Wireless communication switching device, method for switching wireless communication, and computer program

Abstract

To improve network connectivity and stability in mobile communications. [Solution] The wireless communication switching device comprises a prediction unit that acquires terminal location information and uses the location information to predict the terminal's destination location a predetermined time in advance, and a switching unit. The switching unit acquires the terminal's priority, and using the priority and the predicted destination location, determines the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal at the destination location, and transmits a switching instruction to the network using the determined wireless communication means to the terminal at a timing corresponding to the predetermined time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for switching wireless communication.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, against the backdrop of successive communication failures by mobile network operators (MNOs), discussions on network connectivity and, by extension, high reliability have become active. Since large-scale communication failures by mobile network operators have a significant impact not only on personal use but also on social infrastructure, the construction of a communication system that enables multi-communication using multiple mobile network operators or allows switching to a mobile network operator in an emergency is desired. Although the business form of mobile communication has diversified with the emergence of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that provide mobile communication services by borrowing wireless communication equipment from mobile network operators, there is still no service that ensures network connectivity.

[0003] Also, in recent years, research and development of Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G, which are next-generation mobile communications, have been actively carried out. It is said that by using such next-generation mobile communications, it may be possible to realize connected services that have not been achievable until now, such as remote driving systems and remote autonomous driving systems. Here, a remote driving system refers to a system in which a driver located remotely manually controls a vehicle based on video, position information, etc. transmitted from the vehicle. Also, a remote autonomous driving system refers to a system in which a cloud or edge server performs autonomous driving based on video, position information, etc. transmitted from the vehicle. Hereinafter, services that control a target device such as a vehicle or provide some information used in the target device via a network, such as a remote driving system and a remote autonomous driving system, are collectively referred to as "next-generation connected services". To realize such next-generation connected services, in addition to the above-described network connectivity, network stability is required.

[0004] However, in next-generation connected services such as remote driving systems and remote autonomous driving systems, the terminals are mounted or embedded in the vehicle, and because the terminals are constantly moving, ensuring network connectivity and network stability becomes more difficult. "Network connectivity" refers to the ease of connecting to the network, i.e., reliability, and "high connectivity" means high reliability, i.e., resistance to failures. "Network stability" refers to the stability of communication quality within the network, and "high stability" means high communication quality.

[0005] In this regard, Patent Documents 1 to 5 disclose a vehicle wireless communication device configured to be able to use multiple wireless communication services with different APNs (Access Point Names), and to select these multiple wireless communication services according to conditions. Patent Document 1 discloses preferential allocation of wireless communication services with a large power headroom, which represents the remaining transmission power relative to a predetermined maximum transmission power. Patent Document 2 discloses switching between narrow-area communication and cellular communication depending on the movement state of the vehicle. Patent Document 3 discloses preferential allocation of wireless communication services with a large transmission power value to in-vehicle devices with a small delay tolerance. Patent Document 4 discloses preferential allocation of wireless communication services with a large received power measurement value to in-vehicle devices with a small delay tolerance. Patent Document 5 discloses preferential allocation of wireless communication services with a small delay characteristic setting value to in-vehicle devices with a small delay tolerance. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-062549 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-062548 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-046196 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-045246 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-039801 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] However, the vehicle wireless communication devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 5 all select wireless communication services based only on information that the device itself can acquire, and therefore have the problem of not being able to select wireless communication services according to the communication status, communication quality, congestion status, etc., of the "entire network". Furthermore, since each device in the vehicle wireless communication devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 5 individually selects a wireless communication service that is convenient for each device, it cannot be said that the optimal wireless communication service is allocated to the "entire network". For example, requests from multiple devices may concentrate on a single wireless communication service, which may degrade network connectivity. In addition, because the vehicle wireless communication devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 5 select wireless communication services based on the current communication environment, communication interruptions and handovers (switching of connection destinations) occur frequently as the vehicle moves, which may lead to a decrease in communication quality and a decrease in network connectivity and security.

[0008] This invention was made to solve at least some of the problems described above, and aims to improve network connectivity and stability in mobile communications. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention has been made to solve at least some of the above-mentioned problems and can be realized in the following forms.

[0010] (1) According to one embodiment of the present invention, a wireless communication switching device is provided. This wireless communication switching device comprises a prediction unit that acquires location information of a terminal and uses the location information to predict the destination location of the terminal a predetermined time in advance, and a switching unit. The switching unit acquires the priority of the terminal and uses the priority and the predicted destination location to determine the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal at the destination location, and transmits a switching instruction to the network using the determined wireless communication means to the terminal at a timing corresponding to the predetermined time.

[0011] In this configuration, the switching unit of the wireless communication switching device determines the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal and transmits a switching instruction to the terminal for the determined wireless communication means to the network. Therefore, compared to when the terminal individually selects the network to connect to, it becomes possible to determine the wireless communication means according to the communication status, communication quality, congestion status, etc., of the "entire network" consisting of networks with multiple different wireless communication means. As a result, network connectivity can be improved (fault tolerance) and network stability can be improved (high quality). Furthermore, since the switching unit determines the wireless communication means using terminal priority, for example, terminals performing mission-critical services (e.g., remote driving or remote autonomous driving) can be given a relatively higher priority, and terminals performing non-critical services (e.g., video viewing or internet access) can be given a relatively lower priority, thereby enabling the allocation of the optimal network for the "entire network" to each terminal (overall optimization). Moreover, the optimal connection destination for a terminal changes moment by moment as the terminal moves. In this respect, according to this configuration, the switching unit uses the predicted destination location to determine the wireless communication means to be used at the destination location (i.e., it pre-determines the wireless communication means to be used at the terminal in the future), thereby suppressing frequent communication interruptions and handovers (connection destination switching processes), and improving network connectivity and security.

[0012] (2) In the wireless communication switching device of the above form, the switching unit may determine the mobile communication carrier to be used by the terminal at the destination location and transmit a switching instruction to the terminal to the determined mobile communication carrier's wireless access network using mobile communication. With this configuration, the switching unit of the wireless communication switching device can improve overall network connectivity (fault tolerance), stability (higher quality), and optimal network allocation (overall optimization) when determining the mobile communication carrier used by the terminal and switching to the wireless access network provided by these mobile communication carriers.

[0013] (3) In the wireless communication switching device of the above form, when there are multiple terminals within a predetermined range, the switching unit may acquire the priority for each of the multiple terminals, determine the mobile communication carrier in order of the highest priority, and transmit the switching instructions in order of the lowest priority. With this configuration, when multiple terminals are present within a predetermined range, the switching unit determines the mobile carrier in order of priority, so that terminals with higher priority are assigned a mobile carrier suitable for use by that terminal (for example, one with better communication quality). Furthermore, when multiple terminals are present within a predetermined range, the switching unit sends switching instructions in order of decreasing priority, so that the mobile carrier switching process for terminals with higher priority can be carried out smoothly.

