Communication system and communication method

Abstract

A communication system (100) according to the present disclosure comprises a terminal device (1) and one or more communication devices including a base station (2), another terminal device (1), and electrical equipment (3), the terminal device (1) comprising a wireless communication unit (11) that measures the strength of a radio wave received from a communication device and an information display unit (16) that superimposes and displays information indicating the radio wave strength on a display screen that is in accordance with application software, the information being generated on the basis of a measurement result measured by the wireless communication unit (11).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication system for performing wireless communication, a terminal device, a base station, a radio wave status display method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the introduction of wireless communication has progressed, and radio waves are used in many places. However, because radio waves are invisible, it is difficult for users who want to avoid radio waves to know where they should go to avoid them.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for determining where to install a base station by using a receiver installed in an automobile to measure the strength of a carrier signal transmitted from the base station and analyzing the results measured by the receiver to determine areas with weak electric field strength. By using the technology described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to determine the distribution of electric field strength over a wide area, and to formulate a base station installation plan so that base stations are placed in areas with weak electric field strength. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-211768 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The technology described in Patent Document 1 allows operators who install base stations to grasp the distribution of electric field strength, but does not allow users to grasp the strength of radio waves. On smartphones and other devices, a mark indicating the strength of radio waves is displayed, but the mark is small and displayed alone, making it difficult for users to intuitively understand.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a communication system that can present information indicating radio wave strength to a user in an easy-to-understand manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a communication system according to the present disclosure includes a communication device capable of wireless communication, a first terminal device, and a second terminal device, wherein the first terminal device transmits a resource information acquisition request to the second terminal device requesting notification of a surplus or required amount of wireless resources usable between the second terminal device and the communication device, and upon receiving the resource information acquisition request, the second terminal device transmits resource information including the surplus or required amount to the first terminal device. The first terminal device uses the resource information to determine a resource request amount, which is an amount of wireless resources to be requested to be transferred between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and transmits the resource request amount to the second terminal device. When the resource request amount can be transferred between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the second terminal device transmits a response indicating that the transfer is possible to the first terminal device. The first terminal device and the second terminal device determine a shared resource amount, which is an amount of wireless resources to be transferred between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. At least one of the first terminal device and the second terminal device notifies the communication device of the shared resource amount. The communication device allocates wireless resources reflecting the notified shared resource amount. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The communication system according to the present disclosure has an effect of being able to present information indicating the strength of radio waves to a user in an easy-to-understand manner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a terminal device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a base station according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a radio wave status display process in the communication system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first example of a display screen of radio wave intensity in the terminal device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second example of a display screen of radio wave intensity in the terminal device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a third example of a display screen of radio wave intensity in the terminal device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 8]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a fourth example of a display screen of radio wave intensity in the terminal device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen according to an application of the terminal device of the first embodiment; [Figure 10] FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a computer system that realizes a terminal device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal device according to a second embodiment; [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a base station according to a second embodiment; [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of resource sharing processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of displaying resource information according to the second embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of displaying communication speeds for each application according to the second embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A communication system, a terminal device, a base station, a radio wave status display method, and a program according to embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to a first embodiment. The communication system 100 of this embodiment includes terminal devices 1-1 to 1-3, a base station 2, and an electric device 3. The terminal devices 1-1 to 1-3 are capable of wireless communication with the base station 2. The electric device 3 is, for example, a home appliance (household electric appliance), office equipment, a game console, or industrial equipment, and has a wireless communication function and is capable of communicating with the base station 2. The base station 2, the terminal devices 1-1 to 1-3, and the electric device 3 are examples of communication devices capable of wireless communication. Hereinafter, when the terminal devices 1-1 to 1-3 are referred to without being individually distinguished, they will be referred to as terminal device 1.

