Radio wave shutdown system

Abstract

This system provides a radio wave blocking system that stops unnecessary radio wave transmissions from mobile phones and IoT devices, thereby suppressing radio wave pollution. [Solution] The radio wave shutdown system detects operation of mobile communication terminals and information communication terminals, and stops transmitting radio waves when it detects an unused state where no operation has been performed for a predetermined period of time or longer. In addition, when connected to Wi-Fi, it stops transmitting radio waves to the public wireless communication network based on registered location information. For information communication terminals such as IoT terminals, the management server issues an instruction to stop transmitting radio waves in cases where measurement is not required (temporary suspension cases or removal cases).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a radio wave stop system that stops radio wave transmission of mobile phones and IoT terminals connected to a wireless communication network from the perspective of suppressing unnecessary radio wave transmission.

Background Art

[0002] Current mobile phones adopt a cellular wireless communication system. In order to notify the base station installed by the mobile phone company of the current location of the mobile phone, the mobile phone periodically transmits radio waves at a cycle of about 30 seconds. The coverage area of a single base station is about several kilometers. This is for the mobile phone company to grasp which base station's coverage area the mobile phone with this phone number is currently in. Base stations are installed throughout Japan at intervals of several kilometers.

[0003] In addition, in recent years, observation systems equipped with a large number of information terminals called IoT terminals connected to a management server via a wireless communication network have become widespread. Most of these information terminals have built-in sensors for detecting some parameters such as rainfall, water level, slope, etc., and periodically transmit radio waves to the management server on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. A typical example is gas meters (unattended gas meter reading) that are being installed in many households.

[0004] On the other hand, due to the popularization of Internet telephony, the frequency of use of calls via mobile phone networks has decreased, and WiFi wireless communication, which is equipped in most mobile phones, is used at home and in the workplace, so the frequency of use of mobile phones as a calling device has also decreased. However, mobile phones still periodically transmit radio waves to notify their location, and it can be said that unnecessary radio waves are transmitted during WiFi wireless communication.

[0005] It is not limited to mobile phones; there are an increasing number of cases where IoT terminals that have completed their original observation purpose remain installed and transmit unnecessary radio waves.

[0006] Furthermore, observation systems using IoT terminals often utilize private wireless communication networks, and in many cases, low-power wireless communication methods such as LoRa are used. With low-power wireless communication, it is required to check for the absence of radio waves before transmission, so the presence of unnecessary radio waves becomes a nuisance.

[0007] Furthermore, with more and more people owning multiple mobile phones, many phones remain connected to their chargers (AC adapters) for extended periods even after charging is complete, emitting radio waves without being used. This means we are now in an era where unnecessary radio waves from mobile phones and IoT devices are flying around everywhere.

[0008] Technical standards are in place for radio wave frequencies and transmission power for all wireless communication devices, including mobile phones and even microwave ovens, to prevent adverse effects on the human body, communication disruptions, and interference. Compliance with these technical standards is legally required. However, sometimes it is left to the user's manners rather than the technical standards. For example, regarding mobile phone use, it is recommended to turn off mobile phones in priority seats on trains, and users are requested to switch to airplane mode on airplanes. This is because the radio waves emitted by mobile phones may affect pacemakers implanted in people's hearts or the operation of airplanes. These can be considered a form of radio wave pollution, and suppressing the emission of unnecessary radio waves, that is, eliminating radio wave pollution as much as possible, is desirable in the present and future, as mobile phones continue to expand in functionality and IoT devices are rapidly becoming widespread.