[0014] (4) In the wireless communication switching device of the above form, the switching unit may assign a first mobile communication carrier with good communication quality to the terminal with a relatively high priority, and assign a second mobile communication carrier with inferior communication quality to the terminal with a relatively low priority. This configuration prioritizes terminals performing mission-critical services (e.g., remote driving or remote autonomous driving) relatively highly, while prioritizing terminals performing non-critical services (e.g., video viewing or internet access) relatively lower. As a result, terminals performing mission-critical services are assigned to a first mobile carrier with good communication quality, while terminals performing non-critical services are assigned to a different, second mobile carrier. This enables the allocation of the optimal network for the "entire network" to each terminal (overall optimization).

[0015] (5) In the wireless communication switching device of the above form, the switching unit may transmit the switching instruction to the terminal with the highest priority after the switching process of the wireless access network by the other terminals based on the switching instructions transmitted earlier has been completed. With this configuration, the switching unit sends switching instructions to the highest-priority terminal only after the switching process of the wireless access network in other terminals, based on previously sent switching instructions, has been completed. This allows for more reliable and smoother switching of the mobile carrier in the highest-priority terminal. For example, by setting the priority of a terminal performing mission-critical services (e.g., remote driving or remote autonomous driving) to the highest level, it is possible to provide continuous service without affecting the communication quality in that terminal.

[0016] (6) In the wireless communication switching device of the above form, the prediction unit may predict the destination position using the position information acquired over time. With this configuration, the prediction unit can easily predict the destination location using location information acquired over time.

[0017] (7) In the wireless communication switching device of the above-described form, the prediction unit may further acquire route information representing a travel route from the departure point to the destination in the terminal, and predict the destination position using the route information in addition to the position information. According to this configuration, since the prediction unit predicts the destination position using the route information in addition to the position information, the destination position can be predicted with high accuracy.

[0018] (8) In the wireless communication switching device of the above-described form, the switching unit may further perform the determination of the priority according to at least any one of the type of the terminal, the type of the application being executed in the terminal, the type of contract with the mobile communication carrier in the terminal, the moving speed of the terminal, and the type of data being transmitted and received in the terminal. According to this configuration, the switching unit can perform the determination of the priority according to at least any one of the type of the terminal, the type of the application being executed in the terminal, the type of contract with the mobile communication carrier in the terminal, the moving speed of the terminal, and the type of data being transmitted and received in the terminal.

[0019] Note that the present invention can be realized in various forms. For example, it can be realized in the form of a wireless communication switching device, an information processing device, a communication system including these devices, a method executed in an information processing device to realize the functions of these devices and systems, a computer program for realizing the functions of these devices and systems, a server device for distributing the computer program, a non-transitory storage medium storing the computer program, etc.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] [Figure 1] It is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of a communication system as an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a diagram showing a specific example of the communication system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] It is a sequence diagram showing an example of switching control processing. [Figure 4] This is a diagram explaining the movement prediction process. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of the communication system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 6] This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the switching control process of the second embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure illustrates the movement prediction process of the second embodiment. [Figure 8] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of the communication system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 9] This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the switching control process of the third embodiment. [Figure 10] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of the communication system according to the fourth embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0021] <First Embodiment> Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of a communication system 1 as one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a diagram showing a specific example of the communication system 1 shown in Figure 1. The communication system 1 is used as a communication infrastructure for any service, for example, a next-generation connected service targeting vehicles. The communication system 1 can improve network connectivity and network stability with the wireless communication switching device 100 described later, and can provide continuous next-generation connected services without affecting the communication quality in vehicles. The communication system 1 can also be used as a communication infrastructure for services other than next-generation connected services (for example, video viewing, internet access, etc.).

[0022] Here, "network connectivity" refers to the ease of connecting to a network, i.e., reliability, and "high connectivity" means high reliability, i.e., resistance to failures. Furthermore, "network stability" refers to the stability of communication quality within the network, and "high stability" means high communication quality. In addition, "next-generation connected services" refer to services that control target devices such as vehicles via a network (for example, remote driving systems or remote autonomous driving systems), or services that provide some kind of information used in a target device (not limited to vehicles) via a network. In this embodiment, remote driving is used as an example of a next-generation connected service.

[0023] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the communication system 1 comprises a wireless communication switching device 100, n wireless access networks 10a to 10n, and m terminals 20a to 20m. n and m are arbitrary natural numbers, and the number of wireless access networks and terminals can be changed arbitrarily. A wireless access network is also called a "RAN". Hereafter, when referring to a specific RAN from 10a to 10n, the suffix letter will be added, for example, "RAN10a", and when not referring to a specific RAN from 10a to 10n (for example, when describing properties common to RAN10a to 10n), it will simply be called "RAN10". Similarly, for terminals 20a to 20m, when referring to a specific terminal, the suffix letter will be added, for example, "Terminal 20a", and when not referring to a specific terminal (for example, when describing properties common to terminals 20a to 20m), it will simply be called "Terminal 20".

[0024] Wireless access networks 10a to 10n (RAN10a to 10n) are mobile communication networks owned by different mobile communication carriers. In other words, RAN10a to 10n are wireless access networks for each mobile communication carrier. For example, RAN10a is the mobile communication network provided by mobile communication carrier 1, RAN10b is the mobile communication network provided by mobile communication carrier 2, and RAN10n is the mobile communication network provided by mobile communication carrier N. That is, the difference in the last letter indicates a difference in mobile communication carriers. For example, "RAN10a" includes all the mobile communication networks provided by mobile communication carrier 1 for different areas (Kanto area, Tokai area, Kansai area, etc.) and mobile communication networks for different systems (4G, 5G, etc.). Hereafter, mobile communication carriers will also be simply referred to as "carriers".

[0025] As shown in Figure 1, RAN10 includes multiple routers R that are connected to each other in a communicative manner, and a base station 11. Although only two routers and one base station 11 are shown in Figure 1, in reality, RAN10a to 10n include any number of routers and base stations 11 corresponding to the communication area covered by each mobile network operator. As shown in Figure 2, RAN10 constitutes the wireless network layer.

[0026] As shown in Figure 2 (solid line), RAN10a to 10n are each connected to carrier gateways 12a to 12n for each mobile network operator via edge routers. Specifically, RAN10a is connected to carrier gateway 12a of mobile network operator 1. Similarly, RAN10b is connected to carrier gateway 12b of mobile network operator 2, and RAN10n is connected to carrier gateway 12 of mobile network operator N.

[0027] Carrier gateways 12a to 12n are network devices owned by different mobile communication operators. Carrier gateway 12 includes CPF 121 and UPF 122 and is connected to the Internet (INT). CPF 121 is a functional unit that functions as a C-plane (Control plane) that performs a series of control processes for establishing communication (establishing and disconnecting sessions). UPF 122 is a functional unit that functions as a U-plane (User plane) that performs user data transmission and reception processing (packet forwarding). Carrier gateway 12, together with the wireless communication switching device 100 described later, constitutes the core network layer.

[0028] In normal communication without using the wireless communication switching device 100 of the present invention, for example, terminal 20a can connect to the carrier gateway 12a via RAN 10a from base station 11a, and after control processing by CPF 121a, can connect to the Internet INT through data transmission and reception processing by UPF 122a. Similarly, when using RAN 10b, terminal 20a can connect to the carrier gateway 12b via RAN 10b from base station 11b, and after control processing by CPF 121b, can connect to the Internet INT through data transmission and reception processing by UPF 122b. Thus, each mobile communication carrier has its own carrier gateways 12a to 12n for each mobile communication carrier 1 to N. Note that in Figure 1, for ease of illustration, the carrier gateways 12a to 12n are omitted from the illustration.