[0012] The base station 2 may be, for example, a base station in a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) conforming to a standard such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), a base station in a mobile phone network, or a base station in other wireless communications. Although FIG. 1 illustrates one base station 2, three terminal devices 1, and one electrical device 3, the numbers of base stations 2, terminal devices 1, and electrical devices 3 are not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 1. The communication system 100 may not include the electrical device 3. The base station 2 may be capable of communicating with another base station 2 not illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0013] Furthermore, the terminal devices 1 are mobile communication devices such as smartphones, tablets, and personal computers, but some of the terminal devices 1 may be fixed in their installation locations. Also, while Fig. 1 shows an example of the communication system 100 at a certain point in time, the devices constituting the communication system 100 may change due to the movement of the terminal devices 1, the addition, movement, or removal of base stations 2, the addition, movement, or removal of electrical equipment 3, etc.

[0014] The terminal device 1 of this embodiment measures the radio wave reception strength and displays the measurement results, for example, superimposed on an image of the user's surroundings, thereby presenting information indicating the reception strength to the user in an easy-to-understand manner. This allows, for example, a user who wants to avoid radio waves to move while checking the display screen of the terminal device 1 and move to a location with weak radio wave strength. Conversely, a user who is about to start communication can move while checking the display screen of the terminal device 1 and move to a location with strong radio wave strength. Furthermore, by displaying the radio wave strength according to the application software used by the user, it is possible to provide the user with information indicating the radio wave strength according to the usage scenario. Details of the radio wave strength display method in this embodiment will be described later.

[0015] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal device 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 1 includes a wireless communication unit 11, a radio wave intensity information generation unit 12, an application processing unit 13, a display control unit 14, a peripheral information acquisition unit 15, and an information display unit 16.

[0016] The wireless communication unit 11 is capable of wireless communication with the base station 2. The wireless communication unit 11 also functions as a radio wave intensity measurement unit that measures the intensity of radio waves received from a communication device. In the example shown in Fig. 2, an example will be described in which the wireless communication unit 11 functions as a radio wave intensity measurement unit, but a radio wave intensity measurement unit may be provided separately from the wireless communication unit 11.

[0017] The radio wave intensity information generating unit 12 generates radio wave intensity information, which is information for notifying the base station 2 of the reception intensity measured by the wireless communication unit 11, and outputs the generated radio wave intensity information to the wireless communication unit 11. The wireless communication unit 11 transmits the radio wave intensity information to the base station 2. The radio wave intensity information includes information indicating the measured reception intensity and location information indicating the location of the terminal device 1. The measurement result of the reception intensity may be obtained for each frequency, in which case the radio wave intensity information includes information indicating the reception intensity for each frequency. The location information is calculated, for example, by a location information calculating unit in the terminal device 1 (not shown) and notified to the radio wave intensity information generating unit 12. The location information calculating unit may calculate the location information by performing GPS positioning using a signal received by a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) antenna, or may calculate the location information by other positioning methods, such as positioning using radio waves from multiple base stations 2, positioning using beacons, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), etc. Furthermore, the radio wave intensity information generating unit 12 may also function as the location information calculating unit.

[0018] The information display unit 16 displays various types of information such as text, images, and videos under the control of the display control unit 14. As will be described later, the information display unit 16 displays, for example, information indicating radio wave intensity generated based on the measurement results measured by the wireless communication unit 11, superimposed on a display screen corresponding to application software (hereinafter also referred to as an app). The information display unit 16 may also function as an input receiving unit that receives user input, or the input receiving unit may be provided separately from the information display unit 16.

[0019] The application processing unit 13 executes processing corresponding to application software installed in the terminal device 1. When multiple applications are installed, the application processing unit 13 executes processing corresponding to each application. The application processing unit 13 generates application display information, which is information for displaying information corresponding to each application, and outputs the generated display information to the display control unit 14.

[0020] The display control unit 14 outputs the application display information received from the application processing unit 13 to the information display unit 16, thereby causing the information display unit 16 to perform a display corresponding to the display information. The display control unit 14 may also use the application display information received from the application processing unit 13 and the radio wave intensity received from the wireless communication unit 11 to generate display information for superimposing and displaying information indicating radio wave intensity on a display screen of an application corresponding to the application processing unit 13, and output the display information to the information display unit 16. This allows the information display unit 16 to superimpose and display information indicating radio wave intensity on a screen corresponding to the application. The display control unit 14 may also receive map information indicating the distribution of radio wave intensity from the base station 2 via the wireless communication unit 11, generate display information for displaying the map information, and output the display information to the information display unit 16. The display control unit 14 may also generate display information for superimposing and displaying map information on a display screen of an application corresponding to the application processing unit 13, and output the display information to the information display unit 16.

