Communication line management device

Abstract

To provide a communication line management device capable of suppressing communication costs in a communication terminal using an application program involving communication.SOLUTION: A communication line management device 10 manages a communication line 1 connected to a communication terminal 2 using an application program that involves communication when executing. The communication line management device 10 includes a calculation processing device 11 that acquires the usage status of the application program on the communication terminal 2 before using the application program and determines the state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2 on the basis of the usage status acquired and a control device 12 that controls the communication line 1 in accordance with the state of the communication line 1 determined by the calculation processing device 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication line management device.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in work sites such as construction sites or civil engineering sites, the use of application programs (hereinafter also referred to as "apps") that involve communication during execution has been increasing. Therefore, in addition to the fees for communication terminals and apps, communication fees have newly become a factor in cost increase. On the other hand, although a flat-rate communication plan that pays a fixed fee corresponding to the required communication volume has become mainstream, service providers use apps necessary for work according to the work content at the work site. Regardless of the usage status of apps such as the work period and the types of apps used, it is necessary to contract an excessive (high-cost) communication plan that defines a communication volume larger than the actually used communication volume in consideration of various usability factors, etc., and the communication cost is increasing.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a mobile machine management system including a terminal provided in a mobile machine and a server that is connected to this terminal via a communication line and manages the mobile machine. The management system described in Patent Document 1 manages the communication period of the terminal based on the identification code of the terminal, and performs the buying and selling of the terminal in a state where the communication period is assigned and set in advance. The management system described in Patent Document 1 adopts a method such as including the usage fee of the terminal in the terminal price and making a lump-sum prepayment to simplify the fee billing.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the management system described in Patent Document 1, since the usage fee of the terminal is included in the terminal price and a method such as lump-sum and prepayment is adopted, it is necessary to set the communication period and communication volume of the terminal in advance. Therefore, regardless of the usage status of the application, it is necessary to bill the user at the communication fee assuming the usage case with the largest communication volume. Substantially, the communication fee borne by the user becomes high.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication line management device capable of suppressing communication costs in a communication terminal that uses an application program involving communication.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a communication line management device of the present invention is a communication line management device that manages a communication line connected to a communication terminal that uses an application program involving communication during execution, and acquires the usage status of the application program in the communication terminal before the application program is used, and based on the acquired usage status, an arithmetic processing device that determines the state of the communication line provided to the communication terminal, and a control device that controls the communication line according to the state of the communication line determined by the arithmetic processing device.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a communication line management device capable of suppressing communication costs in a communication terminal that uses an application program involving communication.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Figure 20

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For components with the same reference numerals in each embodiment, unless otherwise particularly mentioned, they have the same functions in each embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0011] [Embodiment 1] The communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a communication line management system 100 including the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1.

[0012] The communication line management system 100 is a system for managing the communication line 1. The communication line 1 may constitute the communication network N of mobile communication and be a communication line assigned to the communication terminal 2. The communication line 1 is provided by a mobile communication carrier or the like. In this embodiment, the communication line management system 100 will be described by taking, as an example, a system for managing the communication line 1 at a work site such as a construction site or a construction site.

[0013] The communication line management system 100 includes a communication terminal 2 that uses an application, a line management terminal 3 that is a terminal for managing the communication line 1, an application contract management server 4 that manages the contract of the application, an application server 5 that operates the application, and a communication line management device 10 that manages the communication line 1. Each component of these communication line management systems 100 is communicably connected to each other via the communication network N.

[0014] The communication terminal 2 is a mobile communication terminal attached to a working machine or device (hereinafter also referred to as "working machine M") that performs work at the work site. The working machine M performs work by using an app necessary for the work on the communication terminal 2. That is, this app is an app executed in the work of the working machine M. This app involves communication using the communication line 1 when the app is executed. For example, the communication terminal 2 that uses this app communicates with the application server 5 via the communication line 1 when the app is executed.

[0015] The line management terminal 3 is a terminal that is operated by a user of the communication terminal 2, such as a manager or operator of the working machine M, to manage the communication line 1. The line management terminal 3 is communicably connected to the communication line management device 10. The line management terminal 3 transmits the information input to the line management terminal 3 to the communication line management device 10, or receives the processing result from the communication line management device 10 and displays it on the display.

