Operating environment setting system for mobile communications terminal

• US 20050124315A1
• Filed: 10/29/2004
• Published: 06/09/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Kageyama, Masato, Miyata, Keisuke
• Application Number:
  US10/976,245
• Publication Number:
  US 20050124315A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/403
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18597 Arrangements for system physical machines management, i.e. for construction, operations control, administration, maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

The present invention allows simple setting of the operating environment that is required when the access destination of the mobile communications terminal is altered. The mobile communications terminal mounted on the construction machinery has a satellite communications terminal and a wireless LAN terminal. When the construction machinery is disposed on a new construction site, the mobile communications terminal sends operating environment setting requests and position information from the satellite communications terminal to the control server. In response to these requests, the control server selects operating environment setting data for the wireless LAN of the construction site on the basis of the received position information, and sends this data to the satellite communications terminal of the mobile communications terminal. The mobile communications terminal automatically sets the operating environment of the wireless LAN-terminal on the basis of the received setting data. Manual setting of the operating environment is unnecessary. Subsequently, the mobile communications terminal can utilize the wireless LAN of the site.

Claims

1. An operating environment setting system for a mobile communications terminal comprising:

a mobile communications terminal which has a first communications terminal that can communicate with an access device that has the same operating environment among a plurality of access devices having respectively different operating environments, a second communications terminal, and a communications controller that controls said first communications terminal and said second communications terminal; and

a server which can communicate with said second communications terminal, and which has operating environment setting data respectively corresponding to said plurality of access devices;

wherein said communications controller controls said second communications terminal so that operating environment setting requests associated with designating information used to designate the desired access device are sent to said server;

said server responds to said operating environment setting requests received from said second communications terminal, selects said operating environment setting data corresponding to said desired access device designated on the basis of said designating information, and sends said selected operating environment setting data to said second communications terminal; and

said communications controller responds to said operating environment setting data received from said server, and sets the same operating environment as that of said desired access device in said first communications terminal.

2. The operating environment setting system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a position information producing device which produces position information for said mobile communications terminal;

wherein said communications controller associates the position information for said mobile communications terminal that is produced by said position information producing device when said operating environment setting requests are transmitted with said operating environment setting requests as said designating information;

said server holds position information for said plurality of access devices in association with operating environment setting data corresponding to said plurality of access devices; and

said server selects said operating environment setting data corresponding to said desired access device on the basis of position information for said plurality of access devices in response to position information for said mobile communications terminal associated with said operating environment setting requests.

3. The operating environment setting system according to claim 1, wherein said communications controller transmits said operating environment setting requests to said second communications terminal in response to requests from an operator.

4. The operating environment setting system according to claim 1, wherein said communications controller transmits said operating environment setting requests to said second communications terminal automatically in cases where communications by means of said first communications terminal fail.

5. The operating environment setting system according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of access devices are different wireless LAN access points or routers, and said first communications terminal is a wireless LAN terminal used for the utilization of said wireless LAN.

6. The operating environment setting system according to claim 1, wherein said second communications terminal is a satellite communications terminal used for the utilization of a satellite communications network.

7. The operating environment setting system according to claim 1, wherein said server can not only communicate with said second communications terminal, but can also communicate with at least one of said plurality of access devices.

8. The operating environment setting system according to claim 1, wherein said position information producing device is mounted on said mobile communications terminal.

9. The operating environment setting system according to claim 1, wherein a mobile communications terminal is mounted on construction machinery or carried by a construction worker, said plurality of access devices are a plurality of wireless LAN access points or routers that are respectively located at different construction sites, said first communications terminal is a wireless LAN terminal that is used for the utilization of said plurality of wireless LANs, said second communications terminal is a satellite communications terminal that is used for the utilization of a satellite communications network, said server is connected to said satellite communications network, said mobile communications terminal transmits machinery information for said construction machinery to said server via said satellite communications network, and the server controls the machinery information for said construction machinery that is received from said mobile communications terminal.

10. A mobile communications terminal comprising:

a first communications terminal which can communicate with an access device that has the same operating environment among a plurality of access devices that respectively have different operating environments;

a second communications terminal which can communicate with a server that has operating environment setting data respectively corresponding to said plurality of access devices; and

a communications controller that controls said first communications terminal and said second communications terminal;

wherein said communications controller is devised so that (A) said second communications terminal is controlled in such a manner that operating environment setting requests associated with designating information used to designate the desired access device is sent to said server, (B) said operating environment setting data corresponding to said desired access device that is sent back to said second communications terminal by said server in response to said operating environment setting requests is received, and (C) the same operating environment as that of said desired access device is set in said first communications terminal in response to said operating environment setting data received from said server.

11. A server used to support the operating environment setting of a mobile communications terminal, comprising:

a processing device which can communicate with a mobile communications terminal having a first communications terminal that can communicate with an access device having the same operating environment among a plurality of access devices that have respectively different operating environments, and a second communications terminal; and

a memory device which has operating environment setting data respectively corresponding to said plurality of access devices;

wherein said processing device is devised so that (A) operating environment setting requests associated with designating information that is used to designate a desired access device are received from said second communications terminal of said mobile communications terminal, (B) said operating environment setting data corresponding to said desired access device designated on the basis of said designating information is selected in response to said operating environment setting requests received from said second communications terminal, and (C) said selected operating environment setting data is sent to said second communications terminal, and as a result, the same operating environment as that of said desired access device is set in said first communications terminal by said mobile communications terminal.

12. An operating environment setting method for a mobile communications terminal having a first communications terminal that can communicate with an access device having the same operating environment among a plurality of access devices that have respectively different operating environments, and a second communications terminal, comprising the steps of:

storing operating environment setting data respectively corresponding to said plurality of access devices by means of a server that can communicate with said second communications terminal;

sending operating environment setting requests associated with designating information used to designate a desired access device to said server by means of said second communications terminal of said mobile communications terminal;

selecting said operating environment setting data corresponding to said desired access device in response to said operating environment setting requests received from said second communications terminal, and sending said selected operating environment setting data to said second communications terminal, by means of said server; and

setting the same operating environment as that of said desired access device in said first communications terminal in response to said operating environment setting data received by said second communications terminal, by means of said mobile communications terminal.