[0021] The peripheral information acquisition unit 15 includes, for example, a camera, and acquires peripheral information as images or videos by forming an image of an object such as an object in the vicinity of the terminal device 1 through a lens, and outputs the acquired peripheral information to the display control unit 14. As a result, the display control unit 14 can generate display information for superimposing information indicating radio wave intensity on a display screen displaying peripheral images or videos, using the peripheral information received from the peripheral information acquisition unit 15 and the radio wave intensity received from the wireless communication unit 11. The peripheral information acquisition unit 15 can also output the images or videos as peripheral information to the information display unit 16, thereby displaying the images or videos directly on the information display unit 16. Note that the peripheral information acquisition unit 15 is realized by, for example, a camera and an app for capturing images using the camera, and therefore the peripheral information can also be considered an example of app display information.

[0022] Although three terminal devices 1 are illustrated in FIG. 1, the terminal device 1 shown in FIG. 2 that can display information indicating radio wave strength superimposed on the app display information may be one or more, and the other terminal device may be a communication device such as a general smartphone that communicates with the base station 2 instead of the terminal device 1 shown in FIG. 2. For example, if the terminal device 1-1 shown in FIG. 1 is a terminal device of a user who wants to check the radio wave strength, general communication devices may be present instead of the terminal devices 1-2 and 1-3. Furthermore, the electrical device 3 may include the terminal device 1, and the electrical device 3 may perform the same operation as the terminal device 1. The communication system 100 may include, for example, one or more communication devices capable of wireless communication and the terminal device 1-1, and the communication devices are not limited to the base station 2, the terminal devices 1-2 and 1-3, and the electrical device 3.

[0023] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station 2 according to the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 3, the base station 2 includes a wireless communication unit 21, a communication control unit 22, an intensity map generation unit 23, and an inter-base station communication unit 24. Note that Fig. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a base station 2 that can communicate with other base stations 2, but if communication between base stations 2 is not performed, the base station 2 does not need to include the inter-base station communication unit 24.

[0024] Under the control of the communication control unit 22, the wireless communication unit 21 is capable of wirelessly communicating with communication devices such as the terminal device 1 and the electrical appliance 3. When the wireless communication unit 21 receives radio wave intensity information from the terminal device 1, it outputs the received radio wave intensity information to the intensity map generation unit 23. When the wireless communication unit 21 receives map information from the intensity map generation unit 23, it transmits the map information to the terminal device 1. When the wireless communication unit 21 receives wide-area map information (described later) from the intensity map generation unit 23, it transmits the wide-area map information to the terminal device 1.

[0025] The communication control unit 22 controls communication between the base station 2 and a communication device accommodated by the base station 2. A communication device accommodated by the base station 2 is, for example, a communication device that establishes a wireless connection with the base station 2 by performing a predetermined connection process and performs wireless communication with the base station 2. The communication control unit 22 may allocate wireless resources to the communication device accommodated by the base station 2. The wireless resources are, for example, at least one of time and a band (frequency range) used in wireless communication.

[0026] The intensity map generation unit 23 generates a radio wave intensity map indicating the distribution of radio wave intensity using the radio wave intensity information received from the wireless communication unit 21, and outputs map information indicating the radio wave intensity map to the wireless communication unit 21 and the inter-base station communication unit 24. Furthermore, when the intensity map generation unit 23 receives local map information generated by another base station 2 from the inter-base station communication unit 24, the intensity map generation unit 23 integrates the received local map information with map information generated by itself to generate wide-area map information, and outputs the generated wide-area map information to the wireless communication unit 21.