[0016] The app contract management server 4 is communicably connected to the communication line management device 10. The app contract management server 4 transmits the contract information of the app to the communication line management device 10 when the app used by the communication terminal 2 is contracted or the contract is changed. The app contract management server 4 may transmit the contract information of the app to the communication line management device 10 in response to a request from the communication line management device 10.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the communication line management device 10 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a registration screen of the communication terminal 2 that uses the app. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the information recorded in the line state recording device 13 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the information recorded in the line ID recording device 14 shown in FIG. 2.

[0018] The communication line management device 10 is a device that manages the communication line 1 connected to the communication terminal 2 that uses an application involving communication during execution as described above. The communication line management device 10 is constituted by a server computer or the like. The communication line management device 10 includes an arithmetic processing unit 11, a control unit 12, a line state recording device 13 (hereinafter also referred to as the "recording device 13"), and a line ID recording device 14 (hereinafter also referred to as the "recording device 14").

[0019] Before using the application, the arithmetic processing unit 11 acquires information regarding the usage status of the application in the communication terminal 2. The usage status of the application includes the presence or absence of using the application in the communication terminal 2 and the usage period of the application in the communication terminal 2. Before using the application, the user of the communication terminal 2 operates the screen of the line management terminal 3 as shown in FIG. 3 to register the communication terminal 2 that uses the application and the usage period of the application. Information regarding the usage status of the application is transmitted from the line management terminal 3 in which the registration has been performed to the arithmetic processing unit 11. Also, contract information of the application is transmitted from the application contract management server 4 to the arithmetic processing unit 11. The contract information of the application includes information regarding the usage status of the application. The arithmetic processing unit 11 records the acquired information regarding the usage status of the application in the recording device 13.

[0020] The arithmetic processing unit 11 determines the state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2. The state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2 indicates what kind of communication environment the communication line 1 provides to the communication terminal 2 when the communication terminal 2 communicates using the communication line 1. The state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2 includes, for example, a communicable state in which the communication terminal 2 can communicate using the communication line 1 and a non-communicable state in which the communication terminal 2 cannot communicate using the communication line 1. In the case of the non-communicable state, no communication fee is generated or only the basic fee is generated in the communication terminal 2, so the communication fee of the communication terminal 2 is suppressed.

[0021] The arithmetic processing unit 11 of the present embodiment determines whether to set the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2 to either a communicable state or a non-communicable state as the state of the communication line 1. In the present embodiment, the state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2 is also simply referred to as the "line state". The line state can also be expressed as the communication control state of the communication line 1.

[0022] The arithmetic processing unit 11 determines the state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2 based on the usage status of the application in the communication terminal 2. Specifically, the arithmetic processing unit 11 determines the line state based on the usage period of the application in the communication terminal 2. When the communication terminal 2 is in the period of using the application, the arithmetic processing unit 11 determines to set the line state to the communicable state. When the communication terminal 2 is not in the period of using the application, the arithmetic processing unit 11 determines to set the line state to the non-communicable state.

[0023] The arithmetic processing unit 11 registers the determination result in the recording device 13 and sets it in the control device 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the recording device 13 records the terminal ID, which is the identification information of the communication terminal 2, the usage period of the application in the communication terminal 2, and the line state during the usage period in association with each other. "Y" in FIG. 4 indicates that it is determined that the line state is set to the communicable state, and "N" in FIG. 4 indicates that it is determined that the line state is set to the non-communicable state.

[0024] The control device 12 controls the communication line 1 according to the state of the communication line 1 determined by the arithmetic processing device 11. Specifically, when the line state determined by the arithmetic processing device 11 is a communicable state, the control device 12 changes the setting of the communication line 1 so that the communication terminal 2 can communicate using the communication line 1. When the line state determined by the arithmetic processing device 11 is a non-communicable state, the control device 12 changes the setting of the communication line 1 so that the communication terminal 2 cannot communicate using the communication line 1. At this time, the control device 12 changes the setting of the communication line 1 based on the above determination result set by the arithmetic processing device 11 and the information recorded in the recording device 14. As shown in FIG. 5, the recording device 14 records the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2 in association with the line ID, which is the identification information of the communication line 1 assigned to the communication line 1. The line ID is specified in advance by, for example, a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card installed in the communication terminal 2.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing performed by the arithmetic processing device 11 shown in FIG. 2.