[0029] Terminals 20a to 20m may be "in-vehicle terminals" installed in vehicles used by users of communication system 1, or they may be "portable terminals (portable devices)" possessed by users of communication system 1. Here, "terminals 20a to 20m being installed in a vehicle" does not only mean that terminals 20a to 20m are devices fixed to the vehicle, such as navigation systems, but also includes cases where terminals 20a to 20m are portable devices, such as smartphones, and the user of such a device is riding in the vehicle. In Figure 1, a smartphone is used as an example of terminal 20. However, terminal 20 is not limited to a smartphone; it may be a navigation system, a vehicle control system, a wearable device, a personal computer, a combination of these devices, or any other device. "Combination" means that one device (for example, a smartphone) and another device (for example, a navigation system or a vehicle control system) work together to perform the functions of terminal 20. Furthermore, terminals 20a to 20m may each be used with a mix of different types of devices.

[0030] As shown in Figure 1, terminal 20 comprises a wireless communication unit 21 and a terminal information storage unit 22. The wireless communication unit 21 is a functional unit that connects to one of the RANs 10a to 10n to send and receive data, in other words, performs wireless communication (mobile communication). In the example in Figure 1, for example, the wireless communication unit 21 of terminal 20a connects to RAN 10a from base station 11a, thereby performing mobile communication using RAN 10a. Furthermore, upon receiving a switching instruction, which will be described later, the wireless communication unit 21 switches its connection to another RAN 10 (RAN 10b in the illustrated example), as indicated by the white arrow, and performs mobile communication using the other RAN 10 (RAN 10b). The terminal information storage unit 22 is a functional unit that stores which RAN 10 terminal 20 is connected to.

[0031] The wireless communication switching device 100 is a device that switches the RANs 10a to 10n used by terminals 20a to 20m. As shown in Figure 1, the wireless communication switching device 100 includes a switching unit 110, an external gateway 120, terminal information management units 130a to 130n corresponding to each mobile communication carrier, data communication units 140a to 140n corresponding to each mobile communication carrier, and a prediction unit 150.

[0032] The switching unit 110 is a functional unit that determines the mobile communication carrier to be used by terminals 20a to 20m and transmits a switching instruction to the determined mobile communication carrier's wireless access network 10a to 10n (RAN 10a to 10n) to terminals 20a to 20m. In this embodiment, the switching unit 110 determines the mobile communication carrier using the priority of terminals 20a to 20m and the predicted destination location for terminals 20a to 20m. Details will be described later. The external gateway 120 is connected to the data communication units 140a to 140n, respectively. The external gateway 120 is a functional unit that realizes data transmission and reception (routing) between the wireless communication switching device 100 and the Internet INT.

[0033] Terminal information management units 130a to 130n are functional units that manage information for terminals 20a to 20m for each mobile network operator 1 to N to which each terminal 20a to 20m is connected (in other words, for each individual RAN 10a to 10n). Specifically, terminal information management unit 130a manages information for terminal 20 connected to RAN 10a of mobile network operator 1. Similarly, terminal information management unit 130b manages information for terminal 20 connected to RAN 10b of mobile network operator 2, and terminal information management unit 130n manages information for terminal 20 connected to RAN 10n of mobile network operator N. Terminal information may include not only the terminal ID, which is the identifier of terminal 20, but also arbitrary information such as subscriber information for each terminal ID.

[0034] The data communication units 140a to 140n are functional units that realize data transmission and reception via the wireless access networks 10a to 10n (RAN10a to 10n) for each mobile communication carrier. The data communication units 140a to 140n are provided in accordance with the mobile communication carriers 1 to N that can be controlled by the wireless communication switching device 100. Specifically, the data communication unit 140a realizes data transmission and reception with terminals 20 connected to RAN10a via RAN10a. Similarly, the data communication unit 140b realizes data transmission and reception with terminals 20 connected to RAN10b via RAN10b, and the data communication unit 140n realizes data transmission and reception with terminals 20 connected to RAN10n via RAN10n.

[0035] The prediction unit 150 acquires location information from each of the terminals 20a to 20m over time and uses the location information of each terminal 20a to 20m acquired over time to predict the destination location of each terminal 20a to 20m. Here, "destination location" refers to the current location of each terminal 20a to 20m at a predetermined time in the future. The predetermined time is set in advance considering the time required for switching mobile carriers for terminals 20a to 20m, the movement speed of terminals 20a to 20m, the relative positions and density of base stations 11a to 11n, etc. Details of the processing in the prediction unit 150 will be described later.

[0036] As shown in Figure 2, the wireless communication switching device 100 is configured to include master gateways 101 to 103, an edge server 104, and an edge router 105. Master gateways 101 to 103 each have the same functions as carrier gateways 12a to 12n. Specifically, master gateway 101 is connected to RAN 10a as shown in Figure 2 (dashed line) and has the same functions as carrier gateway 12a. Master gateway 102 is connected to RAN 10b and has the same functions as carrier gateway 12b. Master gateway 103 is connected to RAN 10n and has the same functions as carrier gateway 12n.

[0037] The CPF1 to N of master gateways 101 to 103 implement the functions of terminal information management units 130a to 130n as described in Figure 1, respectively. The UPF1 to N of master gateways 101 to 103 implement the functions of data communication units 140a to 140n as described in Figure 1, respectively. The edge server 104 implements the functions of the switching unit 110 and the prediction unit 150 as described in Figure 1. The edge router 105 implements the functions of the external gateway 120 as described in Figure 1. The wireless communication switching device 100, together with the carrier gateways 12a to 12n of each mobile communication carrier, constitutes the core network layer (Figure 2). In other words, in communication using the wireless communication switching device 100, the terminal 20 uses the RANs 10a to 10n of each mobile communication carrier, while simultaneously being able to connect to the Internet INT via the wireless communication switching device 100 (specifically, the master gateways 101 to 103 of the wireless communication switching device 100) without going through the carrier gateways 12a to 12n of each mobile communication carrier.

[0038] Figure 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a switching control process. The switching control process is performed by the wireless communication switching device 100, and involves sending a switching instruction for RAN 10a to 10n to terminals 20a to 20m, causing terminals 20a to 20m to switch to the connected RAN 10a to 10n. The switching control process can be started at any trigger. These triggers can be arbitrarily determined, for example, when instructed by an administrator, periodically after a predetermined time has elapsed since the last execution of the switching control process, when a failure is detected in any of RAN 10a to 10n, or when the communication load of any of RAN 10a to 10n exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0039] In Figure 3, for illustrative purposes only, only terminals 20a to 20d out of terminals 20a to 20m are shown; however, the switching control process in Figure 3 can be executed for all terminals 20a to 20m. In Figure 3, for illustrative purposes only, the terminal information management units 130a to 130n are collectively shown as "management units 130a to 130n," and the data communication units 140a to 140n are collectively shown as "communication units 140a to 140n."

