Radio communication system searching method

• US 6,374,106 B2
• Filed: 06/06/1997
• Issued: 04/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Konno, Masahiro, Hanawa, Tetsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Nguyen T.
• Application Number:
  US08/870,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20010029180A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,775 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422, 455/426, 455/432, 455/435, 455/436, 455/434, 455/524, 455/525, 455/550, 455/552
• US Class Current: 455/432.1
• 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

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 which selects, when a plurality of radio communication systems having different carrier frequencies are present in an overlapping relationship in a common geographical area, one of the radio communication systems, said searching method comprising:

searching the radio communication systems for a home radio communication system of a predetermined carrier frequency desired by a user;

searching, prior to the radio communication systems for a home type radio communication system having a common frequency to the home radio communication system, the radio communication systems for a roam type radio communication system having a different frequency from the home radio communication system according to a first predetermined system set, when the home radio communication system has not been searched out;

searching the radio communication systems for said home type radio communication system according to a second predetermined system set, when the roam type radio communication system has not been searched out;

checking the radio communication systems for an inhibited system when the home type radio communication system has not been searched out; and

searching again the radio communication systems for the roam type radio communication system when the inhibited system has been searched out.

2. A radio communication system searching method for a portable telephone terminal which selects, when a plurality of radio communication system having different carrier frequencies are present in an overlapping relationship in a common geographical area, one of the radio communication systems, said searching method comprising the steps of:

(a) searching the radio communication systems for a home radio communication system of a predetermined carrier frequency desired by a user;

(b) searching, prior to the radio communication systems for a home type radio communication system having a common frequency to the home radio communication system, the radio communication systems for a roam type radio communication system having a different frequency from the home radio communication system according to a first predetermined system set, when the home radio communication system has not been searched out;

(c) searching the radio communication systems for said home type radio communication system according to a second predetermined system set, when the roam type radio communication system has not been searched out; and

(d) switching between searching the radio communications systems for the roam type radio communication system and the home type radio communication system, each time a previous one of the home and roam type radio communications systems and an inhibited system have not been searched out.

3. A radio communication search method comprising:

registering into a portable telephone terminal a plurality of preferred radio communication systems, the preferred radio communication systems having an advantageous charge structure;

searching for presence of a home system;

if the home system is not present, searching for presence of one of the registered preferred radio communication systems; and

if one of the preferred radio communication systems is not present, searching for presence of remaining systems,

wherein said searching for presence of one of the preferred radio communications systems first searches the preferred radio communication system which have a different carrier frequency from a frequency of the home system first, then searches for presence of one of the preferred radio communication systems which have a same frequency of the home system.

4. The radio communication search method recited in claim 3, further comprising determining preferential order numbers so that a higher degree of priority is given to a particular radio communication system which requires a lower charge for use.

5. A radio communication search method comprising:

registering into a portable telephone terminal a plurality of preferred radio communication systems, the preferred radio communication systems having an advantageous charge structure;

searching for presence of a home system;

if the home system is not present, searching for presence of one of the registered preferred radio communication systems; and

if one of the preferred radio communication systems is not present, searching for presence of remaining systems,

wherein said searching for presence of remaining systems first searches for a remaining system using a same frequency of the home system.

6. A portable telephone comprising:

a registering device registering a plurality of preferential order numbers of radio communication systems, the preferential order numbers having an advantageous charge structure; and

a searching device searching for radio communication systems, wherein

the searching device searches for presence of a home radio communication system of a predetermined carrier frequency,

if the home radio communication system of a predetermined carrier frequency is not present, then the searching device searches for presence of one of the registered preferential order numbers,

if one of the registered preferential order numbers is not present, then the searching device searches for presence of remaining communication systems,

wherein said searching for presence of remaining systems first searches for a remaining system using a same frequency of the home system.

7. The portable telephone recited in claim 6, wherein:

the registering device registers a first group of preferential numbers having a same charge as the home radio communication system, and a second group of preferential numbers having a higher charge than that of the home communication system, and

when the searching device searches for presence of preferential order numbers, the searching device searches the first group first and the second group second.

8. A radio communication search method comprising:

registering into a portable telephone terminal a plurality of preferred radio communication systems;

searching for presence of a home system;

if the home system is not present, searching for presence of one of the preferred radio communication systems; and

if one of the preferred radio communication systems is not present, searching for presence of remaining systems,

wherein said searching for presence of one of the preferred radio communications systems first searches the preferred radio communication system which have a different carrier frequency from a frequency of the home system first, then searches for presence of one of the preferred radio communication systems which have a same frequency of the home system.

9. A radio communication search method comprising:

registering into a portable telephone terminal a plurality of preferred radio communication systems;

searching for presence of a home system;

if the home system is not present, searching for presence of one of the preferred radio communication systems; and

if one of the preferred radio communication systems is not present, searching for presence of remaining systems,

wherein said searching for presence of remaining systems first searches for a remaining system using a same frequency of the home system.