[0026] When the user of the communication terminal 2 operates the line management terminal 3 to perform the above registration, the arithmetic processing device 11 starts the processing shown in FIG. 6. Alternatively, when the arithmetic processing device 11 receives the contract information of the application transmitted from the application contract management server 4 at the time of application contract or contract change, the arithmetic processing device 11 starts the processing shown in FIG. 6.

[0027] In step S601, the arithmetic processing device 11 acquires information regarding the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2 and the usage status of the application. When the user of the communication terminal 2 operates the line management terminal 3 to perform the above registration, the information transmitted from the line management terminal 3 to the arithmetic processing device 11 includes the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2 and information regarding the usage status of the application. Further, the application contract information transmitted from the application contract management server 4 to the arithmetic processing device 11 includes the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2 and information regarding the usage status of the application.

[0028] In step S602, the arithmetic processing unit 11 refers to the presence or absence of use of the application and the usage period of the application included in the information regarding the usage status of the application. The arithmetic processing unit 11 determines whether the current time is within the period during which the communication terminal 2 uses the application. If the current time is within the period during which the communication terminal 2 uses the application, the arithmetic processing unit 11 proceeds to step S603. If the current time is not within the period during which the communication terminal 2 uses the application, the arithmetic processing unit 11 proceeds to step S604.

[0029] In step S603, the arithmetic processing unit 11 determines to set the line state to a communicable state. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 11 proceeds to step S605.

[0030] In step S604, the arithmetic processing unit 11 determines to set the line state to a non-communicable state. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 11 proceeds to step S605.

[0031] In step S605, the arithmetic processing unit 11 registers the determination result of the line state in the recording device 13.

[0032] In step S606, the arithmetic processing unit 11 sets the determination result of the line state in the control device 12. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 11 ends the process shown in FIG. 6.

[0033] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the process performed by the control device 12 shown in FIG. 2.

[0034] When the determination result of the line state is set by the arithmetic processing unit 11, the control device 12 starts the process shown in FIG. 7.

[0035] In step S701, the control device 12 acquires the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2 and the determined line state from the determination result of the line state set by the arithmetic processing unit 11.

[0036] In step S702, the control device 12 acquires, from the recording device 14, the line ID of the communication line 1 associated with the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2.

[0037] In step S703, the control device 12 controls the communication line 1 based on the acquired line state and line ID. Specifically, when the line state determined by the arithmetic processing device 11 is a communicable state, the control device 12 changes the setting of the communication line 1 so that the communication terminal 2 can communicate using the communication line 1. When the line state determined by the arithmetic processing device 11 is a non-communicable state, the control device 12 changes the setting of the communication line 1 so that the communication terminal 2 cannot communicate using the communication line 1. Thereafter, the control device 12 ends the process shown in FIG. 7.

[0038] As described above, the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1 is a device that manages the communication line 1 connected to the communication terminal 2 that uses an application involving communication during execution. The communication line management device 10 includes an arithmetic processing device 11 that acquires the usage status of the application in the communication terminal 2 before using the application and determines the state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2 based on the acquired usage status. The communication line management device 10 includes a control device 12 that controls the communication line 1 according to the line state determined by the arithmetic processing device 11.

[0039] Thereby, the control device 12 of Embodiment 1 can change the state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2 according to the usage status of the application in the communication terminal 2 planned before using the application. The communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1 can avoid a situation where a high communication fee is paid despite not using the application. Therefore, the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1 can suppress the communication cost in the communication terminal 2 that uses an application involving communication.

[0040] Furthermore, in the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1, the usage status of the application includes the usage period of the application. The arithmetic processing device 11 determines the line state based on the usage period of the application.

[0041] Accordingly, the control device 12 of Embodiment 1 can change the state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2 according to the usage period of the application of the communication terminal 2 scheduled before the use of the application. For example, if it is a period when the application is not used, the control device 12 can change the communication line 1 to a non - communicable state. The communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1 can suppress communication charges during a period when the application is not used. Therefore, the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1 can suppress communication costs in the communication terminal 2 that uses an application involving communication.