[0040] At step S10, which marks the start of processing, terminals 20a to 20m each connect to the Internet INT via RAN 10a to 10n of one of the mobile communication carriers 1 to N, using one of the data communication units 140a to 140n, without using the carrier gateway 12a.

[0041] In step S12, terminals 20a to 20m each acquire location information representing their current position and transmit it to the prediction unit 150 of the wireless communication switching device 100. Terminal 20 can acquire location information by receiving radio waves transmitted from artificial satellites that make up GPS (Global Positioning System) or QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) using a receiving device built into terminal 20. The transmission of location information from each terminal 20a to 20m in step S12 is performed individually by each terminal 20a to 20m at any time of their choosing. Furthermore, the transmission of location information from each terminal 20a to 20m in step S12 is repeated at predetermined time intervals.

[0042] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the movement prediction process. In step S100 of Figure 3, the prediction unit 150 of the wireless communication switching device 100 performs the movement prediction process. The movement prediction process in this embodiment is a process that predicts the destination location of the terminal 20 using the location information acquired over time in step S12. Figure 4(A) shows an example of location information acquired over time. Figure 4(B) shows an example of a predicted destination location. In Figures 4(A) and (B), the rectangular frame contains a legend indicating which terminal 20 corresponds to each circle in the figure. Note that although only two points are shown as location information acquired over time in Figure 4(A), there may be three or more points of location information acquired over time.

[0043] The prediction unit 150 can predict the destination location of the terminal 20 by, for example, following the procedures shown in a1 to a4 below. (a1) The prediction unit 150 extracts base stations 11 of a mobile communications carrier within a single range Ra. In the illustrated example, base stations 11a and 11b within range Ra are extracted. Range Ra may be defined as an area with a predetermined radius centered on a predetermined point, or it may be a grid within a map divided into grids of several kilometers square. (a2) The prediction unit 150 extracts terminals 20 that are predicted to be connected to the base station 11 extracted in step a1. In the illustrated example, four terminals, 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d, are extracted. The prediction of the connected base station in step a2 can be performed using the locations of base stations 11a and 11b extracted in step a1 and all (or part) of the location information acquired over time by step S12. In this case, information stored in terminal information management units 130a to 130n may also be referred to. (a3) The prediction unit 150 predicts the destination location of the terminal 20 extracted in step a2, using the location information acquired over time in step S12, for a predetermined time ahead. For example, as shown in Figure 4(A), suppose terminal 20a transmits its current location shown in Pa1 at a certain time t1, and transmits its current location shown in Pa2 at the next time t2. In Figure 4(A), terminals 20b, 20c, and 20d are similarly marked at points corresponding to the current locations transmitted at time t1 and time t2. The prediction unit 150 predicts the destination location from these changes in location information using a well-known movement estimation algorithm (an algorithm that estimates the destination from a sparse movement trajectory). The prediction unit 150 may improve the accuracy of predicting the destination location by using map data (data representing the road connection relationships) in predicting the destination location. Figure 4(B) shows the predicted destination locations Pax, Pbx, Pcx, and Pdx for terminals 20a to 20d, respectively. (a4) Based on the prediction results of step a4, the prediction unit 150 identifies terminals 20 whose destination position is within range Ra and terminals 20 whose destination position is outside range Ra. In the illustrated example, terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c are terminals whose destination position is within range Ra. On the other hand, terminal 20d's destination position is outside range Ra.

[0044] In step S14 of Figure 3, the prediction unit 150 of the wireless communication switching device 100 transmits the prediction results from the movement prediction process to the switching unit 110. The prediction results include information that identifies the terminal 20 whose destination position is located within range Ra (specifically, identifiers of terminals 20a, 20b, 20c, etc.) and the destination positions Pax, Pbx, Pcx of these terminals 20.

[0045] In step S200, the switching unit 110 of the wireless communication switching device 100 performs a priority determination process. The priority determination process determines the priority of each terminal 20 for terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c that were identified in step S14 as being located within range Ra. First, the switching unit 110 obtains the "terminal information" shown in b1 to b5 below from terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c. Note that information from terminal information b1 to b5 that is not used for priority determination (determination based on criteria B1 to B5 described later) may be omitted from obtaining information from terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c. (b1) Type of terminal 20: For example, information indicating whether the terminal is a smartphone, a navigation device, a vehicle control device, a wearable device, a sensor with communication capabilities, an IoT device, or a combination thereof. (b2) Information indicating the type of application running on terminal 20: for example, application type = remote driving, application type = remote autonomous driving, application type = video software, application type = browser, application type = messaging software, application type = IoT control software, application type = other data communication, etc. (b3) Information indicating the type of contract of the mobile network operator on terminal 20, such as high-priced contract (unlimited use), low-priced contract (limited use), etc. (b4) Movement speed of terminal 20: The movement speed can be calculated from time t2 - time t1 and the current position at times t1 and t2. The movement speed may also be obtained from terminal 20. (b5) Information indicating the type of data being transmitted and received at terminal 20: whether it is vehicle control data, video data, or static data such as HTML source code.

[0046] After acquiring terminal information, the switching unit 110 determines the priority of each terminal 20a, 20b, and 20c using at least some of the following criteria B1 to B5. Criteria B1 to B5 may be used individually or in combination. The priority can be set to any two or more levels. The following explanation will illustrate the case where priority is determined using a three-level evaluation of "high / medium / low". (B1) The switching unit 110 uses terminal information b1 to set the priority to "high" for navigation devices or vehicle control devices, to "medium" for smartphones, and to "low" for other devices. (B2) The switching unit 110 uses terminal information b2 to set the priority to "high" if the application type is remote driving or remote automatic driving, to "medium" if the application type is video software, and to "low" in all other cases. (B3) The switching unit 110 uses terminal information b3 to set the priority to "high" for high-value contracts, "low" for low-value contracts, and "medium" for all other cases. (B4) The switching unit 110 uses terminal information b4 to set the priority to "high" if the movement speed is faster than a predetermined threshold, to "medium" if the movement speed is slower than a predetermined threshold, and to "low" if the movement speed is zero. (B5) The switching unit 110 uses terminal information b5 to set the priority to "high" for vehicle control data, "medium" for video data, and "low" for other data.

[0047] In the following explanation, we will assume that, as a result of step S200, the switching unit 110 determined that terminal 20a has a high priority, terminal 20b has a medium priority, and terminal 20c has a low priority (Figure 3: dashed callout).

[0048] In step S16, the switching unit 110 of the wireless communication switching device 100 acquires "information related to communication" from terminal information management units 130a to 130n, respectively. The information related to communication that the switching unit 110 acquires from the terminal information management unit 130 may include, for example, either of the following pieces of information c1 or c2. (c1) Information indicating the mobile carrier to which terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c are connected: Specifically, the switching unit 110 obtains information from the terminal information management unit 130a about terminal 20 which is connected to mobile carrier 1 (RAN10a). The same applies to terminal information management units 130b to 130n. (c2) Information indicating the base station 11 to which terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c are connected: Specifically, the switching unit 110 obtains information from the terminal information management unit 130a about the terminals 20 connected to the base station 11a owned by the mobile communications carrier 1 (RAN10a). The same applies to terminal information management units 130b to 130n.

