Method for automatically searching wireless lan acces point and terminal for processing the same

• US 20060148487A1
• Filed: 12/30/2002
• Published: 07/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Kim, Jin-Kyeong, Park, Nam-Hoon, Kim, Dae-Sik
• Granted Patent: US 7,869,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0294 Trajectory determination or predictive filtering, e.g. target tracking or Kalman filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for automatically searching a wireless LAN AP (access point) in a terminal having a wireless LAN module, a mobile communication module, and a GPS receiving module installed therein. The method comprises: (a) acquiring location information of the wireless LAN AP provided in a service area of a base station from the base station connected through the mobile communication module; (b) consecutively tracking a current location of the terminal through the GPS receiving module; (c) determining a driving start time of the wireless LAN module through the location information of the wireless LAN AP acquired in (a) and the current location information of the terminal tracked in (b); and (d) driving the wireless LAN module to detect a beacon signal periodically output by the wireless LAN AP.

Claims

1. In a method for searching a wireless LAN AP (access point) in a terminal having a wireless LAN module, a mobile communication module, and a GPS receiving module installed therein, a method for automatically searching a wireless LAN AP comprising:

(a) acquiring location information of the wireless LAN AP provided in a service area of a base station from the base station connected through the mobile communication module;

(b) consecutively tracking a current location of the terminal through the GPS receiving module;

(c) determining a driving start time of the wireless LAN module through the location information of the wireless LAN AP acquired in (a) and the current location information of the terminal tracked in (b); and

(d) driving the wireless LAN module to detect a beacon signal periodically output by the wireless LAN AP.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein (a) comprises:

transmitting a location register/update message to the base station through the mobile communication module when the terminal reaches the service area of the base station;

receiving a response/success/failure message on the location register/update process from the base station; and

acquiring location information of the wireless LAN AP provided in the base station from the response/success/failure message received from the base station.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein (b) is performed when the location information provided in the base station is acquired in (a).

4. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the terminal stores the location information of the wireless LAN AP acquired in (a) in a specific AP location information depository.

5. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the location information of the wireless LAN AP comprises geographical location information of the wireless LAN AP and radius of service information on the wireless LAN AP.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the driving start time of the wireless LAN module is determined by comparing the geographical location information of the wireless LAN AP, the radius of service information on the wireless LAN AP, and location information of the terminal tracked through the GPS receiving module.

7. In a terminal for automatically searching a wireless LAN AP (access point), a terminal comprising:

a mobile communication module for performing wireless communication with a base station, performing a location register/update operation with the base station when the terminal reaches a service area of the base station, and acquiring location information of the wireless LAN AP provided in the service area of the base station;

an AP location information storage unit for storing location information of the wireless LAN AP acquired by the mobile communication module;

a GPS receiving module for tracking location information of the terminal through a GPS satellite; and

a wireless LAN module for detecting a beacon signal periodically output from the wireless LAN AP and searching a wireless LAN AP when the drive is started through a comparison of location information of the wireless LAN AP stored in the AP location information storage unit with location information of the terminal tracked by the GPS receiving module.

8. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the mobile communication module acquires location information of the wireless LAN AP within a response/success/failure message transmitted by the base station with respect to a location register/update message transmitted to the base station for the purpose of a location register/update process of the terminal.

9. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the wireless LAN AP is not automatically searched when the mobile communication module fails to acquire location information of the wireless LAN AP provided in the base station.

10. In a computer readable recording medium for realizing a program including instructions executable by a computer for performing a method for searching a wireless LAN AP (access point) by a terminal having a wireless LAN module, a mobile communication module, and a GPS receiving module installed therein, the method comprising:

(a) acquiring location information of the wireless LAN AP provided in a service area of a base station from the base station connected through the mobile communication module;

(b) consecutively tracking a current location of the terminal through the GPS receiving module;

(c) determining a driving start time of the wireless LAN module through the location information of the wireless LAN AP acquired in (a) and the current location information of the terminal tracked in (b); and

(d) driving the wireless LAN module to detect a beacon signal periodically output by the wireless LAN AP.