[0042] Furthermore, in the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1, the communication terminal 2 is a mobile communication terminal attached to the working machine M. The application is a program executed in the work of the working machine M.

[0043] In the communication terminal 2 attached to the working machine M, the usage frequency of the application executed in the work of the working machine M is much higher than that of general applications. Also, at the work site, the working machines M introduced for each site may be different, or the applications used for each work content may be different. For these reasons, the communication volume of the communication terminal 2 attached to the working machine M greatly depends on the usage period of the application of the communication terminal 2, and the required communication volume varies greatly for each communication terminal 2 and for each period.

[0044] Since the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1 can determine the line state based on the usage period of the application of the communication terminal 2 scheduled before the use of the application, even if the required communication volume varies greatly for each communication terminal 2 and for each period, it can provide an optimal line state each time. The communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1 can eliminate the need to contract an excessive communication plan as in the prior art. Therefore, the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 1 can suppress communication costs in the communication terminal 2 that uses an application involving communication.

[0045] [Embodiment 2] Using FIG. 8, the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 2 will be described. Regarding the configuration and operation similar to those of the previous embodiments in the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 2, the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the processing performed by the arithmetic processing unit 11 of the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 2.

[0046] The state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2 may be determined by, for example, the communication speed, communication fee, number of communications, limit value of the communication volume, etc. when the communication terminal 2 communicates using the communication line 1. The arithmetic processing unit 11 of Embodiment 2 determines, as the state of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2, the communication plan when the communication terminal 2 uses the communication line 1 before using the application.

[0047] The communication plan defines the limit value of the communication volume of the communication terminal 2 for each predetermined period (for example, one month) and the communication fee for each predetermined period. This limit value is a value for limiting the communication volume of the communication terminal 2 in a predetermined period. When the communication volume of the communication terminal 2 in a predetermined period exceeds the limit value, the communication speed of the communication terminal 2 is restricted to be lower than the normal speed, or the communication terminal 2 is restricted from being able to communicate.

[0048] The arithmetic processing unit 11 of Embodiment 2 determines the communication plan on the premise of using the application when it is the period during which the communication terminal 2 uses the application (step S803 in FIG. 8). The arithmetic processing unit 11 determines an inexpensive communication plan on the premise of not using the application when it is not the period during which the communication terminal 2 uses the application (step S804 in FIG. 8). Since it is assumed that the communication volume of the communication terminal 2 is large during the period of using the application, a communication plan with a large limit value of the communication volume is determined. Since it is assumed that the communication volume of the communication terminal 2 is small during the period of not using the application, an inexpensive communication plan with a small limit value of the communication volume is determined.

[0049] The control device 12 of Embodiment 2 changes the setting of the communication line 1 so that the communication terminal 2 can communicate using the communication line 1 according to the communication plan determined by the arithmetic processing device 11 before using the application (step S806 in FIG. 8). Specifically, the control device 12 sets the limit value defined in the communication plan determined by the arithmetic processing device 11 in the communication line 1. Then, the control device 12 transmits the information of the communication plan determined by the arithmetic processing device 11 to the server that manages the usage contract of the communication line 1. The communication fee of the communication terminal 2 is changed to the communication fee defined in the determined communication plan.

[0050] Thereby, the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 2 can suppress the communication fee during the period when the application is not used. Therefore, the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 2 can suppress the communication cost in the communication terminal 2 that uses the application involving communication.

[0051] [Embodiment 3] The communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 13. In the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 3, the description of the same configuration and operation as in the previous embodiments will be omitted. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 3. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a registration screen of an application used in the communication terminal 2 shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the information recorded in the per-application line state recording device 15 shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the information recorded in the line state recording device 13 shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing performed by the arithmetic processing device 11 shown in FIG. 9.