[0009] Technologies that attempt to suppress the transmission of unnecessary radio waves have been demonstrated in cordless telephones, as shown in Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0010] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-236597 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0011] By limiting radio wave transmission from wireless communication devices to only when necessary and stopping transmission when not in use, radio wave pollution can be eliminated. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The usage of mobile communication devices will be monitored, and if there is no intention to use them, radio wave transmission will be stopped. In addition, businesses that install, operate, and manage wireless communication equipment will stop radio wave transmission from the installed wireless communication equipment. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] By suppressing the generation of unnecessary radio waves, it eliminates radio wave pollution and contributes to a decarbonized society by reducing unnecessary power consumption. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This figure shows how a mobile communication terminal is connected to a public wireless communication network using the radio wave blocking system according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a mobile communication terminal in a radio wave blocking system according to the present invention. [Figure 3] This figure shows how an information and communication terminal is connected to a management server via a wireless communication network in the radio wave suppression system according to the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of an information and communication terminal in a radio wave blocking system according to the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0016] In describing this invention, terminals such as mobile phones, tablets, and personal computers that can connect to public wireless communication networks will be referred to as mobile communication terminals, IoT terminals, and terminals that measure and communicate sensor information will be referred to as information communication terminals. Surveillance cameras can also be considered information communication terminals.

[0017] In Figure 1, 1 is a mobile communication terminal, 2 is the public wireless communication network (some call it the mobile phone network), and 2a is a base station installed within the public wireless communication network 2. It is well known that today's public wireless communication networks use the cellular communication system, with base stations installed at intervals of several kilometers, and mobile communication terminals can communicate with the other party by communicating with the base station. Because mobile communication terminals are mobile, it is necessary for mobile phone companies to know which base station's coverage area the mobile communication terminal is currently in, and mobile communication terminals transmit radio waves at intervals of about 30 seconds to inform the nearest base station of their location.

[0018] Taking mobile phones as an example, there are two cases in which mobile phones emit unnecessary radio waves.

[0019] In the first case, with the widespread use of mobile phones in recent years, the era of one phone per person has given way to many owners who own several phones and use them interchangeably as needed. On the other hand, there are cases where a mobile phone is not used for more than a week, a month, or even a year after it has finished charging, and many phones remain connected to the AC adapter for extended periods of time. While there appears to be no problem when a mobile phone is connected to the AC adapter while charging, it emits radio waves every 30 seconds, resulting in not only a small amount of power consumption but also the generation of unnecessary radio waves.

[0020] In the second case, mobile phones are equipped with a WiFi connection function, and most owners naturally use WiFi connections when using the device at home or in the office. When connecting to the Internet via a public wireless communication network, the data volume will increase and the phone bill will also rise, so most people use a WiFi connection in locations where a WiFi connection is available. During WiFi connection, the public wireless communication network is not used, so there is no need to transmit radio waves to a base station. In particular, in recent years, many people use an application software called LINE to make free Internet voice calls and even video calls, and the frequency of making calls via so-called mobile phones has dropped sharply. Even in this case, unnecessary radio waves are still transmitted.

[0021] Figure 2 shows the internal configuration of the mobile communication terminal 1 including a mobile phone, in which 3 is a time measurement unit, 4 is an operation display unit, 4a is a touch sensor, 5 is a communication control unit, 5a is a radio wave transmission prohibition instruction unit a, 6 is a radio wave receiving unit a, 7 is a radio wave transmitting unit a, 8 is a WiFi wireless communication unit, and 9 is a GPS sensor.

