KR20020096628A - Apparatus and method for managing location area for mobile communication terminals - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention freely sets a specific location area for providing a specific service, not limited to a cell area unit, and distinguishes between a terminal moved into this area and a terminal moved out of this area in real time. Its purpose is to provide an apparatus and method for managing. In the apparatus, the base station wirelessly connects with a plurality of mobile communication terminals to send and receive signals. The switching center is connected to a plurality of base stations to perform call processing of a plurality of mobile communication terminals. The home location register manages the exchanges. The position measuring device precisely measures the real time position of a plurality of mobile telephone terminals. The information input / output unit inputs and updates a specific location area where a specific location based service is provided and information on a member who subscribes to the specific location area based service. The database unit stores and outputs information on a specific location area and a member input through the information input / output unit. The controller determines and outputs whether the terminal has moved into or out of the specific location area based on the location information of the terminal received from the location measuring device. The message generator generates and transmits a specific message to the subscriber by using the information output from the controller.

Description

Apparatus and method for managing location area of mobile communication terminal {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING LOCATION AREA FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINALS}

The present invention relates to an apparatus, method and apparatus for managing a location area of a mobile communication terminal, and more particularly, in defining a specific location area and providing a specific service to a subscriber located in the area, the new subscriber in the area and the subscriber The present invention relates to a device and a method for distinguishing a subscriber who has deviated from an area, managing a subscriber existing in the area in real time, and transmitting specific information to the subscriber.

As shown in FIG. 1, the currently provided mobile communication service is a large-capacity communication processing system, which provides a service based on a cellular structure to process a large number of calls, and the terminal currently includes a cell to which it belongs. You will receive service from (10). The cellular mobile communication service has a location management function that continuously tracks the location of the current terminal to reduce the search range of the terminal and simplify the process when calling the terminal at the request of the caller. have. The location management refers to a function of automatically updating the data of the database when the terminal moves between cells, and since the data is frequently updated due to the increase in the number of cells, a location area that combines several cells into one (Location Area, 20, 30) ) Is used as the basic unit of location management.

Current mobile communication systems provide a location-based service by defining a specific location area based on the location area. For example, SK Telecomm's TTL Zone service.

However, the location-based service has a problem in that a specific location area can be configured in units of base stations by using a location area in which several cells are combined when defining a specific location area. That is, since the specific location area should be defined in units of service area (cell area) of the base station irrelevant to the user's living area, the location area that may be of interest to the user and the specific location area that can be set in the system match It is difficult to make. Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus that can provide a location-based service by freely setting a specific location area, which is no longer limited to a cell area unit.

On the other hand, with the development of mobile phone positioning technology, it is possible to measure the position more precisely than the cell unit which is the existing location management unit. The precise position measurement refers to a technology capable of precisely measuring the real-time position of the mobile communication terminal by using GPS satellites or by adding specific equipment to the mobile telephone network. A device that is added to a mobile phone terminal or a mobile phone network using this technique and measures and calculates the location of the mobile phone terminal in real time is called a location measurement device. At this time, the position of the mobile phone terminal is output in the form of latitude-longitude (x, y) or latitude-longitude-altitude (x, y, z).

Therefore, if the location measuring apparatus is used, it is possible to provide a service by freely setting a specific location area 40 without being limited to cell area units.

The present invention freely sets a specific location area for providing a specific service, not limited to a cell area unit, and distinguishes between a terminal moved into this area and a terminal moved out of this area in real time. Its purpose is to provide an apparatus and method for managing.

The present invention to achieve the above object

A base station for transmitting and receiving signals by wirelessly connecting to a plurality of mobile communication terminals; An exchange station connected to a plurality of base stations to perform call processing of the plurality of mobile communication terminals;

A home location register for managing a plurality of said switching stations;

A position measuring device for precisely measuring a real time position of the plurality of mobile telephone terminals;

An information input / output unit for inputting and updating information on a specific location area where a specific location based service is provided and information on a member subscribed to the specific location area based service;

A database unit which stores and outputs the information of the specific location area and the member inputted through the information input / output unit;

A control unit which determines and outputs whether the terminal has moved into or out of the specific location area based on the location information of the terminal received from the location measuring device; And

And a message generator for generating and transmitting a specific message to the subscriber by using the information output from the controller.