[0052] The communication terminal 2 of Embodiment 3 uses any one of a plurality of types of applications during a predetermined period. Before using an application, the user of the communication terminal 2 operates the screen of the line management terminal 3 as shown in FIG. 10 to register the communication terminal 2 that uses the application, the usage period of the application, and the type of application used in the communication terminal 2. Information regarding the usage status of the application is transmitted from the line management terminal 3 to the arithmetic processing unit 11. Alternatively, the contract information of the application is transmitted from the application contract management server 4 to the arithmetic processing unit 11. The usage status of the application in Embodiment 3 includes the presence or absence of application usage in the communication terminal 2, the usage period of the application in the communication terminal 2, and the type of application used in the communication terminal 2.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 9, the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 3 includes an application-specific line status recording device 15 (hereinafter also referred to as the "recording device 15"). As shown in FIG. 11, the recording device 15 records in association a plurality of types of applications and a communication plan necessary and sufficient to satisfy the communication volume when using each type of application.

[0054] Similar to Embodiment 2, the arithmetic processing unit 11 of Embodiment 3 determines the communication plan when the communication terminal 2 uses the communication line 1 as the status of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2. At this time, the arithmetic processing unit 11 of Embodiment 3 determines the communication plan according to the type of application used in the communication terminal 2.

[0055] Specifically, the arithmetic processing unit 11 acquires information on the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2 and the usage status of the application from the line management terminal 3 or the application contract management server 4 (step S1301 in FIG. 13). The arithmetic processing unit 11 acquires a communication plan defined for each type of application from the recording device 15 (step S1302 in FIG. 13). The arithmetic processing unit 11 compares the type of application included in the information on the usage status of the application with the communication plan defined for each type of application (step S1303 in FIG. 13). The arithmetic processing unit 11 determines, as a communication plan for realizing the line state provided to the communication terminal 2, a communication plan corresponding to the type of application used in the communication terminal 2 (steps S1304 to S1307 in FIG. 13).

[0056] The arithmetic processing unit 11 registers the determination result in the recording device 13 (step S1308 in FIG. 13) and sets it in the control device 12 (step S1309 in FIG. 13). As shown in FIG. 12, the recording device 13 of Embodiment 3 records by associating the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2, the usage period of the application in the communication terminal 2, and the communication plan during the usage period. Similar to Embodiment 2, the control device 12 of Embodiment 3 changes the setting of the communication line 1 so that the communication terminal 2 can communicate according to the communication plan determined by the arithmetic processing unit 11.

[0057] Thereby, even if the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 3 is planned to use different types of applications for each usage period of the application, it can determine an optimal communication plan corresponding to the type of application for each usage period before using the application and provide an optimal line state each time. The communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 3 can eliminate the need to contract an excessive communication plan as in the prior art. Therefore, the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 3 can suppress the communication cost in the communication terminal 2 that uses an application involving communication.

[0058] [Embodiment 4] The communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 18. In the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 4, descriptions of the same configurations and operations as those in the previous embodiments are omitted. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 4. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a registration screen of an application used in the communication terminal 2 shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of information recorded in the application-by-traffic recording device 16 shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of information recorded in the traffic-by-line status recording device 17 shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the arithmetic processing device 11 shown in FIG. 14.

[0059] The communication terminal 2 of Embodiment 4 uses a plurality of types of applications during a predetermined period. Before using an application, the user of the communication terminal 2 operates the screen of the line management terminal 3 as shown in FIG. 15 to register the communication terminal 2 that uses the application, the usage period of the application, and the types of a plurality of applications used in the communication terminal 2. Information regarding the usage status of the application is transmitted from the line management terminal 3 to the arithmetic processing device 11. Alternatively, the contract information of the application is transmitted from the application contract management server 4 to the arithmetic processing device 11. The usage status of the application in Embodiment 4 includes the presence or absence of use of the application in the communication terminal 2, the usage period of the application in the communication terminal 2, and the types of a plurality of applications used in the communication terminal 2.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 14, the communication line management device 10 according to Embodiment 4 includes an application-specific traffic recording device 16 (hereinafter also referred to as the "recording device 16") and a traffic-specific line status recording device 17 (hereinafter also referred to as the "recording device 17"). As shown in FIG. 16, the recording device 16 records by associating a plurality of types of applications with the traffic assumed when using each type of application. As shown in FIG. 17, the recording device 17 records by associating the cumulative traffic of the communication terminal 2 assumed in a predetermined period with the communication plan necessary and sufficient to satisfy the cumulative traffic. The cumulative traffic is a value obtained by accumulating the traffic assumed to be used by the communication terminal 2 for the use of each of a plurality of types of applications over the plurality of types of applications used by the communication terminal 2.

