Information communicating method, information providing apparatus, radio-communication system and radio-communication terminal

• US 6,735,431 B1
• Filed: 10/07/1999
• Issued: 05/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Tsunami, Katsuyuki, Nanjo, Ken, Kiuchi, Yoshinao
• Primary Examiner(s): CORSARO, NICK
• Application Number:
  US09/413,816
• Time in Patent Office: 1,678 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456, 455/414, 455/457, 455/435, 455/433, 455/406, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/414.3, 455/456.3, 455/435.1
• US Class Current: 455/414.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/02 Hierarchically pre-organised networks, e.g. paging networks, cellular networks, WLAN [Wireless Local Area Network] or WLL [Wireless Local Loop]

Abstract

Various kinds of presentation information specific to an area in a radio-communication system can be transmitted to a one or more specific radio-communication terminals at the same time. A user is able to receive commercial information, for example, from an information provider as presentation information when a user enters a location-registration area. A user terminal transmits a request for a location registration and the location-registration area and a terminal ID are transmitted to the information providing apparatus, which searches a database for a subscriber ID by using the terminal ID as a key and further searches a database for presentation-information ID by using the subscriber ID and the location-registration area information as a pair of keys. The presentation information is then transmitted to the terminal through a USCCH channel and displayed on a display unit of the terminal.

Claims

1. An information communicating method adopted in a radio-communication system comprising a plurality of radio-communication terminals and a plurality of radio base stations carrying out radio-communications with said radio-communication terminal, said information communicating method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a location-registration including information on a location-registration area and a terminal ID and coming from said radio-communication terminals located in one specific location-registration area or a plurality of specific location-registration areas each serving as a smallest unit area recognizable by said radio-communication system;

searching for a subscriber-information-request ID and a subscriber ID from said terminal ID included in said received request; and

communicating presentation information peculiar to said specific location-registration area as indicated by a presentation-information ID determined by said subscriber ID and said information on said specific location-registration area to said radio-communication terminal located in said specific location-registration area through a control signal channel;

wherein, if said subscriber-information-request ID found at said search step indicates that subscriber information is required, said information communicating method further comprises the steps of;

transmitting a request for subscriber information to said radio-communication terminal;

changing said subscriber ID on the basis of said subscriber information received from said radio-communication terminal; and

transmitting presentation information indicated by a presentation-information ID determined by said changed subscriber ID and said information on said specific location-registration area to said radio-communication terminal.

2. An information communicating method, adopted in a radio-communication system comprising a plurality of radio-communication terminals and a plurality of radio base stations carrying out radio-communications with said radio-communications terminal, said information communicating method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a location-registration including information on a location-registration area and a terminal ID and coming from said radio-communication terminals located in one specific location-registration area or a plurality of specific location-registration areas each serving as a smallest unit area recognizable by said radio-communication system;

searching for a subscriber-information-request ID and a subscriber ID from said terminal ID included in said received request; and

communicating presentation information peculiar to said specific location-registration area as indicated by a presentation-information ID determined by said subscriber ID and said information on said specific location-registration area to said radio-communication terminal located in said specific location-registration area through a control signal channel;

wherein, if said subscriber-information-request ID found at said search step indicates that subscriber information is required, said information communicating method further comprises the steps of;

transmitting a request for subscriber information to said radio-communication terminal;

changing said subscriber ID on the basis of said subscriber information received from said radio-communication terminal;

transmitting presentation information indicated by a presentation-information ID determined by said changed subscriber ID and said information on said specific location-registration area to said radio-communication terminal;

receiving information including a terminal ID and subscriber information to be used for changing subscriber data from a terminal other than said radio-communication terminals; and

changing said subscriber ID by using said subscriber information used for changing subscriber data received from said other terminal.

3. An information providing apparatus comprising:

a subscriber-information management data base (DB) for storing a subscriber-information-request ID and a subscriber ID for each terminal ID;

a presentation-information management DB for storing a presentation-information ID for said subscriber ID and presentation information for said presentation-information ID;

a network interface, connected to external devices, for receiving and transmitting signals; and

a processing unit for carrying out processing to communicate presentation information on the basis of information stored in said subscriber-information management DB and said presentation-information management DB, wherein said processing comprises the steps of;

receiving a request for a location-registration including information on a location-registration area and a terminal ID and coming from radio-communication terminals located in one specific location-registration area or a plurality of specific location-registration areas each serving as a smallest unit area recognizable by a radio-communication system;

searching said subscriber-information management DB for a subscriber-information-request ID and a subscriber ID by using said terminal ID included in said received request;

searching said presentation-information management DB for a presentation-information ID by using said subscriber ID and said information on said specific location-registration area;

searching said presentation-information management DB for presentation information peculiar to said specific location-registration area by using said presentation information ID; and

communicating said presentation information to said radio-communication terminal located in said specific location-registration area through a control signal channel;

wherein, if said subscriber-information-request ID found at said search step indicates that subscriber information is required, said processing carried out by said processing unit further comprises the steps of;

transmitting a request for subscriber information to said radio-communication terminal;

changing said subscriber ID on the basis of said subscriber information received from said radio-communication terminal; and

transmitting presentation information indicated by a presentation-information ID determined by said changed subscriber ID and said information on said specific location-registration area to said radio-communication terminal.

4. An information providing apparatus comprising:

a subscriber-information management data base (DB) for storing a subscriber-information-request ID and a subscriber ID for each terminal ID;

a presentation-information management DB for storing a presentation-information ID for said subscriber ID and presentation information for said presentation-information ID;

a network interface, connected to external devices, for receiving and transmitting signals; and

a processing unit for carrying out processing to communicate presentation information on the basis of information stored in said subscriber-information management DB and said presentation-information management DB, wherein said processing comprises the steps of;

receiving a request for a location-registration including information on a location-registration area and a terminal ID and coming from radio-communication terminals located in one specific location-registration area or a plurality of specific location-registration areas each serving as a smallest unit area recognizable by a radio-communication system;

searching said subscriber-information management DB for a subscriber-information-request ID and a subscriber ID by using said terminal ID included in said received request;

searching said presentation-information management DB for a presentation-information ID by using said subscriber ID and said information on said specific location-registration area;

searching said presentation-information management DB for presentation information peculiar to said specific location-registration area by using said presentation-information ID;

communicating said presentation information to said radio-communication terminal located in said specific location-registration area through a control signal channel;

wherein, if said subscriber-information-request ID found at said search step indicates that subscriber information is required, said processing carried out by said processing unit further comprises the steps of;

transmitting a request for subscriber information to said radio-communication terminal;

changing said subscriber ID on the basis of said subscriber information received from said radio-communication terminal; and

transmitting presentation information indicated by a presentation-information ID determined by said changed subscriber ID and said information on said specific location-registration area to said radio-communication terminal;

receiving information including a terminal ID and subscriber information to be used for changing subscriber data from a terminal other than said radio-communication terminals; and

changing said subscriber ID by using said subscriber information used for changing subscriber data received from said other terminal.