[0049] In step S18, the switching unit 110 of the wireless communication switching device 100 acquires "information related to communication" from the data communication units 140a to 140n, respectively. The information related to communication that the switching unit 110 acquires from the data communication unit 140 may include, for example, the following information c3. Information c3, together with the information c1 and c2 described above, is called information related to communication. (c3) Information indicating the amount of communication traffic for each terminal 20a, 20b, and 20c: Specifically, the switching unit 110 obtains the amount of communication traffic for terminal 20 using mobile carrier 1 (RAN10a) from the data communication unit 140a. The same applies to data communication units 140b to 140n.

[0050] In step S300, the switching unit 110 of the wireless communication switching device 100 determines which mobile carrier to be used at the destination location by the terminals 20 (specifically, terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c whose destination location is within range Ra). At this time, the switching unit 110 determines the mobile carrier in order of the priority determined in step S200. In the illustrated example, the mobile carrier for terminal 20a, which has a "high" priority, is determined first, the mobile carrier for terminal 20b, which has a "medium" priority, is determined next, and the mobile carrier for terminal 20c, which has a "low" priority, is determined last.

[0051] Here, the switching unit 110 determines the mobile carrier such that the priority determined in step S200 is proportional to the communication quality of the assigned mobile carrier. Specifically, the switching unit 110 evaluates the communication quality of each mobile carrier at each destination location Pax, Pbx, and Pcx for terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c, for example, using a radio wave map. Next, the switching unit 110 assigns terminal 20a, which has a "high" priority, to the first mobile carrier (for example, mobile carrier 1) that has the best communication quality at the destination location Pax. Similarly, the switching unit 110 assigns terminal 20b with "medium" priority to a second mobile carrier (e.g., mobile carrier 2) whose communication quality at the destination location Pbx is inferior to that of the first mobile carrier, and assigns terminal 20c with "low" priority to a third mobile carrier (e.g., mobile carrier 3) whose communication quality at the destination location Pcx is inferior to that of the second mobile carrier.

[0052] Furthermore, when determining the mobile network operator for terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c, terminal information obtained in step S200 and communication information obtained in steps S16 and S18 may be taken into consideration. If communication information is not used in determining the mobile network operator, steps S16 and S18 may be omitted.

[0053] In steps S20 to S42, the switching unit 110 of the wireless communication switching device 100 sends switching instructions to the terminals 20 (specifically, terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c whose destination location is within range Ra), causing each terminal 20 to perform the mobile communication carrier switching process. At this time, the switching unit 110 executes the switching instructions in order of the lowest priority determined in step S200.

[0054] Specifically, in step S20, the switching unit 110 transmits a switching instruction (an instruction to switch the connection destination to mobile carrier 3) to terminal 20c, which has a "low" priority. Also, in step S22, the switching unit 110 transmits a switching instruction (an instruction to switch the connection destination to mobile carrier 2) to terminal 20b, which has a "medium" priority.

[0055] In step S30, terminal 20c, having received the switching instruction, executes the switching process to the mobile carrier instructed in step S20. For example, let's illustrate the case where terminal 20c switches from mobile carrier 1 to mobile carrier 3. In this case, terminal 20c disconnects the communication (disconnects the session) with the RAN 10a of mobile carrier 1, to which it is currently connected. Accordingly, the terminal information management unit 130a updates its information and removes terminal 20c from the terminals 20 connected to it. Next, terminal 20c switches its connection destination to mobile carrier 3, as instructed by the switching instruction. Specifically, terminal 20c performs authentication with the terminal information management unit 130c and establishes a communication session. After successful authentication, the terminal information management unit 130c updates its information and adds terminal 20c to the terminals 20 connected to it.

[0056] In step S32, terminal 20b, having received the switching instruction, executes the switching process to the mobile carrier instructed in step S22. The details are the same as in step S30. For illustrative purposes, steps S20 and S22 are shown consecutively in Figure 3, and steps S30 and S32 are shown consecutively. However, step S30 may be executed after step S20, and then step S32 may be executed after step S22.

[0057] In step S40, the switching unit 110 sends a switching instruction (an instruction to switch the connection destination to mobile carrier 1) to terminal 20a, which has a "high" priority. Here, terminal 20a has the highest priority among terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c. As shown in step S40 of Figure 3, the switching unit 110 may send the switching instruction to terminal 20a, which has the highest priority, after the switching process to RAN10 (steps S30, S32) based on previously sent switching instructions (steps S20, S22) has been completed. In step S42, terminal 20a, which has received the switching instruction, executes the switching process to the mobile carrier instructed in step S40. The details are the same as in step S30.

[0058] The switching unit 110 transmits the switching instructions for steps S20, S22, and S40 T hours after acquiring the latest current position in step S12. Here, T hours is a time determined according to the predetermined time used in procedure a3 of the movement prediction processing (step S100). For example, T hours can be defined as predetermined time in procedure a3 - x seconds (where x is any natural number). By transmitting the switching instructions T hours later, the switching instructions from the wireless communication switching device 100 to the terminal 20 can be transmitted at an appropriate timing, such as x seconds before the terminal 20 reaches the destination position predicted by step S100.

[0059] Furthermore, the wireless communication switching device 100 performs the above-described processing on the entire control area covered by the wireless communication switching device 100, while changing the range Ra. The processing in one range and the other range may be performed sequentially or in parallel. Alternatively, the processing may be shared among multiple wireless communication switching devices 100. As a result, the same processing will be performed on terminals 20 (for example, terminals 20d to 20m) that were not included in the processing described above.

[0060] As described above, according to the communication system 1 of the first embodiment, the switching unit 110 of the wireless communication switching device 100 determines the mobile communication carriers 1 to N to be used by terminals 20a to 20m, and transmits a switching instruction to the determined mobile communication carrier's wireless access network 10 (i.e., RAN 10) to terminals 20a to 20m. Therefore, compared to the case where terminals 20a to 20m individually select the wireless access network 10a to 10n to connect to, it becomes possible to determine the wireless communication means according to the communication status, communication quality, congestion status, etc., of the "entire network" consisting of wireless access networks 10a to 10n of multiple different mobile communication carriers 1 to N. As a result, network connectivity can be improved (fault tolerance) and network stability can be improved (high quality). Furthermore, the switching unit 110 determines the mobile carriers 1 to N using the priority of terminals 20a to 20m. For example, by relatively increasing the priority of terminal 20a, which is performing mission-critical services (e.g., remote driving or remote autonomous driving), and relatively decreasing the priority of terminals 20b and 20c, which are performing non-critical services (e.g., video viewing or internet access), it becomes possible to assign the optimal network to each terminal 20a to 20m as the "entire network" (overall optimization). Moreover, the optimal connection destination for terminals 20a to 20m changes moment by moment as terminals 20a to 20m move. In this regard, according to communication system 1, the switching unit 110 uses the predicted destination locations Pax, Pbx, and Pcx to determine the mobile carriers 1 to N to be used at the destination locations Pax, Pbx, and Pcx (i.e., it pre-determines the mobile carriers 1 to N to be used at terminals 20a to 20m in the future), thereby suppressing frequent communication interruptions and handovers (connection destination switching processes), and improving network connectivity and security.