[0061] Similar to Embodiment 3, the arithmetic processing device 11 according to Embodiment 4 determines the communication plan when the communication terminal 2 uses the communication line 1 as the status of the communication line 1 provided to the communication terminal 2. At this time, the arithmetic processing device 11 according to Embodiment 4 determines the communication plan according to the cumulative traffic of a plurality of types of applications used in the communication terminal 2.

[0062] Specifically, the arithmetic processing device 11 acquires information on the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2 and the usage status of a plurality of types of applications from the line management terminal 3 or the application contract management server 4 (step S1801 in FIG. 18). The arithmetic processing device 11 acquires the traffic determined for each type of application from the recording device 16 (step S1802 in FIG. 18). The arithmetic processing device 11 compares the types of a plurality of applications included in the information on the application usage status with the traffic determined for each type of application (step S1803 in FIG. 18), and specifies the traffic determined for each of the plurality of types of applications used in the communication terminal 2 (steps S1804 to S1806 in FIG. 18). The arithmetic processing device 11 adds the specified traffic as the cumulative traffic (step S1807 in FIG. 18). The arithmetic processing device 11 repeats the processing of steps S1803 to S1807 in FIG. 18 until the traffic of all types of applications used in the communication terminal 2 is added as the cumulative traffic (step S1808 in FIG. 18).

[0063] The arithmetic processing unit 11 acquires a communication plan determined according to the cumulative communication volume from the recording device 17 (step S1809 in FIG. 18). The arithmetic processing unit 11 compares the calculated cumulative communication volume with the communication plan determined according to the cumulative communication volume (step S1810 in FIG. 18). The arithmetic processing unit 11 determines, as a communication plan for realizing the line state provided to the communication terminal 2, a communication plan corresponding to the calculated cumulative communication volume (steps S1811 to S1813 in FIG. 18).

[0064] The arithmetic processing unit 11 registers the determination result in the recording device 13 (step S1814 in FIG. 18) and sets it in the control device 12 (step S1815 in FIG. 18). The recording device 13 in Embodiment 4 is the same as that in Embodiment 3, and as shown in FIG. 12, records by associating the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2, the usage period of the application in the communication terminal 2, and the communication plan in the usage period. The control device 12 in Embodiment 4 changes the setting of the communication line 1 so that the communication terminal 2 can communicate according to the communication plan determined by the arithmetic processing unit 11, as in Embodiment 3.

[0065] Thereby, even if the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 4 plans to use a plurality of different types of applications for each usage period of the application, it can determine an optimal communication plan according to the cumulative communication volume for each usage period and provide an optimal line state each time. The communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 4 can eliminate the need to contract an excessive communication plan as in the prior art. Therefore, the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 4 can suppress the communication cost in the communication terminal 2 that uses an application involving communication.

[0066] [Embodiment 5] The communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 20. Regarding the configuration and operation similar to those of the previous embodiments in the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 5, the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 5.

[0067] The communication line management device 10 of Embodiment 5 includes a schedule execution device 18. The schedule execution device 18 may be configured by a scheduler provided in the communication line management device 10. The schedule execution device 18 automatically causes the control device 12 to control the communication line 1 in accordance with the provision period of the line state determined by the arithmetic processing device 11. For example, the schedule execution device 18 sets the timing at which the control device 12 changes the setting of the communication line 1 so that the communication terminal 2 can communicate according to the communication plan, according to the timing when the application of the communication plan determined by the arithmetic processing device 11 starts, to the control device 12.

[0068] The control device 12 of Embodiment 5 determines whether or not the timing to change the setting of the communication line 1 has arrived, using a built-in RTC or the like. When the timing to change the setting of the communication line 1 arrives, the control device 12 automatically changes the setting of the communication line 1 so that the communication terminal 2 can communicate according to the communication plan determined by the arithmetic processing device 11. Note that the provision period of the line state determined by the arithmetic processing device 11 is, for example, the application period of the communication plan determined by the arithmetic processing device 11, and corresponds to a period registered in advance as the usage period of the application.

