JP2016116010A - Communicator, communication method, communication system, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio communicator which automatically switches SIM to be used when amount of accumulated data usage in a fixed period exceeds predetermined data amount.SOLUTION: A communicator includes: a communication part which communicates with a connection destination; and a control part which changes a communication condition with the connection destination from a first communication condition to a second communication condition in accordance with predetermined conditions including predetermined value of data amount and value of integrated data amount in which the communication part communicated for predetermined time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device, a communication method, a communication system, and a program.

  There are models equipped with two SIMs (Subscriber Identity Modules) in wireless communication devices such as mobile phones, smart phones, and mobile routers. These are also called dual SIM machines.

  A SIM card is inserted into the SIM, and the SIM card is provided by an operator of a PLMN (public land mobile network). The SIM card stores a country code, a company number, a card number, and the like.

  As a general method of using the dual SIM machine, there is a method of inserting two SIM numbers with different telephone numbers for work and private use, and using two telephone numbers properly with one terminal.

  As another method of using the dual SIM machine, when using it overseas as well as in Japan, in addition to the SIM card for domestic use, the SIM card of the overseas telecommunications carrier is inserted. There is a way to communicate with the card. In this way, it is possible to communicate at a lower cost than when performing international roaming with a single domestic SIM card during overseas communication.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, the terminal selects the SIM card corresponding to the PLMN that can communicate at the place where the terminal is located, as to which of the two SIM cards of the dual SIM machine to select and communicate. Shows how to connect. For example, a domestic SIM card for domestic PLMN and an overseas SIM card for PLMN are inserted in the terminal, the terminal determines whether the usage location is domestic or overseas, and selects the SIM card used by the terminal .

Special table 2009-542149

  However, another usage method of the dual SIM machine is the following usage method. The contract form of low-priced SIM card provided by MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), which has become popular in recent years, is high-speed communication up to a certain amount of monthly data communication, but a certain amount Beyond that, there are some that become low-speed communications. Therefore, when two SIM cards are inserted in the dual SIM machine and used in order from the card with the highest priority, the cumulative data communication volume for a month exceeds a certain amount, the priority is assigned to the card with the next priority. There is a usage method to switch.

  Although this switching is manually performed by the user, if the switching is not performed without the user's knowledge, the high-speed communication shifts to the low-speed communication, and the user feels inconvenient.

  An object of the wireless communication device of the present invention is to automatically switch a SIM to be used when a cumulative data communication amount for a certain period exceeds a preset data amount.

  In order to achieve the above object, a communication device according to the present invention includes a communication unit that communicates with a connection destination, and a value obtained by integrating the amount of data communicated by the communication unit at a predetermined time. And a control unit that changes the communication condition with the connection destination from the first communication condition to the second communication condition when exceeding.

  According to the present invention, the wireless communication device can automatically switch the SIM to be used when the accumulated data communication amount for a certain period exceeds a preset data amount.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first embodiment. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of 4th Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modification of the first embodiment.

[First Embodiment]
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[Description of configuration]
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the first embodiment.

  The wireless communication device 10 of this embodiment communicates with the base station 21 of the PLMN 20 wirelessly. The PLMN 20 uses communication methods such as IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunication 2000), LTE (Long Term Evolution), and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). Data is communicated by a packet communication method.

  The wireless communication device 10 includes a communication unit 11, an antenna 12, a control unit 13, a memory 14, a primary SIM 15, a secondary SIM 16, and an input / output unit 17.

  Here, the communication unit 11 is a wireless communication circuit, and the antenna 12 is an antenna connected to the communication unit 11. The control unit 13 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls each component of the wireless communication device 10, and the memory 14 is a storage element. The memory 14 stores a predetermined value of the data amount preset by the user and the cumulative data amount for each month communicated by the wireless communication device 10.

  Further, the primary SIM 15 and the secondary SIM 16 are modules for inserting a SIM card provided by the operator of the PLMN 20, and a SIM card used in preference to the secondary SIM 16 is inserted into the primary SIM 15. This SIM card is an IC card in which identification information necessary for connecting to the PLMN is stored as a communication condition. In this embodiment, the SIM card inserted in the primary SIM 15 and the secondary SIM 16 stores information for connecting to the common PLMN 20, but the SIM card stores information for connecting to different PLMNs. It is also possible.

  In this embodiment, the SIM card inserted into the primary SIM 15 and the secondary SIM 16 has the following contract with the operator of the PLMN 20. That is, it is assumed that high-speed communication is performed until the cumulative amount of data used for each month reaches a predetermined amount, and if the amount exceeds a certain amount, low-speed communication is performed until the end of the month.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the default value of the data amount preset in the memory 14 is the same as the limit data amount that allows high-speed communication under a contract with the PLMN 20 or a constant value determined by the user below it. And

  The input / output unit 17 is a data input / output unit that communicates between the wireless communication device 10 and the base station 21. The input / output unit 17 synthesizes the data packetized at the time of transmission of packet communication and combines the received packets with the original data Including electronic circuit to restore.

