RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM SEARCHING METHOD

• US 20010029180A1
• Filed: 06/06/1997
• Published: 10/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1992
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Masahiro Konno, Tetsuya Hanawa
• Original Assignee: Masahiro Konno, Tetsuya Hanawa
• Inventors: KONNO, MASAHIRO, HANAWA, TETSUYA
• Granted Patent: US 6,374,106 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/426.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/183 Processing at user equipment or user record carrier

Abstract

The invention provides a radio communication system searching method for a portable telephone terminal for selecting, when a plurality of radio communication systems having different carrier frequencies are present in a same area, a suitable one of the radio communication systems. The searching method is improved in that radio communication systems can be searched in order beginning with a radio communication system which is the most advantageous to the user to eliminate the problems of a disorder of company types of radio communication systems and system selection involved in adjacent systems of a same company type. After preferential order numbers of a plurality of radio communication systems are registered into the portable telephone terminal, a home radio communication system of a predetermined frequency with which the portable telephone terminal is under contract is first searched, and then, when the home radio communication system has not been searched out successfully, the remaining radio communication systems are successively searched in accordance with the preferential order numbers registered in advance in the portable telephone terminal.

Claims

1. A radio communication system searching method for a portable telephone terminal for selecting, when a plurality of radio communication systems having different carrier frequencies are present in an overlapping relationship in a same area, one of the radio communication systems, said portable telephone terminal including searching means for searching the radio communication systems and preferential order registration means for registering preferential order numbers of the radio communication systems in advance into said portable telephone terminal, said searching method comprising the steps of:

searching, by said searching means, a home radio communication system of a predetermined carrier frequency with which said portable telephone terminal is under contract; and

successively searching, when the home radio communication system has not been searched out, by said searching means, he remaining radio communication systems in accordance with the preferential order numbers registered in advance in said portable telephone terminal by said preferential order registration means.

2. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein, at the step of successively searching the radio communication systems in accordance with the preferential order numbers by said searching means, that one of the radio communication systems which has a different carrier frequency from the predetermined carrier frequency of the home radio communication system is searched preferentially.

3. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein, when the successive searching of the radio communication systems in accordance with the preferential order numbers by said searching means fails to search out a relevant radio communication system, that one of the radio communication systems which has the same carrier frequency as the predetermined carrier frequency of the home radio communication system is searched preferentially by said searching means.

4. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 1

. wherein the preferential order numbers are determined in accordance with the charge for using of circuits which is advantageous to said portable telephone terminal.

5. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein said preferential order registration means is provided on a body of said portable telephone terminal.

6. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 5

. wherein an operation of registering each of the preferential order numbers by said preferential order registration means is performed by operating keys provided on said portable telephone terminal to input an ID number and a preferential order number of a radio communication system to be registered.

7. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 6

, wherein said preferential order registration means includes storage means for storing an ID number of a radio communication system inputted by such registering operation in accordance with a preferential order number inputted subsequently to the ID number.

8. A radio communication system searching method for a portable telephone terminal for selecting, when a plurality of radio communication systems having different carrier frequencies are present in an overlapping relationship and some of the radio communication systems having a same carrier frequency are managed in adjacent areas by different management system companies, one of the radio communication systems, said portable telephone terminal including searching means for searching the radio communication systems and preferential order registration means for registering preferential order numbers of the radio communication systems in advance into said portable telephone terminal, said searching method comprising the steps of:

searching, by said searching means, a home radio communication system of a predetermined carrier frequency in predetermined area with which said portable telephone terminal is under contract; and

successively searching, when the home radio communication system has not been searched out, by said searching means, the remaining radio communication systems in accordance with the preferential order numbers registered in advance in said portable telephone terminal by said preferential order registration means.

9. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 8

, wherein, at the step of successively searching the radio communication systems in accordance with the preferential order numbers by said searching means, that one of the radio communication systems which has a different carrier frequency from the predetermined carrier frequency of the home radio communication system is searched preferentially.

10. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 8

, wherein, when the successive searching of the radio communication systems in accordance with the preferential order numbers by said searching means fails to search out a relevant radio communication system, that one of the radio communication systems which has the same carrier frequency as the predetermined carrier frequency of the home radio communication system is searched preferentially by said searching means.

11. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 8

, wherein the preferential order numbers are determined in accordance with the charge for using of circuits which is advantageous to said portable telephone terminal.

12. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 8

, wherein said preferential order registration means is provided on a body of said portable telephone terminal.

13. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 12

, wherein an operation of registering each of the preferential order numbers by said preferential order registration means is performed by operating key provided on said portable telephone terminal to input an ID number and a preferential order number of a radio communication system to be registered.

14. A radio communication system searching method as claimed in

claim 13

, wherein said preferential order registration means includes storage means for storing an ID number of a radio communication system inputted by such registering operation in accordance with a preferential order number inputted subsequently to the ID number.