[0022] In FIG. 2, in order to grasp the operation status of a mobile phone, when a touch sensor 4a provided in an operation display unit 4 detects that any operation has been performed, the touch sensor 4a notifies a time measurement unit 3 of this detection result. When the next operation is performed, the time that has been measured so far (such as 1 second, 10 seconds, etc.) in the time measurement unit 3 is reset (returned to 0), and new measurement is restarted (started). When the measured value of the time measurement unit 3 is 24 hours, this indicates that no operation has been performed for 24 hours since the last operation. During these 24 hours, the mobile phone continues to transmit radio waves to the base station, that is, it continues unnecessary radio wave transmission. In daily life, it is possible that a user does not operate a mobile phone at all for 24 hours. However, if the elapsed time exceeds a value such as one week, it is considered that the owner of the mobile phone has no intention to use the mobile phone for some reason. The aforementioned value such as one week is set via the operation display unit 4 and stored in the time measurement unit 3. When the value measured by the time measurement unit 3 exceeds the set value, the time measurement unit 3 informs a radio wave transmission prohibition instruction unit 5a that the value has exceeded the threshold. Accordingly, the radio wave transmission prohibition instruction unit 5a determines that "there is no intention to use this mobile phone", and transmits a signal indicating "stop periodic radio wave transmission from this mobile phone" to a radio wave transmission unit 7. After the radio wave transmission unit 7 transmits the signal to the base station 2a, it stops radio wave transmission. When the base station 2a receives the notification that "radio wave transmission from this mobile phone will be stopped", it understands that "the mobile phone with the phone number X is within the coverage of this base station, but its radio wave transmission has been stopped". When there is an incoming call to the mobile phone under its jurisdiction, the base station 2a transmits an incoming call signal to the mobile phone whose radio wave transmission is stopped. At this time, if there is no response from the mobile phone, it is understood that the unused state continues. If there is a response from the mobile phone, the time measurement unit 3 is reset and new measurement is restarted.

[0023] Even when a mobile phone is in use, if the WiFi wireless communication unit 8 is wirelessly connected to a router connected to the internet line, and operations such as web browsing, email, LINE, and phone calls are being performed via WiFi, the public wireless communication network 2 is not being used, so transmitting radio waves is pointless. For this reason, when the mobile phone detects that it is connected to WiFi, the WiFi wireless communication unit 8 informs the radio wave transmission prohibition instruction unit 5a of this, sends a signal to the base station 2a stating, "This phone is connected to WiFi, so periodic radio wave transmission will be stopped," and then stops transmitting radio waves. At the same time, time measurement by the time measurement unit 3 is unnecessary, so the operation of the time measurement unit 3 is made unnecessary. WiFi connection detection by the mobile phone is performed at all times, which can be seen in the status bar at the top of the screen and also from the router's ID information displayed in the settings. The router has unique ID information and a password, and by entering this information into the mobile phone's operation display unit 4, the WiFi wireless communication unit 8 remembers the ID information and password, enabling automatic connection with the router.

[0024] Even when a mobile phone is connected to Wi-Fi, it is still possible to make and receive calls, as the phone communicates to the base station that "radio transmission has stopped, but the phone is within range of the base station." When the owner of the mobile phone leaves the house with the phone, the mobile phone's Wi-Fi connection is automatically disconnected. The Wi-Fi wireless communication unit 8 then informs the communication control unit 5 that the connection has been disconnected, and the radio wave transmission prohibition instruction unit 5a returns the operation of the radio wave transmission unit 7 to its normal radio wave transmission state. Since the range of Wi-Fi signals is 50 to 100 meters, if the user moves more than 50 to 100 meters away from the location where the Wi-Fi connection was active, the phone will return to its normal radio wave transmission state. In this case, the same base station that received the aforementioned message, "This phone is connected to Wi-Fi, so radio wave transmission will stop," will receive radio wave transmissions from the mobile phone.

[0025] Generally, Wi-Fi connections are used in specific locations such as home or work. While Wi-Fi connections are possible while traveling or at destinations, connections can be unstable, so many people prefer using public wireless networks over Wi-Fi. Free Wi-Fi, in particular, which does not require a password, tends to be disliked. Therefore, it is possible to set the device to not use Wi-Fi outside of designated locations, meaning it will not stop transmitting radio waves. To achieve this, by entering GPS information for home or work via the operation display unit 4, this information is stored in the radio wave transmission prohibition instruction unit 5a. If the information from the GPS sensor 9 matches this information and Wi-Fi is connected, radio wave transmission will automatically stop; otherwise, it will not stop.

[0026] Alternatively, the router's ID information can be used instead of GPS information. Routers used for WiFi connections at home or work are fixed unless they are replaced, and their IDs are also fixed. As mentioned above, the ID information and password entered from the operation display unit 4 are stored in the WiFi wireless communication unit 8, and if they match the ID information of the connected router, the radio wave transmission is automatically stopped.