[0069] FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing performed by the schedule execution device 18 shown in FIG. 19.

[0070] When the arithmetic processing device 11 registers the determination result of the line state in the recording device 13 (step S605 in FIG. 6, etc.), the schedule execution device 18 starts the processing shown in FIG. 20.

[0071] In step S2001, the schedule execution device 18 acquires information on the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2 and the usage status of the application (usage period of the application). The schedule execution device 18 may acquire this information from the recording device 13, or may acquire it from the line management terminal 3 or the application contract management server 4 via the arithmetic processing device 11.

[0072] In step S2002, the schedule execution device 18 acquires the line state for each communication terminal 2 and for each application usage period from the recording device 13.

[0073] In step S2003, the schedule execution device 18 sets the acquired line state for each communication terminal 2 and for each application usage period in the control device 12. That is, the schedule execution device 18 sets the execution timing of the control of the control device 12 so that the communication line 1 assigned to the communication terminal 2 is set to the line state determined by the arithmetic processing device 11 for each application usage period in the communication terminal 2.

[0074] In step S2004, the schedule execution device 18 determines whether or not the process of step S2003 has been performed for all the communication terminals 2 assigned to the communication line 1 whose line state is to be changed. If the schedule execution device 18 has not performed the process of step S2003 for all the communication terminals 2, it proceeds to step S2003. If the schedule execution device 18 has performed the process of step S2003 for all the communication terminals 2, it ends the process shown in FIG. 20.

[0075] As described above, the communication line management device 10 according to Embodiment 5 can automatically cause the control device 12 to control the communication line 1 in accordance with the period for providing the line state determined by the arithmetic processing device 11. Therefore, when the user of the communication terminal 2 wants to change the line state, it is not necessary to operate the line management terminal 3 each time. Thus, the communication line management device 10 according to Embodiment 5 can easily suppress the communication cost in the communication terminal 2 that uses an application involving communication.

[0076] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention described in the claims. The present invention can add the configuration of one embodiment to the configuration of another embodiment, replace the configuration of one embodiment with that of another embodiment, or delete a part of the configuration of one embodiment.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0077] 1…Communication line, 2…Communication terminal, 10…Communication line management device, 11…Arithmetic processing device, 12…Control device, 18…Schedule execution device, M…Machine tool

Claims

1. A communication line management device for managing a communication line connected to a communication terminal that uses an application program involving communication during execution, comprising: an arithmetic processing unit that acquires, before use of the application program, the future usage status of the application program in the communication terminal, and determines the state of the communication line provided to the communication terminal based on the acquired usage status; a control device that controls the communication line according to the state of the communication line determined by the arithmetic processing unit; the arithmetic processing unit determines, as the state of the communication line provided to the communication terminal, a communication plan that defines a limit value of the communication volume of the communication terminal and a communication fee; the control device changes the setting of the communication line so that the communication terminal can communicate according to the communication plan determined by the arithmetic processing unit as control of the communication line; A communication line management device characterized by the above.

2. The future usage status of the application program includes the future usage period of the application program in the communication terminal, and the arithmetic processing unit determines the state of the communication line provided to the communication terminal based on the usage period of the application program. The communication line management device according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The arithmetic processing unit determines the communication plan according to the type of the application program used in the communication terminal. The communication line management device according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

4. The arithmetic processing unit determines the communication plan according to the cumulative communication volume obtained by accumulating, across the plurality of types of application programs used by the communication terminal, the communication volume assumed to be used by the communication terminal for each use of the plurality of types of application programs. The communication line management device according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

5. The communication line management device according to claim 2, further comprising a schedule execution device that automatically causes the control device to execute the control of the communication line in accordance with the provision period of the state of the communication line determined by the arithmetic processing unit. The communication line management device according to claim 2, characterized by the above.

6. The communication terminal is a mobile communication terminal attached to a work machine or device that performs work at a work site. The application program is a program executed in the operation of the work machine or the device. The communication line management device according to claim 1, characterized in that.

Images