The invention also

a) detecting a change in position of the mobile communication terminal;

b) determining whether the location of the mobile communication terminal has moved into a preset location tracking area;

c) according to the determination result of step b), if the location of the mobile communication terminal moves into the location tracking area, determining whether the mobile communication terminal has subscribed to a service provided based on a specific location area; step;

d) storing and managing information indicating that the mobile communication terminal is in a tracking location area if the mobile communication terminal is subscribed to the service according to the determination result of step c);

e) periodically measuring positions of terminals managed by step d);

f) determining whether the terminal is located inside or outside the specific location area according to the measurement result of step e);

g) sending a specific message to the mobile communication terminal according to the determination result of step f).

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a relationship between a cell and an existing location area in a cellular mobile communication service.

2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a relationship between a specific location area, a tracking location area, and a cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of a location area management apparatus of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a view schematically showing an example of a form stored in the database unit shown in FIG. 3.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a location area management method of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of distinguishing and managing a subscriber who has moved into the tracking location area and a subscriber who has moved outside the tracking location area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of identifying and managing subscribers who have moved to a specific location area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of identifying and managing subscribers who are in a specific location area and moved outside the specific location area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the code | symbol about the principal part of drawing>

10: cell 20: cellular first location region

30: cellular second location area 40: specific location area

50: tracking location area 100: terminal

200: base station 300: exchanger

400: home location register 500: location information system

501: information input and output unit 502: database unit

503: control unit 600: position measuring device

700: message generator

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In Fig. 2, the relationship between the specific position area 40 and the cell is shown. At this time, the location area composed of all cells including the specific location area 40 is referred to as the tracking location area 50 and is separately managed. By doing so, the burden on the position measuring device due to the frequent position measurement can be reduced.

3 shows a configuration of an apparatus for managing a specific location area 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus for managing the specific location area 40 includes a terminal 100, a base station 200, an exchange 300, a home location register 400, a location measuring device 600, a location information system 500, and a message generation. A portion 700 is included.

The location information system 500 includes an information input / output unit 501, a database unit 502, and a control unit 503.

The exchange 300 may bundle several base stations to form a location area. When the terminal 100 changes its position from the location area 1 (20) to which the base station with which the base station currently communicates belongs to the base station belonging to the location area 2 (30), the terminal 100 changes the base station belonging to the location area 2 (30). It registers its position in the exchange 300 via. The exchange 300 determines whether the terminal newly registers in the tracking location area 50.

The home location register 400 receives information on whether the terminal registers the tracking location area from the switch 300 and transmits the information to the controller 503 of the location information system 500.

The information input / output unit 501 of the location information system 500 inputs a location area where a specific location-based service is provided and information on a subscriber who has subscribed to the service to the database unit 502. The information input / output unit 501 is provided to update the information on the location area and the subscriber stored in the database unit 502 when the information on the specific location area 40 and the subscriber is required. Information of the location area and subscriber stored in 502 may be confirmed or output.

The controller 503 queries the database unit 502 whether the terminal 100 is subscribed to the specific location-based service, and if the terminal 100 is subscribed to the specific location-based service, location measurement. The device 600 requests the position measurement of the terminal 100.

The position measuring apparatus 600 interlocks with the base station 200 and the switch 300 to measure the position of the terminal 100 in real time and transmits the position to the control unit 503 of the position information system 500. The position measuring apparatus 600 may use a technology using a global positioning system (GPS) satellite. The position measuring device 600 uses an Angle of Arrival (AOA) technology, a Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA) technology, and an Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-OTD) technology, These techniques can be used in combination.

The controller 503 queries the database unit 502 for information about the specific location area 40 to determine whether the location of the terminal transmitted from the location measuring device 600 is in the specific location area 40. It determines whether it is outside, generates an appropriate message, and requests the message generator 700 to transmit the message.