An example of the input / output unit 17 is an electronic circuit that has a camera and a microphone, shoots a moving image with sound by the camera and the microphone, and converts it into digital data. Alternatively, the input / output unit 17 may have an image display function and a speaker, and may be an electronic circuit that displays and reproduces image data with sound received by the wireless communication device 10 from the base station 21.
[Description of operation]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  First, when the user operates the switch of the wireless communication device 10, the wireless communication device 10 starts to operate.

  When the wireless communication device 10 starts operating, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the wireless communication device 10 is within the communication range of the PLMN 20 (S101). This determination is made as follows.

  The communication unit 11 receives a control signal transmitted from the base station 21. Next, the control unit 13 extracts an MCC number (Mobile Country Code) and an MNC number (Mobile Network Code) from the PLMN number included in the control signal received by the communication unit 11. If the extracted information matches the information held by the SIM card inserted in the primary SIM 15 and the secondary SIM 16, the control unit 13 determines that the wireless communication device 10 is within the communication range of the PLMN 20. If the information held by the SIM card inserted in the primary SIM 15 and the secondary SIM 16 does not match, the control unit 13 determines that the wireless communication device 10 is not within the communication range of the PLMN 20.

  If it is determined in step S101 that it is not within the communication range (No in S101), the process returns to step S101. If it is determined in step S101 that it is within the communication range (Yes in S101), the process proceeds to step S102.

  In step S102, the control unit 13 refers to the memory 14 and determines whether or not the monthly cumulative data amount exceeds a predetermined value (S102). Note that the monthly accumulated data amount in the memory 14 is reset to zero at the beginning of each month. In addition, during the data communication of the wireless communication device 10, the control unit 13 always accumulates the data amount in the memory 14.

  The date count is obtained from the calendar function of the wireless communication device 10 when the wireless communication device 10 has a calendar function. Further, when date information is included in the signal transmitted from the base station 21 when communicating with the PLMN 20, the date information may be obtained from the signal received from the PLMN, or the date from the outside such as receiving a standard radio wave. You may get information.

  In step S102, when the control unit 13 refers to the memory 14 and determines that the monthly cumulative data amount exceeds the predetermined value (Yes in S102), the process proceeds to step S110 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S102 that the monthly cumulative data amount does not exceed the predetermined value (No in S102), the control unit 13 sends information on the primary SIM 15 to the base station 21 of the PLMN 20 via the communication unit 11. A connection request signal is transmitted based on (S103).

  Next, the control unit 13 determines whether the wireless communication device 10 has established a connection with the base station 21 based on the information of the primary SIM 15 (S104). If it is determined in step S104 that the connection has not been established (No in S104), the control unit 13 returns to step S104. On the other hand, if the control unit 13 determines in step S104 that a connection has been established (Yes in S104), the process proceeds to step S105.

  In step S105, the wireless communication device 10 communicates with the base station 21 based on the information of the primary SIM 15 (S105). When communication is started in step S105, the input / output unit 17 performs data communication with the base station 21 via the control unit 13, the communication unit 11, and the antenna 12.

  Following step S105, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the data communication is completed (S106). When the data communication is completed (Yes in S106), the wireless communication device 10 ends the communication. If the data communication is not completed in step S106 (No in S106), the control unit 13 reads the monthly cumulative data amount from the memory 14 (S107).

  Subsequently, in step S108, the control unit 13 determines whether the monthly cumulative data amount read in step S107 has exceeded a predetermined value (S108). If the control unit 13 determines in step S108 that the monthly cumulative data amount does not exceed the predetermined value (No in S108), the control unit 13 returns to step S106. On the other hand, if the control unit 13 determines in step S108 that the monthly cumulative data amount exceeds the predetermined value (Yes in S108), the control unit 13 proceeds to step S109.

  In step S109, the control unit 13 disconnects the connection based on the information of the primary SIM 15 (S109), and the control unit 13 makes a connection request based on the information of the primary SIM 15 to the base station 21 of the PLMN 20 via the communication unit 11. (S110). And the control part 13 judges whether the radio | wireless communication apparatus 10 established the connection with the base station 21 based on the information of secondary SIM16 (S111). If the control unit 13 determines in step S111 that a connection has not been established (No in S111), the process returns to step S111. If the control unit 13 determines in step S111 that the connection has been established (Yes in S111), the wireless communication device 10 starts communication based on the information of the secondary SIM 16 (S112).

  Subsequently, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the data communication is finished (S113). When the data communication is finished (Yes in S113), the wireless communication device 10 finishes the communication. If the data communication has not ended in step S113 (No in S113), the process returns to step S113.

