.

【0048】

Here, the mobile communication terminal device identification information is, for example, a telephone number or number identification information of the own mobile communication terminal device 3. Further, for example, it may be an ID number or the like representing the subscriber himself / herself.

【0049】

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the short-range wireless communication terminal 12 is mounted on the data communication access device 1 will be described, but the place where the short-range wireless communication terminal 12 is mounted is not limited to this.

【0050】

(A-2) Operation of the first embodiment In the following, first, the operation of the position identification system according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Here, the case where the user makes a call by the mobile communication terminal device 3 will be described, but the same operation is performed when the user makes a call by the mobile communication terminal device 3.

【0051】

Before using this service, the user registers the registration information in the mobile communication management device 7 in advance (step 501). As this registration method, for example, the registration of the data communication system can be adopted as it is, and the registration information is, for example, the telephone number information or the number identification information of the mobile communication terminal device 3.

【0052】

When the user makes a call using the mobile communication terminal device 3, mobile communication is started according to the procedure of a normal mobile communication system (step 401).

【0053】

When the mobile communication is started, the mobile communication terminal device identification information is transmitted by the short-range wireless communication device 11 mounted on the mobile communication terminal device 3 (step 402), and the short-range wireless communication is possible. The mobile communication terminal device identification information is received by the short-range wireless communication device 12 mounted on the data communication access device 1 within the range (step 403). If these short-range wireless communication devices 11 and 12 cannot perform short-range wireless communication, it is assumed that the user who uses mobile communication is not within the scope of this service.

【0054】

The mobile communication terminal device identification information received by the short-range wireless communication device 12 mounted on the data communication access device 1 is transmitted to the mobile communication management device via the network 40 according to the procedure of the data communication system 30 through the data communication access device 1. 7 or given to the data communication management device 10 (steps 404 to 406).

【0055】

At this time, if the mobile communication terminal device identification information is given to the data management device 10, it is further given to the mobile communication management device 7 via the network 40.

【0056】

In the mobile communication management device 7, the given mobile communication terminal device identification information is compared with the pre-registered registration information (step 503), and the mobile communication terminal device 3 is authenticated (step 504).

【0057】

In this case, since the mobile communication terminal device identification information is authenticated by the mobile communication management device 7, the user can move to the vicinity of the data communication access terminal device 1 (that is, within the range where the short-range wireless communication device 12 can wirelessly communicate). You can know that you are.

【0058】

Further, while the mobile communication is being performed by the user, the mobile communication terminal device identification information transmitted from the short-range wireless communication device 11 is continuously and periodically wirelessly short-range communication is performed. Therefore, it is possible to confirm the escape from the applicable range due to the movement of the user.

【0059】

As described above, it is possible to know a user who is communicating by mobile communication at home without using a unique telephone, and to provide this service to that user (step 505 or step 506).

【0060】

(A-3) Effect of the first embodiment As described above, according to the position identification system of the first embodiment, by mounting the short-range wireless communication devices 11 and 12 on the mobile communication terminal device 3 and the data communication access device 1, the existing data communication system can be used. The position of the mobile communication terminal device 3 can be specified.

【0061】

(B) Second embodiment Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the position identification system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6.

【0062】

(B-1) Configuration of Second Embodiment The system configuration of the second embodiment is the same as the system configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, in the following, the description of the configuration of the first embodiment and the corresponding configuration will be described with the corresponding numbers.

【0063】

The second embodiment uses the mobile communication system 20 and the data communication system 30 as in the first embodiment, but the method up to specifying the position of the user is the first embodiment. Different from.

【0064】

When the mobile communication terminal device 3 makes a call, the short-range wireless communication device 11 performs short-range wireless communication of incoming / outgoing call information notifying that the incoming / outgoing call has been made. Further, the short-range wireless communication device 11 receives a response signal to the incoming / outgoing call information from the short-range wireless communication device 12 by short-range wireless communication, and adds a corresponding confirmation signal to the mobile communication data by receiving the response signal. Then, the mobile communication data is given to the base station 4. Here, the short-range wireless communication device 11 continuously and periodically transmits the incoming / outgoing call information.

【0065】

The base station 4 receives mobile communication data including a confirmation signal from the mobile communication terminal device 3, and communicate data via the network 40 by the mobile communication system 20 (that is, communication between the base station control device 5 and the mobile switching device 6). Is given to the mobile communication management device 7.

【0066】

The mobile communication management device 7 receives mobile communication data including a confirmation signal via the network 40, and based on the confirmation signal, the mobile communication terminal device 3 has an authentication function or a mobile communication system used by the user. It has a billing function according to the usage pattern.

