Mobile communications system, mobile communications network controller, mobile communications terminal, and method of controlling mobile communications network

• US 7,340,245 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2005
• Issued: 03/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamazaki, Kenichi, Sakamoto, Kenji, Kikuta, Yoko, Yokoyama, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier; Gerald
• Application Number:
  US11/203,212
• Publication Number:
  US 20060040652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 932 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/67.11
• US Class Current: 455/414.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/26 Resource reservation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• 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 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/02 Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A mobile communications system of the present invention obtains in advance information on communications environments in a mobile communications system and provides users with the information on communications environments. The mobile communications system also predicts the movement of users and provides seamless services based on the predictions.

A mobile communications system of the present invention includes an information acquisition unit for obtaining information regarding resources of a given object, an information memory for storing the obtained information on resources of a given object, and an information provision unit for searching the information memory in response to a request for provision of the information on resources of a given object transmitted from a mobile communications terminal, and providing the information on resources of a given object found in the search to the mobile communications terminal.

Claims

1. A network controller comprising:

a resource management unit configured to manage an ID of a radio communications channel, a sensing area of the radio communication channel and a radio bandwidth assigned to the radio communications channel, in association with one another, based on information obtained via a radio interface; and

an information provision unit configured to obtain a location of an information terminal in accordance with a request for provision of information transmitted from the information terminal, to extract an ID of a radio communications channel which is associated with a radio bandwidth included in the request and the sensing area of a radio communications channel in a vicinity of the location of the information terminal, and to provide a sensing area of a radio communications channel associated with the extracted ID of the radio communications channel.

2. A mobile communications system comprising an information communications terminal and a network controller, wherein

the network controller comprises:

a resource management unit configured to manage an ID of a radio communications channel, a sensing area of the radio communication channel and a radio bandwidth assigned to the radio communications channel, in association with one another, based on information obtained via a radio interface; and

an information provision unit configured to obtain a location of an information terminal in accordance with a first request for provision of information transmitted from the information terminal, to extract an ID of a radio communications channel which is associated with a radio bandwidth included in the first request and the sensing area of a radio communications channel in a vicinity of the location of the information terminal, and to provide a sensing area of a radio communications channel associated with the extracted ID of the radio communications channel; and

the information communications terminal comprising;

an information provision request transmitter configured to transmit the first request; and

an indicator configured to indicate the sensing area of the radio communications channel provided from the network controller.

3. The mobile communications system as set forth in claim 2, further comprising a location management server configured to manage the location of the information communication terminal and the sensing area;

wherein

the location information management server is configured to calculate a distance between the information communications terminal and the sensing area; and

the information provision unit is configured to provide the calculated distance to the information communications terminal.

4. A method of controlling a mobile communications network comprising:

transmitting, at an information communications terminal, a first request for provision of information;

managing, at a network controller, an ID of a radio communications channel, a sensing area of the radio communications channel and a radio bandwidth assigned to the radio communications channel, in association with one another, based on information obtained via a radio interface;

obtaining, at the network controller, a location of the information terminal in accordance with the first request transmitted from the information terminal;

extracting, at the network controller, an ID of a radio communications channel which is associated with a radio bandwidth included in the first request and the sensing area of a radio communications channel located in a vicinity of the location of the information terminal;

providing, at the network controller, a sensing area of a radio communications channel associated with the extracted ID of the radio communications channel; and

indicate the sensing area of the radio communications channel provided from the network controller.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4, further comprising:

transmitting, at the information communications terminal, a second request for provision of information;

managing, at the network controller, an ID of a device, a function of the deice and a location of the device, in association with one another, based on information obtained from the device via a radio interface;

obtaining, at the network controller, a location of the information terminal in accordance with the second request transmitted from the information terminal;

extracting, at the network controller, an ID of a device which is associated with a function included in the second request and a location of a device located in the vicinity of the location of the information terminal;

providing, at the network controller, a location of a device associated with the extracted ID of the device, and

indicating the location of the device provided from the network controller.