Terminal position managing server, access point, and call control server

• US 8,493,944 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2007
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hidehiko, Ando, Tatsuhiro, Oyama, Takuji
• Primary Examiner(s): HTUN, SAN A
• Application Number:
  US11/648,574
• Publication Number:
  US 20070230422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,393 Days
• Field of Search: 370/315, 370/310, 370/310.2, 370/328, 370/338, 370331-333, 370352-356, 714/57, 455/33.1, 455/34.1, 455406-408, 455/404.2, 455/414.2, 455/421, 4554561-4566, 455/433, 455/9, 455/422.1, 455/426.1, 4554321-444, 455/457, 455/550.1, 455/552.1, 455/553.1, 455/554.1, 455/554.2, 455/555, 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 455/557, 455/561
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Access points are grouped into access point groups. An access point group table that stores correlation between the access point groups and the access points and a terminal position table that manages the correlation between the access point groups and a terminal are provided for a position managing server that manages the position of the terminal. An access point notifies the position managing server of the identifier of the access point itself and the identifier of the terminal being connected to the access point. In the position managing server, an access point group to which the access point belongs is found by searching the access point group table. The terminal is registered in the column of “access point group” of the terminal position table.

Claims

1. A position managing server that manages a position of a mobile terminal wirelessly connected to an access point of a network, comprising:

a processor, memory coupled to and accessible by the processor, and program instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor for implementing;

an access point group table in which a plurality of access points are grouped into a plurality of groups each including at least one access point, one group of access points corresponding to a current position of the mobile terminal;

a terminal position table in which the groups and the mobile terminal are correlated;

a registering unit that registers the current position of the mobile terminal in the terminal position table based on an identifier of the mobile terminal and an identifier of a connected access point that is an access point to which the mobile terminal is connected;

a changing unit that changes, when the connected access point does not belong to any of the groups in the terminal position table, the position registered in the terminal position table to the current position based on the access point of the current connection destination; and

a notifying unit that, when the terminal changes connection destinations to another of the access points belonging to a different group while maintaining connection, notifies a call control server of a group to which the other of the access points belongs, and time of change of the connection destinations,

wherein the position managing server is part of a wireless Internet Protocol telephone system.

2. The position managing server according to claim 1, wherein the notifying unit notifies of the group corresponding to the current position of the terminal in response to an inquiry about the current position of the terminal from the call control server.

3. The position managing server according to claim 1, wherein a basic service set identification is used as an identifier of the access point.

4. The position managing server according to claim 1, wherein a global internet protocol address is used as the identifier of the access point.

5. A call control server that controls connection between a terminal and a network, the terminal wirelessly connected to an access point in the network, comprising:

a processor, memory coupled to and accessible by the processor, and program instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor for implementing;

an acquiring unit that inquires of a server managing a position of the terminal about a current position of the terminal, and that acquires information on the current position from the server, the information reflecting the latest version of a terminal position table of the terminal;

a simultaneous connection table in which a plurality of access points are grouped into a plurality of groups each including at least one access point, and number of connectable terminals and number of terminal actually being connected are correlated for each of the groups; and

a control unit that controls whether to connect the terminal based on information on the current position and information included in the simultaneous connection table,

wherein a group of access points corresponds to the current position of the terminal, the position managing server is part of a wireless Internet Protocol telephone system, and when the terminal changes connection destinations from a first access point belonging to a first group to a second access point belonging to a second group while maintaining connection, the call control server is notified of the second group and time of change of the connection destinations.

6. The call control server according to claim 5, further comprising a recording unit that, when the terminal is connected to access points belonging to different groups, records, for each of the different groups, connection time for which the terminal is connected to each of the access points in the different groups.