[0027] The inter-base station communication unit 24 performs communication between the base stations 2. The communication line in the inter-base station communication may be a wired line, a wireless line, or a mixed line of wired and wireless lines. The base station 2 can communicate with other base stations 2 not shown in FIG. 1. The inter-base station communication unit 24 transmits the map information received from the intensity map generation unit 23 to the other base stations 2 as local map information. The inter-base station communication unit 24 also receives local map information generated by the other base stations 2 from the other base stations 2, and outputs the received local map information to the intensity map generation unit 23.

[0028] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a radio wave state display process in the communication system of this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 4, each terminal device 1 transmits radio wave strength information to the base station 2 (step S1). As described above, the radio wave strength information includes information indicating the reception strength at each terminal device 1 and location information of the terminal device 1. Note that Fig. 4 shows an example in which the base station 2 described second from the left accommodates the terminal device 1 shown in Fig. 4.

[0029] The base station 2 generates a radio wave intensity map (step S2). Specifically, the intensity map generator 23 uses the location information in the radio wave intensity information transmitted from the terminal device 1 accommodated by the base station 2 to obtain a radio wave intensity map that shows the distribution of local radio wave intensity within a range in which communication with the base station 2 is possible, and generates map information that shows the radio wave intensity map. The map information may be a list of combinations of the location of each terminal device 1 and radio wave intensity (reception intensity), or may be information that shows a propagation model of radio waves transmitted from the base station 2, or may be both. The propagation model is, for example, an estimate of the intensity of radio waves transmitted from the base station 2 and propagating in each direction for each distance from the base station 2, using the location of the base station 2 and the location and radio wave intensity of each terminal device 1. Note that the location of the base station 2 may be stored in advance in the base station 2, or may be calculated by the base station 2, which has a positioning function similar to the terminal device 1, using the positioning function. When the map information is information that shows a propagation model, the map information may show radio wave intensity according to the direction and distance from the base station 2 using a formula, or may show radio wave intensity for each mesh that shows the location. In addition, if the wireless communication unit 21 of the base station 2 has multiple antenna elements and is capable of estimating the relative position of the terminal device 1 from the base station 2, i.e., the relative direction and distance, map information may be generated using the relative position estimation result and the radio wave intensity of each terminal device 1 instead of the position information in the radio wave intensity information.

[0030] The base station 2 transmits the map information to each terminal device 1 (step S3). The base station 2 also transmits the map information (local map information) to other base stations 2 (step S4). In Fig. 4, one other base station 2 is shown at the left end as another base station 2, but there may be multiple other base stations 2.

[0031] Furthermore, the base station 2 receives map information (local map information) from other base stations 2 (step S5). The base station 2 generates a wide-area map, which is a map of wide-area radio wave intensity, using the map information it has generated itself and the map information it has received from other base stations 2 (step S6). If the map information (local map information) is a list of positions and radio wave intensity, the wide-area map information may be a list that integrates the lists, or may be radio wave intensity for each mesh that indicates a position calculated by interpolation or the like from the positions and radio wave intensity. Furthermore, if the map information is information indicating a propagation model, the wide-area map information may be information indicating a propagation model in which each piece of map information is superimposed. The method of generating the wide-area map information is not limited to these examples. The map information (local map information) and the wide-area map information are examples of information indicating radio wave intensity.

[0032] The base station 2 transmits wide-area map information indicating a wide-area map to the terminal device 1 (step S7). The terminal device 1 displays the radio wave intensity (step S8). In detail, for example, when the terminal device 1 receives an input from the user to launch an application for displaying the radio wave intensity, the terminal device 1 displays the radio wave intensity. Furthermore, when the terminal device 1 receives an input from the user to launch another application, the terminal device 1 may superimpose information indicating the radio wave intensity according to the display content of the other application. The terminal device 1 may superimpose information indicating the radio wave intensity measured by the terminal device 1 on the surrounding information, or may superimpose map information received from the base station 2 on the surrounding information, or may superimpose wide-area map information received from the base station 2 on the surrounding information. Furthermore, the terminal device 1 may superimpose information indicating the radio wave intensity on a display screen corresponding to the application using application display information according to the application and corresponding information among information indicating the corresponding radio wave intensity, map information, or wide-area map information. Note that the procedure illustrated in FIG. 4 is an example, and the processing order is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 4. For example, the display of the radio wave intensity is not limited to step S8, and may be performed at any timing after the information required for the display has been obtained.