The message generator 700 creates a message requested by the controller 503 and transmits a message to the terminal 100 of the subscriber via the exchange 300 and the base station 200. At this time, a method of transmitting a message may be transmitted by using a short message or by using a push function of wireless data or wireless Internet.

4 schematically illustrates an example of storing a specific location area 40 in the database unit 502 according to an embodiment of the present invention. If the particular location area 40 is in the shape of a polygon with N vertices, where N is an integer, the latitude-longitude (x, y) or latitude-longitude-height (x, y, z) of the vertices, respectively It can be measured. The system operator measures and determines the coordinates of these vertices, and stores these coordinate values in the database unit 502 through the information input / output unit 501. The control unit 503 reconstructs the specific location area 40 using the coordinate values stored in the database unit 502 and compares it with the position of the terminal 100 measured by the location measuring device 600, thereby, It may be determined whether 100 is inside or outside the specific location area 40. This is merely an example and may be stored in other forms.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of setting a specific location area 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 3 will be described the location area setting process according to the present invention.

When the information on the specific location area 40, that is, the coordinate values mentioned in the description of FIG. 4, is input through the information input / output unit 501, the information input / output unit 501 sends this information to the database unit 502. Store in (S100, S110). In this case, the position area to be set may be formed over several cell areas or may be included in one cell area.

The database unit 502 notifies the controller 503 that the information on the specific location area 40 has been updated (S120).

The controller 503 inquires the database unit 502 to obtain information of the terminals 100 subscribed to a specific location-based service provided by the specific location area 40, and then the home location register 400 receives the information. The terminal 100 requests information about the location areas 20 and 30 where the locations are registered (S122 and S124).

The exchange 300 stores data for the location area 20, 30, and the data has a specific field, for example, a specific area field, if the location area 1 is the tracking location area 50, If the value of the area field is "1" and the location area 2 is not the tracking location area 50, the value of the specific area field is displayed as "0". This is merely an example and may be indicated in other ways. Since the switch 300 reports this information periodically or aperiodically to the home location register 400, the home location register 400 specifies the location area 20, 30 where the terminal 100 is currently located. The value of the area field can be stored and managed for each terminal. The home location register 400 transmits a value of a specific area field of the location areas 20 and 30 registered by the terminal 100 requested by the controller 503 to the controller 503 (S126).

The controller 503 determines whether the terminals 100 are located in the tracking location area 50 by using the value of the specific area field (S128).

The database unit 502 stores a specific data field, ie, a location tracking field, indicating whether the terminals 100 are inside or outside the tracking location area 50. The terminal 100 stores the tracking location. The value of the location tracking field is "1" if it is inside the area 50, and the value of the location tracking field is "0" if the terminal 100 is outside the tracking location area 50. This is merely an example and may be indicated in other ways. The controller 503 updates the values of the location tracking fields of the terminals 100 according to the determination result of step S160 (S130 and S132 ′).

If the terminal 100 is in the tracking position area 50 as a result of the determination of step S160, the controller 503 requests the position measuring apparatus 600 to measure the position of the terminals 100 (S140). .

The position measuring apparatus 600 measures the positions of the terminals 100 requested by the controller 503 and transmits the position to the controller 503 (S150).

The controller 503 inquires the database unit 502 of the information about the specific location area 40, so that the position of the terminals 100 transmitted from the location measuring device 600 is the specific location area ( 40) It is determined whether it is inside or outside (S160, S170). The database unit 502 stores a specific data field indicating whether the terminals 100 are inside or outside the specific location area 40, that is, a location service field, and the terminal 100 stores the specific location. The value of the location service field is "1" if it is inside the area 40, and the value of the location service field is "0" if the terminal 100 is outside the specific location area 40. This is merely an example and may be indicated in other ways.

The controller 503 updates the values of the location service fields of the terminals 100 according to the determination result of step S160 (S180 and S190).

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of distinguishing and managing subscribers moving into the tracking location area 50 and subscribers moving outside the tracking location area 50 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3 will be described the process of identifying and managing subscribers moved to the tracking location area 50 according to the present invention.

