MOBILE TERMINAL AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR

• US 20120258734A1
• Filed: 12/07/2010
• Published: 10/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Makoto, Hashimoto, Jun, Itagaki, Kentaro
• Granted Patent: US 8,903,417 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• 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 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device
• 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 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A mobile terminal receives information adapted to the current location of the mobile terminal via a mobile communication network from an information service providing communication apparatus that sends information adapted to current locations of mobile terminals to mobile terminals. The mobile terminal repeats identifying the location of the mobile terminal, and calculates a linear movement distance of the mobile terminal between a past location of the mobile terminal and the current location of the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal transmits a signal indicating the current location if the linear movement distance is greater than a threshold, but does not transmit the signal indicating the current location if the linear movement distance is less than the threshold.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a receiver adapted for receiving information adapted to a current location of the mobile terminal via a mobile communication network from an information service providing communication apparatus that sends information adapted to current locations of mobile terminals to mobile terminals;

a transmitter adapted for transmitting signals to the information service providing communication apparatus;

a locator adapted for repeating identifying a location of the mobile terminal;

a linear movement distance calculator adapted for calculating a linear movement distance of the mobile terminal between a past location of the mobile terminal and a current location of the mobile terminal;

a comparative determiner adapted for determining whether or not the linear movement distance calculated by the linear movement distance calculator is greater than a threshold; and

a current location signal transmission regulator adapted for regulating the transmitter, so that the transmitter transmits a signal indicating the current location of the mobile terminal identified by the locator if the comparative determiner has determined that the linear movement distance is greater than the threshold, the current location signal transmission regulator adapted for regulating the transmitter, so that the transmitter does not transmit the signal indicating the current location if the comparative determiner has determined that the linear movement distance is less than the threshold.

2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising:

a memory adapted for storing the past location of the mobile terminal;

a transmission-success-failure determiner adapted for determining whether or not transmission of the signal indicating the current location has been successfully completed by the transmitter; and

a past location recorder adapted for recording in the memory the current location of the mobile terminal identified by the locator as the past location of the mobile terminal if the transmission-success-failure determiner determines that the transmission of the signal indicating the current location has been successfully completed, wherein the past location recorder is adapted for not recording in the memory the current location of the mobile terminal identified by the locator if the transmission-success-failure determiner determines that the transmission of the signal indicating the current location has failed.

3. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a movement status determiner adapted for assuming a movement status of the mobile terminal, the movement status determiner adapted for determining whether or not to permit the locator to identify the location of the mobile terminal on the basis of assumption of the movement status by the movement status determiner.

4. A method for controlling a mobile terminal used in the mobile terminal comprising:

repeating identifying a location of the mobile terminal;

calculating a linear movement distance of the mobile terminal between a past location of the mobile terminal and a current location of the mobile terminal;

determining whether or not the linear movement distance is greater than a threshold;

regulating the transmitter, so that the transmitter transmits a signal indicating the current location of the mobile terminal identified by the locator if it has been determined that the linear movement distance is greater than the threshold, and the transmitter does not transmit the signal indicating the current location if it has been determined that the linear movement distance is less than the threshold; and

receiving information adapted to the current location of the mobile terminal via a mobile communication network from an information service providing communication apparatus that sends information adapted to current locations of mobile terminals to mobile terminals.