[0027] In addition to home and work, there are other situations where you might use a WiFi connection, such as in a hotel while traveling, a frequently used coffee shop, or a co-working space. In these cases, you can configure the settings via the control display unit 4 to prevent the WiFi signal from automatically stopping. You can also set these locations as specific locations, just like your home or workplace, and configure the WiFi signal to stop in those places.

[0028] In the above explanation, when radio wave transmission is stopped, a notification is sent to base station 2a stating, "Radio wave transmission from this mobile phone will be stopped." However, if base station 2a does not recognize and manage that "the radio waves from mobile phone number X cannot be received, but it is within its base station," then mobile phone number X will become unaccounted for, and incoming calls will be impossible. In this case, the person calling this number will receive the message, "The phone you have dialed is currently switched off or in an area with a weak signal." Therefore, it is necessary to be aware that if radio wave transmission is stopped while connected to Wi-Fi, it may not be possible to receive calls using the public telephone network. If you think that stopping radio wave transmission would be problematic because you might receive an important call on your mobile phone, you can set it not to stop radio wave transmission from the operation display unit 4. Note that since it is connected to Wi-Fi, it is possible to receive calls using the internet.

[0029] Table 1 summarizes the settings from the operation display unit 4 to the radio wave transmission prohibition instruction unit 5a described above.

[0030] [Table 1]

[0031] Next, we will explain the case of information and communication terminals.

[0032] Figure 3 shows how information and communication terminals 20, sometimes called IoT terminals, are connected to a management server 22 via a wireless communication network 21. This system consists of numerous information and communication terminals 20 equipped with various sensors, which periodically deliver sensor information to the management server 22. In addition to public wireless communication networks, private wireless communication networks are often used as the wireless communication network 21. Private wireless communication networks include license-free low-power radio such as LoRa and Sigfox, and local 5G. The sensor information is diverse, including river water level information, gas meter reading information, building tilt information, and indoor and outdoor temperature information. The measurement cycle is typically every 30 minutes for river water levels during typhoons, and daily for gas meter reading information and building tilt information. Methods for delivering this measurement information to the management server 22 include transmitting it periodically from the information and communication terminals 20 to the management server 22, or the management server 22 periodically requesting the information and communication terminals 20 to transmit sensor information. The present invention aims to eliminate the wasted radio wave transmission in the method of periodically transmitting sensor information from the information and communication terminals 20 to the management server 22. A business operator that installs an information and communication terminal 20, measures sensor information, and manages it using a management server 22, may, after several years have passed since installation and the initial measurement objectives have been achieved, determine that further measurements are unnecessary. However, as long as the information and communication terminal 20 remains installed and has not been removed, it will continue to transmit radio waves, and the aim is to stop this transmission.

[0033] Figure 4 shows the internal configuration of the information and communication terminal 20.

[0034] In the diagram, 23 is the sensor unit, 24 is the communication signal creation / restoration unit, 25 is the radio wave receiving unit b, 26 is the radio wave transmission prohibition instruction unit b, 27 is the radio wave transmission unit b, 28 is the power control unit, 29 is the battery level detection unit, and 30 is the battery.

[0035] There are two cases in which a business operator managing and controlling the measurement may discontinue the measurement: one is when the information and communication terminal 20 should be removed (removal case), and the second is when measurement is not necessary, but it may be necessary to remeasure at some point, so it is not removed, and when remeasurement becomes necessary, the management server 22 will contact the information and communication terminal 20, so measurement is not necessary until then (temporary suspension case).

[0036] The management server 22 informs the information and communication terminal 20 which case it is and issues an instruction to prohibit radio wave transmission. The communication signal creation and restoration unit 24 of the information and communication terminal 20 In any case, the instruction from the management server 22 stops the transmission of radio waves from the radio wave transmission prohibition instruction unit 26b to the radio wave transmission unit 27b. In the case of a temporary pause, the power control unit 28 supplies power only to the radio wave receiving unit 25b and the battery level detection unit 29 and waits for instructions from the management server 22. While waiting for instructions, if the battery level drops to a level where it cannot transmit measurement information even if the management server 22 instructs it to start measurement again, the power control unit 28 supplies power to the communication signal creation / restoration unit 26 and the radio wave transmission unit 27b and informs the management server 22 that "re-measurement is not possible due to low battery level."