When the terminal 100 moves between the location area 1 20 and the location area 2 30, the switch 300 managing the base station in this area detects a change in the location of the terminal 100 (S200).

The exchange 200 determines whether the sensed terminal 100 has moved into the tracking location area 50 or moved inside the tracking location area 50 to the outside (S210).

As a result of the determination in step S210, if the terminal 100 is moved from the outside of the tracking location area 50 to the inside, that is, in the present embodiment, the value of the specific area field is "1" in the location area "1". If the terminal has moved to the in-location area, the switch 300 controls the location information system 500 via the home location register 400 to inform that the terminal 100 has moved into the tracking location area 50. Report to step 503 (S220).

As a result of the determination in step S210, if the terminal 100 is moved out of the tracking location area 50, that is, in the present embodiment, "0" in the location area where the value of the specific area field is "1". If the mobile station has moved to the in-location area, the switch 300 controls the controller 503 of the location information system 500 via the home location register 400 to inform that the terminal 100 has moved outside the tracking location area 50. ) To report (S230).

The controller 503 queries the database unit 502 to determine whether the terminal 100 subscribes to a specific location based service provided by a specific location area 40 (S240).

The database unit 502 stores a specific data field, ie, a location tracking field, indicating whether the terminals 100 are inside or outside the tracking location area 50. The terminal 100 stores the tracking location. The value of the location tracking field is "1" if it is inside the area 50, and the value of the location tracking field is "0" if the terminal 100 is outside the tracking location area 50. This is merely an example and may be indicated in other ways.

As a result of the determination in step S230, when the terminal 100 subscribes to the specific location-based service, the controller 503 reports the contents of the switch 300 through the home location register 400 in steps S220 and S230. As a result, the value of the location tracking field of the terminal 100 is changed from "0" to "1" or from "1" to "0" (S250).

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of identifying and managing subscribers moving into a specific location area 40 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, a process of identifying and managing subscribers moving to a specific location area 40 according to the present invention will be described.

The control unit 503 inquires the database unit 502 according to a predetermined time period, and the value of the location tracking field of the terminal 100 subscribing to the specific location-based service provided by the specific location area 40 is "1". , And obtains information (telephone number, etc.) of the terminal 100 having a value of the location service field "0", and requests the position measuring apparatus 600 to measure the position of the terminal 100 using the information (S300). , S310).

The position measuring apparatus 600 measures the position of the terminal 100 requested by the controller 503 and transmits the position to the controller 503 (S320).

The controller 503 inquires the information about the specific location area 40 to the database unit 502 and compares it with the location of the terminal 100 transmitted from the location measuring device 600, the terminal It is determined whether 100 is inside or outside the specific location area 40 (S330, S340).

As a result of the determination in step S240, if the current location of the terminal 100 is in the specific location area 40, the controller 503 updates the value of the location service field of the terminal 100 to "1". In addition, the message "customer has entered the area ○○○" and instructs the message generator 700 to create and transmit (S350, S360).

The message generator 700 creates a message of the content received from the controller 503 and transmits the message to the corresponding terminal 100 through the exchange 300 and the base station 200 (S370).

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of identifying and managing subscribers moving out of the specific location area 40 in the specific location area 40 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, a process of identifying and managing subscribers moved to a specific location area 40 according to the present invention will be described.

The control unit 503 inquires the database unit 502 according to a predetermined time period (the value of this time period may be different from the value of the time period in the description of FIG. 7) and provides the data in the specific location area 40. Obtain information (telephone number, etc.) of the terminal 100 whose value of the location service field is “1” among the terminal 100 subscribed to a specific location-based service, and measure the location of the terminal 100 by using the same. Request to the position measuring device 500 (S400, S410).

The position measuring apparatus 500 measures the position of the terminal 100 requested by the controller 503 and transmits the position to the controller 503 (S420).

The control unit 503 inquires the information about the specific location area 40 to the database unit 502 and compares it with the position of the terminal 100 transmitted from the position measuring device 500, the terminal It is determined whether 100 is inside or outside the specific location area 40 (S430, S440).