By doing as described above, the wireless communication device 10 according to the present embodiment allows the connection based on the information of the secondary SIM 16 to the connection based on the information of the primary SIM 15 when the monthly cumulative data usage exceeds a preset default value. It is possible to automatically switch to In other words, if the accumulated data usage exceeds the amount of data allowed for high-speed communication of the primary SIM 15 (= predetermined value), the radio communication device 10 automatically switches to the secondary SIM 16 even if the user does not perform a SIM switching operation. High-speed communication can be performed by switching.
[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[Description of configuration]
The diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment is the same as FIG. 1 showing the configuration of the first embodiment.

The configuration of the second embodiment is different from the configuration of the first embodiment in that the memory 14 also has a data storage function, which will be described later in the description of the operation.
[Description of operation]
Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described.

  The diagram showing the operation of the second embodiment is the same as FIG. 2 used in the description of the operation of the first embodiment. A series of operations from the step S101 to the end after the wireless communication device 10 starts operating is the same as the operation of the first embodiment.

  Next, a data flow during communication according to the present embodiment will be described. When the wireless communication device 10 receives data from the base station 21, the data received by the communication unit 11 is stored in the memory 14 via the control unit 13, and the input / output unit sequentially passes through the control unit from the oldest data. 17 and the input / output unit 17 performs processing. When the processing speed of the input / output unit 17 is slower than the data storage speed, data is sequentially stored in the memory 14 and eventually reaches a predetermined data amount. The predetermined data amount will be described later. If the processing speed of the input / output unit 17 is faster than the data storage speed, the received data is immediately processed by the input / output unit 17 even if it is stored in the memory 14.

  When the wireless communication device 10 transmits data to the base station 21, data from the input / output unit is transmitted from the communication unit 11 via the control unit 13.

Next, a predetermined amount of data stored in the memory 14 described above will be described.
First, the time from when the connection based on the information of the primary SIM 15 is disconnected in step S109 shown in FIG. 1 to when the communication based on the information of the secondary SIM 16 is started in step S112 is estimated. Then, based on the information of the SIM 15 or SIM 16 at this estimated time, the base station 21 is connected to estimate the amount of data assumed when data is received in a high speed state. A data amount having a margin that is greater than or equal to the estimated data amount is set as a predetermined data amount.

  In the wireless communication device 10 shown in the first embodiment, while receiving data from the base station 21, data communication is interrupted while switching from communication based on information in the primary SIM 15 to communication based on information in the secondary SIM 16. There was a problem that the processing of the input / output unit 17 was interrupted.

  However, the radio communication device 10 shown in the present embodiment is configured so that the input / output unit 17 is not changed during communication of data from the base station 21 while switching from communication based on information of the primary SIM 15 to communication based on information of the secondary SIM 16. Processing can be continued.

Therefore, the wireless communication device 10 shown in the present embodiment is particularly suitable when the wireless communication device 10 receives and reproduces a large amount of data from the base station 21 such as receiving and reproducing a moving image from the Internet. is there.
[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Description of configuration]
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the third embodiment.

  The configuration shown in FIG. 3 is the configuration of the router 30. In the router 30, the input / output unit 17 of the wireless communication device 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 in the description of the first embodiment is replaced with a LAN (Local Area Network) communication unit 32.

  The LAN communication unit 32 communicates with the terminal 33 via a wireless LAN. There is IEEE802.11 defined by IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) as a wireless LAN standard, but communication methods other than wireless LAN may be used.

  In FIG. 3, a WAN (Wide Area Network) communication unit 31 is described instead of the communication unit 11 of FIG. 1. Although the WAN communication unit 31 is the same as the communication unit 11, the WAN communication unit 31 is described in this way to distinguish it from the LAN communication unit 32.

With the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the router 30 relays wireless communication between the base station 21 and the terminal 33.
[Description of operation]
The diagram for explaining the operation of this embodiment is the same as FIG. 2 shown in the explanation of the first embodiment, and will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the router 30 starts to operate, for example, when the user operates the switch of the router 30.

  When the router 30 starts the operation, a series of operations from step S101 onward to the end is performed by the wireless communication device 10 in the description of the operation of the first embodiment as the router 30, the communication unit 11 as the WAN communication unit 31, and further. This will be explained by replacing the input / output unit 17 with the LAN communication unit 32.

As described above, the router 30 according to the present embodiment changes the connection with the base station 21 from the connection based on the information on the primary SIM 15 to the information on the secondary SIM 16 when the monthly accumulated data amount exceeds a preset default value. It is possible to automatically switch to connection. That is, when the monthly cumulative data amount reaches the data amount (= predetermined value) allowed for the high-speed communication of the primary SIM 15, the router 30 can automatically switch to the connection based on the information of the secondary SIM 16 and perform high-speed communication. .
[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The communication device 40 in this embodiment includes a communication unit 11 that communicates with a connection destination. Further, the communication device 40 sets a communication condition with the connection destination as the first communication condition when a value obtained by integrating the data amount communicated by the communication unit 11 at a predetermined time exceeds a preset data amount. To a second communication condition.