[0061] Furthermore, according to the communication system 1 of the first embodiment, when multiple terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c exist within a predetermined range Ra, the switching unit 110 of the wireless communication switching device 100 determines the mobile communication carriers 1 to N in order of increasing priority (Figure 3: step S300). As a result, the terminal with the highest priority, 20a, is assigned a mobile communication carrier suitable for use by that terminal (for example, one with better communication quality). Also, when multiple terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c exist within a predetermined range Ra, the switching unit 110 transmits switching instructions in order of decreasing priority (Figure 3: steps S20, S22, S40). As a result, the mobile communication carrier switching process for the terminal with the highest priority, 20a, can be performed smoothly.

[0062] Furthermore, according to the communication system 1 of the first embodiment, by relatively increasing the priority of terminal 20a performing mission-critical services (e.g., remote driving or remote autonomous driving) and relatively decreasing the priority of terminals 20b and 20c performing non-critical services (e.g., video viewing or internet access), in carrier determination (Figure 3: step S300), terminal 20a performing mission-critical services is assigned a first mobile communication carrier with good communication quality, and terminal 20b performing non-critical services is assigned a different, second mobile communication carrier. As a result, it becomes possible to assign the optimal network for the "entire network" to each terminal 20a, 20b, and 20c (overall optimization).

[0063] Furthermore, according to the communication system 1 of the first embodiment, the switching unit 110 of the wireless communication switching device 100 transmits a switching instruction to the terminal 20a with the highest priority (Figure 3: step S40) after the switching process of the wireless access networks 10a to 10n based on the previously transmitted switching instructions has been completed at the other terminals 20b and 20c (Figure 3: steps S30, S32). Therefore, the switching process of the mobile communication carrier at the terminal 20a with the highest priority (Figure 3: step S42) can be carried out more reliably and smoothly. For example, as illustrated in criteria B2 and B5, by setting the priority of terminal 20a performing mission-critical services (e.g., remote driving or remote autonomous driving, etc.) to the highest level, it is possible to provide continuous service without affecting the communication quality at that terminal 20a. Furthermore, the impact on the other terminals 20b and 20c is also minimal.

[0064] Furthermore, according to the communication system 1 of the first embodiment, the prediction unit 150 of the wireless communication switching device 100 can easily predict the destination locations Pax, Pbx, Pcx, and Pdx using location information acquired over time (Figure 4).

[0065] Furthermore, according to the communication system 1 of the first embodiment, the switching unit 110 of the wireless communication switching device 100 can determine the priority of terminals 20a to 20m according to at least one of the following, as exemplified by terminal information b1 to b5: the type of terminal 20, the type of application being executed on terminal 20, the type of contract with the mobile communication carrier on terminal 20, the mobile speed of terminal 20, and the type of data being transmitted and received on terminal 20 (Figure 3: Step S200).

[0066] <Second Embodiment> Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of the communication system 1A of the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, a configuration in which the content of the movement prediction processing differs will be described. The wireless communication switching device 100A of the second embodiment includes a prediction unit 150A instead of the prediction unit 150 in the configuration described in the first embodiment. In addition, each of the terminals 20aA to 20mA of the second embodiment is equipped with a route information acquisition unit 23 in addition to the configuration described in the first embodiment. Hereafter, terminals 20aA to 20mA will be collectively referred to as "terminal 20A".

[0067] The route information acquisition unit 23 is a functional unit that acquires route information from a route search application installed in each terminal 20A (hereinafter also referred to as the "route search app") or from a route search server on the Internet INT. Here, "route information" refers to the driving route of the vehicle to which terminal 20A is installed, and represents the driving route from the starting point to the destination. The starting point and destination for deriving the driving route may be specified by the user of terminal 20A, or they may be automatically set by the route search app or route search server based on past driving route history. The current location may also be used as the starting point.

[0068] Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the switching control process in the second embodiment. In the switching control process of the second embodiment, step S50 is executed after step S12, and step S100A is executed instead of step S100 as described in Figure 3. In step S50, terminals 20aA to 20mA each acquire route information from the route information acquisition unit 23 of each terminal 20aA to 20mA and transmit it to the prediction unit 150A of the wireless communication switching device 100A. Note that in the switching control process of the second embodiment, step S12 only needs to be executed once (it is not necessary to acquire location information over time).

[0069] Figure 7 illustrates the movement prediction process of the second embodiment. In the wireless communication switching device 100A of Figure 6, the prediction unit 150A of the wireless communication switching device 100A performs movement prediction processing. The movement prediction processing of the second embodiment is a process that predicts the destination position of the terminal 20A using the position information acquired in step S12 and the route information acquired in step S50. Figure 7(A) shows an example of the acquired position information and route information. Figure 7(B) shows an example of the predicted destination position.

[0070] The prediction unit 150A predicts the destination position of terminal 20A by performing the following procedure a5 instead of procedure a3 described in the first embodiment. (a5) The prediction unit 150A predicts the destination of terminal 20A a predetermined time in advance, using the location information (current location of terminal 20A) obtained in step S12 and the route information obtained in step S50, for terminal 20A extracted in step a2. For example, as shown in Figure 7(A), the prediction unit 150A overlays the current location Pa of terminal 20aA with the travel route RTa of terminal 20aA. The prediction unit 150A predicts a point on the travel route RTa that terminal 20aA will reach after a predetermined time, based on the current location Pa, and sets this as the destination location Pax. In this case, the prediction unit 150A may use the travel speed of terminal 20aA. The travel speed of terminal 20aA may be obtained from terminal 20aA, or it may be estimated from location information obtained over time. Similarly, the prediction unit 150A predicts the destination positions Pbx, Pcx, and Pdx for terminals 20bA to 20dA.

[0071] Thus, the configuration of the wireless communication switching device 100A can be modified in various ways, and the prediction unit 150A may predict the destination locations Pax, Pbx, Pcx, and Pdx in combination with the route information RTa to RTd. The same effects as those of the first embodiment can be achieved in this second embodiment of the communication system 1A. Furthermore, according to the second embodiment of the communication system 1A, the prediction unit 150A of the wireless communication switching device 100 predicts the destination locations Pax, Pbx, Pcx, and Pdx using route information RTa to RTd in addition to location information, so that the destination locations Pax, Pbx, Pcx, and Pdx can be predicted with high accuracy.

[0072] <Third Embodiment> Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of the communication system 1B of the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, a configuration in which the content of the switching control process differs will be described. The wireless communication switching device 100B of the third embodiment includes a switching unit 110B instead of a switching unit 110 in the configuration described in the first embodiment.

[0073] Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the switching control process of the third embodiment. In the switching control process of the third embodiment, step S300B is executed instead of step S300 described in Figure 3, step S20B is executed instead of steps S20, S22, and S40, and step S30B is executed instead of steps S30, S32, and S42.