[0037] As described above, the present invention stops the unnecessary radio wave transmission generated from mobile information terminals and information communication terminals, and provides a socially meaningful technology. [Industrial applicability]

[0038] By suppressing unnecessary radio wave transmission from many mobile phones and IoT devices, and saving power consumption, it can contribute to reducing radio wave pollution and creating a decarbonized society. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0039] 1. Mobile device 2. Public wireless communication network 2a base station 3. Time measurement section 4.Operation display section 4a Touch Sensor 5. Communication Control Unit 5a Radio wave transmission prohibition instruction section a 6. Radio wave receiving unit a 7. Radio wave transmitting unit a 8.WiFi wireless communication department 9. GPS sensor 20. Information and communication terminals 21. Wireless communication network 22. Management Server 23. Sensor section 24. Communication signal creation and restoration unit 25. Radio wave receiving section b 26. Radio wave transmission prohibition part b 27. Radio wave transmitting unit b 28. Power supply control unit 29. Battery level detection unit 30.Battery

Claims

1. A radio wave stopping system comprising a mobile communication terminal that communicates with a base station, the mobile communication terminal comprising an operation unit, a time measurement unit, and a radio wave transmitting unit, wherein when an operation is performed on the operation unit, the time measurement unit starts measuring time, and each time the next operation is performed, the time measured by the time measurement unit is reset and measurement is started again, and when the measured value of the time measurement unit exceeds a predetermined value, the radio wave transmitting unit stops transmitting radio waves.

2. A radio wave suppression system comprising a mobile communication terminal that communicates with a base station, the mobile communication terminal comprising an operating unit, a Wi-Fi wireless communication unit, and a radio wave transmitting unit, and characterized in that the mobile communication terminal stops transmitting radio waves when the Wi-Fi wireless communication unit is in use at a specific location.

3. A radio wave stopping system according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that when radio wave transmission is stopped, the radio wave transmitting unit notifies the base station of this fact.

4. The radio wave blocking system according to claim 2, characterized in that it utilizes the ID information of the Wi-Fi wireless communication unit to specify a particular location.

5. The radio wave blocking system according to claim 2, wherein the mobile communication terminal is equipped with a GPS sensor and utilizes the GPS information of the mobile communication terminal to specify a particular location.

6. A radio wave stopping system comprising an information and communication terminal equipped with a sensor unit, a radio wave transmitting unit, and a radio wave receiving unit, a wireless communication network, and a management server, wherein sensor information is transmitted to the management server, and the management server instructs the radio wave receiving unit of the information and communication terminal that transmission of sensor information is unnecessary, thereby stopping transmission from the radio wave transmitting unit of the information and communication terminal.

7. The radio wave stopping system according to claim 6, wherein the information communication terminal has a battery and a power control unit, and when the management server instructs the radio wave receiving unit that transmission of sensor information is unnecessary until instructed, the radio wave transmitting unit stops transmitting radio waves, and the power control unit supplies power only to the radio wave receiving unit.

8. The radio wave shutdown system according to claim 6, wherein the information communication terminal is equipped with a battery level detection unit, and when it is determined that the battery level is at a level that makes it difficult to transmit sensor information, it transmits that fact to the management server.

9. A radio wave cessation system characterized in that a mobile information terminal is wirelessly connected to a cellular wireless communication network consisting of multiple base stations and periodically transmits radio waves to the base stations, and when the base station receives notification from the mobile information terminal that it will stop transmitting radio waves, the base station recognizes that the mobile information terminal is located within its own base station even though the periodic transmission of radio waves from the mobile information terminal has stopped.

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