  In this way, the communication device 40 can automatically switch the identification unit to be used when the amount of data communicated in a certain period exceeds the preset data amount.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be expanded or modified as follows.

  In the first embodiment, information for connecting to the PLMN is stored as a communication condition in the SIM card. However, for example, information corresponding to the SIM card is stored in the memory 14 without using the SIM card or SIM. It may be what you do. The communication condition is not limited to the MCC number or MNC number stored in the SIM card, and may be any communication condition such as a communication method, a connection speed, and a connection permission time zone.

  Further, by replacing a part of the configuration of the first embodiment with the configuration of the third embodiment, the single wireless communication device 10 has a function as the router 30, and the router 30 is the same as that of the first embodiment. As with the operation, two SIMs can be switched automatically.

  Similarly, with the configuration of the third embodiment, an operation similar to that of the second embodiment can be performed. That is, when the router 30 receives data from the base station 21 and transmits data to the terminal 33, the router 30 switches from the connection based on the information of the primary SIM 15 to the connection based on the information of the secondary SIM 16. Suppose. The transmission speed to the router 30 and the terminal 33 is assumed to be slower than the speed at which the router 30 receives from the base station 21.

  The router 30 accumulates the data received by the router 30 from the base station 21 in the memory 14 and transmits the accumulated data to the terminal 33 in the oldest order, similarly to the wireless communication device 10 shown in the second embodiment. In this way, even if the router 30 switches from the connection based on the information of the primary SIM 15 to the connection based on the information of the secondary SIM 16, the terminal 33 can continue receiving data without interruption.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the monthly cumulative data amount as a condition for switching from the primary SIM 15 to the secondary SIM 16 is set to the cumulative data amount for each day. May be set.

  In the first embodiment, the default value of the data amount preset in the memory 14 is the same as the limit data amount that allows high-speed communication by contract with the PLMN 20 or a constant value determined by the user below that. It was supposed to be. However, the default value of the data amount set in advance in the memory 14 is not limited to the above and may be arbitrarily set by the user.

  Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the router 30 and the terminal 33 communicate with each other wirelessly. However, the router 30 and the terminal 33 may be connected with each other through a cable.

  Alternatively, in the configuration of the first embodiment, the two SIMs of the primary SIM 15 and the secondary SIM 16 are provided, but it is naturally possible to provide the third and subsequent SIMs and sequentially switch the SIMs.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the communication device 40 may be connected to the connection destination 41 by wire. Then, instead of the primary SIM 15 and the secondary SIM 16 in the configuration of the first embodiment, the first identification unit 42 and the second identification unit 43 are connected to the control unit 13, respectively. The first identification unit 42 and the second identification unit 43 store different communication conditions for the communication device 40 to communicate with the connection destination 41.

  By doing in this way, the communication device 40 is identified from the connection under the communication condition based on the information of the identification unit 42 when the accumulated data usage amount per month exceeds the preset default value, as in the first embodiment. It is possible to automatically switch to the connection under the communication condition based on the information of the unit 43.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Wireless communication apparatus 11 Communication part 12 Antenna 13 Control part 14 Memory 15 Primary SIM
16 Secondary SIM
17 Input / output unit 20 PLMN
21 base station 30 router 31 WAN communication unit 32 LAN communication unit 33 terminal 40 communication device 41 connection destination 42 first identification unit 43 second identification unit

Claims (9)

A communication unit that communicates with the connection destination;
When a value obtained by integrating the amount of data communicated by the communication unit at a predetermined time exceeds a preset data amount, the communication condition with the connection destination is changed from the first communication condition to the second communication condition. A communication device comprising a control unit. Store received data in memory,
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the received data stored in the memory is read in order from the oldest data.   3. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a LAN communication unit that is communicably connected to the communication unit and that communicates with a connection destination different from the communication unit. The communication device described in 1.   The communication condition is changed from the first communication condition to the second communication condition when a value obtained by integrating the amount of data communicated at a predetermined time exceeds a preset data amount value. Communication method.   5. The communication method according to claim 4, wherein received data is stored, and the stored received data is read in order from the oldest data. The communication device according to claim 1 or 2,
A communication system comprising the connection destination. A communication device according to claim 3;
The connection destination;
A communication system comprising the another connection destination.   In the communication device, the communication condition is changed from the first communication condition to the second communication condition when a value obtained by integrating the amount of data communicated at a predetermined time exceeds a preset data amount value. Program.   9. The program according to claim 8, wherein received data is accumulated, and the oldest data among the accumulated received data is read in order.

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