Radio communication apparatus, information processing system, program and radio communication method

• US 8,477,014 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2008
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shionozaki, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): HOLLOWAY III, EDWIN C
• Application Number:
  US12/675,694
• Publication Number:
  US 20100253536A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,784 Days
• Field of Search: 340/8.1, 340/539.13, 340/539.21, 455/456.1, 455/456.3, 455/456.6, 455/457
• US Class Current: 340/8.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

There is provided a radio communication apparatus capable of communicating with a base station of radio communication and moved with movement of a movable body, including: a storage unit having position information of unknown base stations whose base station identification information attached to the base station is unknown recorded therein; a notification unit that notifies the movable body or an operation subject of the movable body of the position information of the unknown base stations recorded in the storage unit; a communication unit that receives a radio signal containing the base station identification information from the base stations including the unknown base stations; and a recording unit that records the base station identification information contained in the radio signal received by the communication unit in the storage unit.

Claims

1. A radio communication apparatus capable of communicating with a base station of radio communication and moved with movement of a movable body, comprising:

a storage unit having recorded therein position information of unknown base stations whose base station identification information attached to the base station is unknown;

a notification unit that notifies the movable body or an operation subject of the movable body of the position information of the unknown base stations recorded in the storage unit;

a communication unit that receives a radio signal containing the base station identification information from the base stations including the unknown base stations, wherein the radio signal further includes base station attached information attached to the base station that is the source of the radio signal; and

a recording unit that records the base station identification information contained in the radio signal received by the communication unit in the storage unit, wherein the recording unit associates the base station attached information with the base station identification information and records the base station identification information and the base station attached information in the storage unit.

2. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a position information acquisition unit that acquires the position information of the radio communication apparatus, wherein

the communication unit receives the radio signal in a predetermined period and

the recording unit associates and records an acquisition time of the position information and the position information in the storage unit and associates a receiving time of the radio signal by the communication unit with the base station identification information contained in the radio signal received by the communication unit and records the base station identification information and the receiving time in the storage unit.

3. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a measuring unit that measures receiving intensity of each base station that is a source of the radio signal received by the communication unit, wherein

the recording unit further associates the receiving intensity measured by the measuring unit with the base station identification information and the receiving time of the radio signal and records the base station identification information, the receiving time, and the receiving intensity in the storage unit.

4. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an operation unit in which a predetermined operation is performed by the movable body or the operation subject of the movable body, wherein

when the predetermined operation is performed in the operation unit, the recording unit records the base station identification information contained in the radio signal received by the communication unit in the storage unit.

5. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit transmits the base station identification information recorded in the storage unit by the recording unit.

6. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an imaging unit that picks up an image therearound, wherein

the notification unit notifies the operation subject of the movable body of the image picked up by the imaging unit.

7. An information processing system comprising a radio communication apparatus capable of communicating with a base station of radio communication and moved with movement of a movable body and an information processing apparatus that processes information acquired by the radio communication apparatus, wherein

the radio communication apparatus includes:

a storage unit having recorded therein position information of unknown base stations whose base station identification information attached to the base station is unknown;

a notification unit that notifies the movable body or an operation subject of the movable body of the position information of the unknown base stations recorded in the storage unit;

a communication unit that receives a radio signal containing the base station identification information transmitted from the base stations including the unknown base stations, wherein the radio signal further includes base station attached information attached to the base station that is the source of the radio signal; and

a recording unit that records the base station identification information contained in the radio signal received by the communication unit in the storage unit, wherein the recording unit associates the base station attached information with the base station identification information and records the base station identification information and the base station attached information in the storage unit, and

the information processing apparatus includes a processing unit that associates the base station identification information contained in the radio signal received by the communication unit near a position of the unknown base stations of the base station identification information recorded in the storage unit and the position information of the unknown base stations.

8. The information processing system according to claim 7, wherein the radio communication apparatus further comprises

a position information acquisition unit that acquires the position information of the radio communication apparatus,

the communication unit receives the radio signal in a predetermined period,

the recording unit associates and records an acquisition time of the position information and the position information in the storage unit and associates a receiving time of the radio signal by the communication unit with the base station identification information contained in the radio signal received by the communication unit and records the base station identification information and the receiving time in the storage unit,

the information processing apparatus further includes

an extraction unit that extracts an acquisition time of the position information recorded by being associated with the position information whose difference from the position information of the unknown base station is within a first setting range in the storage unit, and

the processing unit associates the base station identification information recorded by being associated with the receiving time whose difference from the acquisition time extracted by the extraction unit is within a second setting range and the position information of the unknown base station.

9. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein the radio communication apparatus further comprises

a measuring unit that measures receiving intensity of each base station that is a source of the radio signal received by the communication unit,

the recording unit further associates the receiving intensity measured by the measuring unit with the base station identification information and the receiving time of the radio signal and records the base station identification information, the receiving time, and the receiving intensity in the storage unit, and

the processing unit associates the base station identification information selected based on receiving intensity associated with the base station identification information of the base station identification information associated with the receiving time whose difference from the acquisition time extracted by the extraction unit is within the second setting range and the position information of the unknown base station.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein a program causing a computer to function as a radio communication apparatus capable of communicating with a base station of radio communication and moved with movement of a movable body, the radio communication apparatus comprising:

a notification unit that notifies the movable body or an operation subject of the movable body of the position information of the unknown base stations, the position information recorded in a storage medium;

a communication unit that receives a radio signal containing the base station identification information transmitted from the base stations including the unknown base stations, wherein the radio signal further includes base station attached information attached to the base station that is the source of the radio signal; and

a recording unit that records the base station identification information contained in the radio signal received by the communication unit in the storage medium, wherein the recording unit associates the base station attached information with the base station identification information and records the base station identification information and the base station attached information in the storage unit.

11. A radio communication method executed by a radio communication apparatus capable of communicating with a base station of radio communication and moved with movement of a movable body, comprising the steps of:

Recording, in a storage medium, position information of an unknown base station whose base station identification information attached to the base station is unknown;

notifying the movable body or an operation subject of the movable body of the position information of the unknown base stations recorded in the storage medium;

receiving a radio signal containing the base station identification information transmitted from the base stations including the unknown base stations, wherein the radio signal further includes base station attached information attached to the base station that is the source of the radio signal;

recording the base station identification information contained in the radio signal received from the base station in the storage medium;

associating the base station attached information with the base station identification information; and

recording the base station identification information and the base station attached information in the storage medium.