[0074] In step S300B, the switching unit 110B of the wireless communication switching device 100B determines which mobile carrier to use at the destination location for terminals 20 whose destination location is within range Ra. At this time, the switching unit 110B determines the mobile carrier in an order not bound by priority. For example, the switching unit 110B may determine the mobile carrier for terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c simultaneously, or it may determine the mobile carrier for terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c in any order. As a method for determining the mobile carrier, for example, a mobile carrier can be assigned to each of terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c so that the communication quality at destination locations Pax, Pbx, and Pcx is good. At this time, terminal information acquired in step S200 and communication information acquired in steps S16 and S18 may be taken into consideration to smooth the load on the mobile carrier (smooth the congestion status in each RAN 10).

[0075] In step S20B, the switching unit 110B of the wireless communication switching device 100B sends a switching instruction to the terminals 20 whose destination location is within range Ra, causing each terminal 20 to perform the mobile carrier switching process. At this time, the switching unit 110B does not consider priority when sending the switching instructions. For example, the switching unit 110B may send the switching instructions to terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c simultaneously, or it may send the switching instructions to terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c in any order. In step S30B, terminals 20a, 20b, and 20c, which have received the switching instructions, each perform the switching process to the instructed mobile carrier. The details are the same as in step S30 of the first embodiment (Figure 3).

[0076] Thus, the configuration of the wireless communication switching device 100B can be modified in various ways, and the switching unit 110B may perform the determination of the mobile communication carrier and the transmission of switching instructions in an order that is not bound by priority. In Figure 9, both the determination of the mobile communication carrier and the transmission of switching instructions are performed regardless of priority, but either one of them may be performed regardless of priority, and the other may be performed in order of priority, as in the first embodiment. The same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be achieved in this third embodiment of the communication system 1B.

[0077] <Fourth Embodiment> Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of the communication system 1C of the fourth embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, a case is described in which the configuration described in the first embodiment is capable of supporting terminals 20aC to 20mC that can simultaneously connect to multiple mobile communication carriers. In the fourth embodiment, the wireless communication switching device 100C is equipped with a switching unit 110C instead of the switching unit 110 in the configuration described in the first embodiment. Also, in the fourth embodiment, the terminals 20aC to 20mC are equipped with wireless communication units 21x and 21y instead of the wireless communication unit 21, and with terminal information storage units 22x and 22y instead of the terminal information storage unit 22 in the configuration described in the first embodiment. Note that for convenience of illustration, terminals 20bC to 20mC are not shown in Figure 10.

[0078] The wireless communication unit 21x and the wireless communication unit 21y each have the same functions as the wireless communication unit 21 described in Figure 1. The terminal information storage unit 22x and the terminal information storage unit 22y each have the same functions as the terminal information storage unit 22 described in Figure 1. The wireless communication unit 21x and the terminal information storage unit 22x enable the terminal to communicate via the RAN10 (e.g., RAN10a) of any one mobile communication carrier. Furthermore, the wireless communication unit 21y and the terminal information storage unit 22y enable the terminal to communicate via the RAN10 (e.g., RAN10b) of another mobile communication carrier. Hereafter, the wireless communication unit 21x and the terminal information storage unit 22x will also be referred to as the "first communication unit," and the wireless communication unit 21y and the terminal information storage unit 22y will also be referred to as the "second communication unit." In this way, terminals 20aC to 20mC can communicate via the RAN10 of multiple mobile communication carriers by having multiple communication units (first communication unit, second communication unit). Furthermore, terminals 20aC to 20mC are collectively referred to as "Terminal 20C".

[0079] Thus, when terminal 20C has first and second communication units, the switching unit 110C of the wireless communication switching device 100C performs priority determination processing (step S200), mobile communication carrier determination (step S300), and transmission of switching instructions (steps S20, S22, S40) individually for each of the first and second communication units of terminal 20C during the switching control processing (Figure 3). Here, "individually" means that the first and second communication units are treated as separate terminals. In this way, a suitable mobile communication carrier can be assigned to each of the first and second communication units according to the type of application (terminal information b2), contract type (terminal information b3), and data type (terminal information b5) used by the first and second communication units.

[0080] Thus, the configuration of the wireless communication switching device 100C can be modified in various ways, and the switching unit 110C can be configured to support terminals 20C having multiple (two in the example of Figure 10) communication units. The same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be achieved in this fourth embodiment of the communication system 1C.

[0081] <Modified form of this embodiment> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from its spirit. For example, the following modifications are possible. In addition, in the above embodiments, some of the configurations implemented by hardware may be replaced with software, and conversely, some of the configurations implemented by software may be replaced with hardware.

[0082] [Example 1] The above embodiment shows an example of the configuration of communication systems 1, 1A to 1C. However, the configuration of communication system 1 is merely an example, and any configuration can be adopted. For example, mobile network operators 1 to N may include a mix of VMNOs (Virtual Mobile Network Operators) that lease wireless communication equipment (RAN10) from other mobile network operators to provide services to users, and MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) that own their own wireless communication equipment (RAN10).

[0083] [Differentiation 2] The above embodiment shows an example of the configuration of the wireless communication switching device 100, 100A to 100C. However, the configuration of the wireless communication switching device 100 is merely an example, and any configuration can be adopted. For example, the terminal information management units 130a to 130n may be configured as a single functional unit rather than as individual functional units. Similarly, the data communication units 140a to 140n may also be configured as a single functional unit rather than as individual functional units. Furthermore, for example, the wireless communication switching device 100 may have multiple switching units 110. In this case, the criteria B1 to B5 adopted in one switching unit 110 may differ from the criteria B1 to B5 adopted in the other switching units 110.

[0084] For example, the wireless communication switching device 100 may be configured to determine the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal 20 (not mobile communication, in other words, not a mobile communication system managed by a communication carrier) instead of determining the mobile communication carrier to be used by the terminal 20, and to transmit a switching instruction to the network using the determined wireless communication means to the terminal 20. For example, in the case of WiFi, the terminal information management units 130a to 130n and the data communication units 140a to 140n may be configured to have the same functions as a WiFi access point (AP), and the wireless communication unit 21 of the terminal 20 may be configured to have the same functions as a WiFi communication terminal (communication device). Even in this way, the switching unit 110 of the wireless communication switching device 100 can achieve improved overall network connectivity (fault tolerance), improved stability (high quality), and optimal network allocation (overall optimization) in determining the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal 20 at the predicted destination location and in switching to the network using this wireless communication means.

[0085] Figures 3, 6, and 9 illustrate an example of the switching control process procedure. However, the procedure shown in Figures 3, 6, and 9 is merely an example, and the processing procedure can be modified in various ways. For example, the processing content in each step may be added, omitted, or changed, and the execution order of the steps (procedures) may be changed.

[0086] [Difference 3] The configurations of the communication systems 1, 1A to 1C and wireless communication switching devices 100, 100A to 100C in the above embodiment, and the configurations of the communication systems 1, 1A to 1C and wireless communication switching devices 100, 100A to 100C in the above modified examples 1 and 2, may be combined as appropriate.