【0067】

When the short-range wireless communication device 12 receives the incoming / outgoing call information transmitted by the short-range wireless communication from the short-range wireless communication device 11 and receives a legitimate response signal from the data communication system 30, the short-range wireless communication device 12 shortens the response signal. It is transmitted by distance wireless communication.

【0068】

(B-2) Operation of the second embodiment Before using this service, the user registers the registration information in the mobile communication management device 7 in advance.

【0069】

When the user makes a call using the mobile communication terminal device 3, mobile communication is started according to the procedure of a normal mobile communication system (step 601).

【0070】

When the mobile communication is started, the incoming / outgoing call information is transmitted by the short-range wireless communication from the short-range wireless communication device 11 mounted on the mobile communication terminal device 3 (step 602).

【0071】

The incoming / outgoing call information transmitted from the short-range wireless communication device 11 is received by the short-range wireless communication device 12 mounted on the data communication access device 1 (step 603).

【0072】

When the data communication access device 1 is normally accessed by the data communication system 30, the response signal is transmitted by the short-range wireless communication device 12 by short-range wireless communication (step 604).

【0073】

When the response signal is given to the short-range wireless communication device 11 of the mobile communication terminal device 3, it is confirmed that the mobile communication terminal device 3 is within the short-range wireless communication possible range (step 605).

【0074】

The response signal received by the short-range wireless communication device 11 of the mobile communication terminal device 3 is converted into a confirmation signal corresponding to the mobile communication data.

【0075】

The converted confirmation signal is added to the mobile communication data, and the mobile communication data including the confirmation signal is given to the base station 4 (steps 606 to 608).

【0076】

The mobile communication data given to the base station 4 is given to the mobile communication management device 7 via the network 40 according to the mobile communication system 20 (step 609).

【0077】

In the mobile communication management device 7, the mobile communication terminal device 3 is authenticated based on the confirmation signal included in the given mobile communication data, and if the authentication result is determined to be correct, the mobile communication terminal is used. It is determined that the device 3 is near the data communication access device 1.

【0078】

(B-3) Effect of the second embodiment As described above, according to the position identification system of the second embodiment, the same effect as that of the position identification system of the first embodiment can be obtained.

【0079】

Further, according to the subscriber terminal communication system of the second embodiment, the position of the mobile communication terminal device 3 is specified by using the existing mobile communication system 20 without going through the access network of the data communication system 30. Therefore, it is possible to easily enable the system without the need to newly install special equipment.

【0080】

(C) Other embodiments In the first and second embodiments described above, the subscriber is a mobile communication terminal device 3 in the vicinity of the fixed telephone at home (to be exact, in the vicinity of the short-range wireless communication device mounted on the data communication access device 1). Although the case of mobile communication using the above has been described, it is not necessary to limit it to the home, and it is a service that can be used in the company or the factory premises, for example.

【0081】

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the short-range wireless communication device 12 has been described as being mounted on the data communication access device 1, but the short-range wireless communication device 12 accesses the data communication system. Any device that can be installed and can be installed at a position where the mobile communication terminal device can be specified within the short distance.

【0082】

Further, in the first and second embodiments, a service that can specify the position of the mobile communication terminal device and set / change the usage fee of the subscriber as a service suitable for the usage pattern of the mobile communication system by the user. However, the service is not limited to such a service, and can be applied to other services by being able to identify the location of the user.

【0083】

[Effect of the invention]

As described above, according to the present invention, a mobile communication terminal device using a mobile communication network by using the equipment constituting the existing mobile communication network and the equipment constituting the existing data communication network. The position of the can be easily and accurately identified.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

It is a block diagram which showed the whole structure of the position identification system which concerns on 1st Embodiment.

[Figure 2]

It is a block diagram which showed the concept of the system configuration which concerns on the conventional mobile communication service.

[Fig. 3]

It shows the conceptual diagram about the wireless communication between the short-distance wireless communication apparatus mounted on the mobile communication terminal apparatus and the data communication access apparatus.

[Fig. 4]

It is a flowchart which showed the procedure until the identification information was transmitted in 1st Embodiment.

[Fig. 5]

It is a flowchart which showed the procedure until the position of a subscriber is specified in the mobile communication management apparatus.

[Fig. 6]

It is a flowchart which showed the procedure until the identification information was transmitted in the 2nd Embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... data communication access device, 3 ... mobile communication terminal device, 7 ... mobile communication management device, 11, 12 ... short-range wireless communication device, 20 ... mobile communication system, 30 .. .Data communication system, 40 ... network.