As a result of the determination in step S340, if the current location of the terminal 100 is outside the specific location area 40, the controller 503 changes the value of the location service field of the terminal 100 to "0". And, instructs to create and send a message, such as "You are now out of the ○○○ area" in the message generator 700 (S450, S460).

The message generating unit 700 creates a message of the content received from the control unit 503 and transmits it to the corresponding terminal 100 via the exchange 300 and the base station 200 (S470).

As described in detail above, the present invention provides a method of freely setting a specific location area for providing a specific service, not limited to a cell area unit, and providing a method for distinguishing terminals existing in the area, thereby providing various location-based services. Encourage the delivery. Since the specific location area can be freely set, a variety of services can be provided by setting a location area (for example, on a specific university campus or a specific amusement park) that may be of interest to a specific location area. There are advantages to it. In addition, by notifying the user in real time when the user moves from the outside to the inside and outside the specific location area, it is possible to remove the ambiguity as to whether the subscriber is located in the specific service area. There is an advantage.

Embodiment of the present invention is only one embodiment, many modifications and variations of the components of the present invention can be made within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention, of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment. .

Claims (15)

A base station for transmitting and receiving signals by wirelessly connecting to a plurality of mobile communication terminals; An exchange station connected to a plurality of base stations to perform call processing of the plurality of mobile communication terminals; A home location register for managing a plurality of said switching stations; A position measuring device for precisely measuring a real time position of the plurality of mobile telephone terminals; An information input / output unit for inputting and updating information on a specific location area where a specific location based service is provided and information on a member subscribed to the specific location area based service; A database unit which stores and outputs the information of the specific location area and the member inputted through the information input / output unit; A control unit which determines and outputs whether the terminal has moved into or out of the specific location area based on the location information of the terminal received from the location measuring device; And And a message generator for generating and transmitting a specific message to the subscriber by using the information output from the controller. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a mobile communication short message is used to transmit the specific message to the mobile communication terminal. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a push technology of wireless data and wireless internet is used to transmit the specific message to the mobile communication terminal. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the position measuring device uses a technology using a global positioning system (GPS) satellite. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the position measuring device uses an Angle of Arrival (AOA) technique. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the position measuring device uses a time difference of arrival (TDOA) technique. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the position measuring device simultaneously uses an Angle of Arrival (AOA) and a Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA) technique. Location area management device. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the position measuring device uses an Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-OTD) technique. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the specific location region is approximated in the shape of a polygon with N vertices having N vertices, the latitude-longitude-height of the vertices (x, y, z). Measuring and determining respectively, and reconstructing the specific location area using these coordinate values to use the location area management apparatus of the mobile communication terminal. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the specific position region is approximated in the shape of a polygon having N vertices (where N is an integer) to measure the latitude-longitude (x, y) of the vertices, respectively. And determine and reconstruct the specific location area using the coordinate values. a) detecting a change in position of the mobile communication terminal; b) determining whether the location of the mobile communication terminal has moved into a preset location tracking area; c) according to the determination result of step b), if the location of the mobile communication terminal moves into the location tracking area, determining whether the mobile communication terminal has subscribed to a service provided based on a specific location area; step; d) storing and managing information indicating that the mobile communication terminal is in a location tracking area if the mobile communication terminal is subscribed to the service according to the determination result of step c); e) periodically measuring positions of terminals managed by step d); f) determining whether the terminal is located inside or outside the specific location area according to the measurement result of step e); g) sending a specific message to the mobile communication terminal according to the determination result of step f). 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmitting of the specific message to the mobile communication terminal uses a mobile communication short message technology. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmitting of the specific message to the mobile communication terminal uses push technology of wireless data and wireless internet. 14. The method of any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the specific location region is approximated in the shape of a polygon with N vertices, where N is an integer, so that the latitude-longitude-height (x, y, z) of the vertices. Measuring and determining respectively, and reconstructing the specific location area using these coordinate values to use the location area management method of a mobile communication terminal. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the specific position region is approximated in the shape of a polygon having N vertices with N vertices to measure the latitude-longitude (x, y) of the vertices, respectively. And determining and reconstructing the specific location area using the coordinate values.