[0087] The embodiments of this specification have been described above based on the embodiments and modifications described above. The embodiments described above are for the purpose of facilitating understanding of this specification and do not limit it. This specification may be modified and improved without departing from its spirit and the scope of the claims, and equivalents thereof are included in this specification. Furthermore, any technical features that are not described as essential in this specification may be deleted as appropriate.

[0088] The present invention can also be realized in the following forms. [Application Example 1] Wireless communication switching device, A prediction unit that acquires the location information of the terminal and uses the location information to predict the destination location of the terminal a predetermined time in advance, Switching section, Equipped with, The aforementioned switching unit is The priority of the terminal is obtained, and the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal at the destination location is determined using the priority and the predicted destination location. A wireless communication switching device that transmits a switching instruction to the network via the determined wireless communication means to the terminal at a timing corresponding to the predetermined time. [Application Example 2] A wireless communication switching device as described in Application Example 1, The switching unit is a wireless communication switching device that determines the mobile communication carrier to be used by the terminal at the destination location and transmits a switching instruction to the terminal using mobile communication to switch to the wireless access network of the determined mobile communication carrier. [Application Example 3] A wireless communication switching device as described in Application Example 1 or Application Example 2, The switching unit, when multiple terminals are present within a predetermined range, The priority is obtained for each of the aforementioned multiple terminals. The determination of the mobile communications carrier shall be carried out in order of the highest priority, A wireless communication switching device that transmits the switching instructions in order of increasing priority. [Application Example 4] A wireless communication switching device described in any one of Application Examples 1 to 3, The aforementioned switching unit is For the terminals with relatively high priority, a first mobile communications carrier with good communication quality is assigned. A wireless communication switching device that assigns a second mobile communication carrier, which has inferior communication quality compared to the first mobile communication carrier, to the terminal having a relatively low priority. [Application Example 5] A wireless communication switching device described in any one of Application Examples 1 to 4, The switching unit is a wireless communication switching device that transmits the switching instruction to the terminal with the highest priority after the switching process of the wireless access network in the other terminals based on the switching instructions transmitted earlier has been completed. [Application Example 6] A wireless communication switching device described in any one of Application Examples 1 to 5, The prediction unit is a wireless communication switching device that predicts the destination position using the position information acquired over time. [Application Example 7] A wireless communication switching device according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 6, The prediction unit further acquires route information representing the travel route from the departure point to the destination at the terminal, and predicts the destination location using the route information in addition to the location information, in a wireless communication switching device. [Application Example 8] A wireless communication switching device described in any one of Application Examples 1 to 7, The switching unit further determines the priority according to at least one of the following: the type of terminal, the type of application running on the terminal, the type of contract with the mobile carrier on the terminal, the speed of the terminal, and the type of data being transmitted or received on the terminal. [Application Example 9] A method for switching wireless communication, in which an information processing device A prediction step involves acquiring the location information of the terminal and using the location information to predict the destination location of the terminal a predetermined time in advance. Equipped with a switching process, In the aforementioned switching process, The priority of the terminal is obtained, and the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal at the destination location is determined using the priority and the predicted destination location. A method for transmitting a determined instruction to switch to the network via the wireless communication means to the terminal at a timing corresponding to the predetermined time. [Application Example 10] A computer program, for use in an information processing device. A prediction function that acquires the location information of the terminal and uses the said location information to predict the destination location of the terminal a predetermined time in advance, A computer program that performs a switching function, The aforementioned switching function is The priority of the terminal is obtained, and the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal at the destination location is determined using the priority and the predicted destination location. A computer program that transmits a switching instruction to the network via the determined wireless communication means to the terminal at a timing corresponding to the predetermined time. [Explanation of symbols]

[0089] 1,1A~1C…Communication systems 10, 10a~10n… Wireless access networks 11,11a~11n…Base station 12, 12a~12n... Carrier Gateway 20, 20A, 20C, 20a~20m, 20aA~20mA, 20aC~20mC… 21,21x,21y…Wireless communication department 22, 22x, 22y… Terminal information storage section 23...Route information acquisition unit 100, 100A~100C… Wireless communication switching device 101, 102, 103… Master Gateway 104…Edge Server 105…Edge Router 110, 110B, 110C… Switching section 120…External Gateway 130a~130n...Terminal Information Management Department 140a~140n...Data communication section 150, 150A... Prediction section

Claims

1. Wireless communication switching device, A prediction unit that acquires the location information of the terminal and uses the location information to predict the destination location of the terminal a predetermined time in advance, Switching section, Equipped with, The aforementioned switching unit is The priority of the terminal is obtained, and the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal at the destination location is determined using the priority and the predicted destination location. A wireless communication switching device that transmits a switching instruction to the network via the determined wireless communication means to the terminal at a timing corresponding to the predetermined time.

2. A wireless communication switching device according to claim 1, The switching unit is a wireless communication switching device that determines the mobile communication carrier to be used by the terminal at the destination location and transmits a switching instruction to the terminal using mobile communication to switch to the wireless access network of the determined mobile communication carrier.

3. A wireless communication switching device according to claim 2, The switching unit, when multiple terminals are present within a predetermined range, The priority is obtained for each of the aforementioned multiple terminals. The determination of the mobile communications carrier shall be carried out in order of the highest priority, A wireless communication switching device that transmits the switching instructions in order of increasing priority.

4. A wireless communication switching device according to claim 3, The aforementioned switching unit is For the terminals with relatively high priority, a first mobile communications carrier with good communication quality is assigned. A wireless communication switching device that assigns a second mobile communication carrier, which has inferior communication quality compared to the first mobile communication carrier, to the terminal having a relatively low priority.

5. A wireless communication switching device according to claim 4, The switching unit is a wireless communication switching device that transmits the switching instruction to the terminal with the highest priority after the switching process of the wireless access network in the other terminals based on the switching instructions transmitted earlier has been completed.

6. A wireless communication switching device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, The prediction unit is a wireless communication switching device that predicts the destination position using the position information acquired over time.

7. A wireless communication switching device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, The prediction unit further acquires route information representing the travel route from the departure point to the destination at the terminal, and predicts the destination location using the route information in addition to the location information, in a wireless communication switching device.

8. A wireless communication switching device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, The switching unit further determines the priority according to at least one of the following: the type of terminal, the type of application running on the terminal, the type of contract with the mobile carrier on the terminal, the speed of the terminal, and the type of data being transmitted or received on the terminal.

9. A method for switching wireless communication, in which an information processing device A prediction step involves acquiring the location information of the terminal and using the location information to predict the destination location of the terminal a predetermined time in advance. A switching process is included, In the aforementioned switching process, The priority of the terminal is obtained, and the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal at the destination location is determined using the priority and the predicted destination location. A method for transmitting a determined instruction to switch to the network via the wireless communication means to the terminal at a timing corresponding to the predetermined time.

10. A computer program, for use in an information processing device. A prediction function that acquires the location information of the terminal and uses the said location information to predict the destination location of the terminal a predetermined time in advance, A computer program that performs a switching function, The aforementioned switching function is The priority of the terminal is obtained, and the wireless communication means to be used by the terminal at the destination location is determined using the priority and the predicted destination location. A computer program that transmits a switching instruction to the network via the determined wireless communication means to the terminal at a timing corresponding to the predetermined time.

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