[0033] As described above, when there are multiple terminal devices 1, each of the multiple terminal devices 1 transmits signal strength information indicating the measurement results of signal strength to the base station 2, and the base station 2 generates map information indicating the distribution of signal strength using the signal strength information received from the multiple terminal devices 1 and transmits the map information to at least one of the terminal devices 1. Then, the information display unit 16 of the terminal device 1 that received the map information displays the map information superimposed on a display screen corresponding to an application. Furthermore, the base station 2 transmits the map information to another base station 2, and when the base station 2 receives map information generated by that base station 2 from the other base station 2, it generates wide-area map information indicating the wide-area distribution of signal strength using the received map information and the generated map information and transmits the wide-area map information to at least one of the terminal devices 1. When the terminal device 1 receives the wide-area map information, the information display unit 16 displays the wide-area map information superimposed on a display screen corresponding to an application.

[0034] If the signal strength information includes information indicating the reception strength (signal strength) for each frequency, the map information and wide-area map information are also created for each frequency. In this case, for example, the signal strength, map information, wide-area map information, etc. corresponding to the frequency selected by the user are displayed.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a display screen of radio wave intensity on the terminal device 1-1 according to the present embodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the display control unit 14 of the terminal device 1-1 uses the surrounding information and map information to generate display information for displaying radio wave intensity superimposed on an image of the surroundings, and the information display unit 16 displays the display information. Images 201 and 202 illustrated in FIG. 5 are augmented reality (AR) display of three-dimensional rings simulating radio waves. Image 201 indicates the radio wave intensity corresponding to the terminal device 1-1 displaying the display screen illustrated in FIG. 5, and image 202 indicates the radio wave intensity corresponding to another terminal device 1. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the map information includes the position and radio wave intensity of each terminal device 1. The display control unit 14 uses the image acquired as the surrounding information and the position of the terminal device 1-1 to detect a person present at a position corresponding to the terminal device 1-1 in the surrounding information, and generates display information to display image 202 around the person. Furthermore, the display control unit 14 generates display information for displaying an image 201 around the terminal device 1-1 using the radio wave intensity corresponding to the terminal device 1-1 itself that is displaying the display screen shown in Fig. 5. In the example shown in Fig. 5, the radio wave intensity is indicated by the number of rings, and the greater the number of rings, the stronger the radio wave intensity.

[0036] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a second example of a display screen of radio wave strength in the terminal device 1-1 of this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a third example of a display screen of radio wave strength in the terminal device 1-1 of this embodiment. In the examples shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, similar to the example shown in FIG. 5, the display control unit 14 of the terminal device 1-1 generates display information for superimposing radio wave strength on an image of the surroundings using surrounding information and map information including the position and radio wave strength of each terminal device 1, and the information display unit 16 displays the display information. In the example shown in FIG. 6, images 203 and 204 are figures showing an image of radio waves, and the radio wave strength is indicated by different colors. In the example shown in FIG. 7, images 205 and 206 are AR-displayed figures showing an image of radio waves, and the radio wave strength is indicated by different colors. Images 203 and 205 show the radio wave strength corresponding to the terminal device 1-1 itself displaying the display screen, and images 204 and 206 show the radio wave strength corresponding to the other terminal devices 1.

[0037] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a fourth example of a display screen of radio wave intensity in the terminal device 1-1 of this embodiment. In the example shown in Fig. 8, the display control unit 14 of the terminal device 1-1 generates display information for displaying radio wave intensity superimposed on an image of the surroundings using peripheral information and map information, and the information display unit 16 displays the display information. In the example shown in Fig. 8, the map information indicates radio wave intensity for each mesh indicating a position, and the radio wave intensity is indicated by different colors. Furthermore, although the radio wave intensity is indicated by different colors in Fig. 8, the radio wave intensity may also be indicated by the height of a three-dimensional shape displayed in AR.

[0038] 5 to 8, the radio wave intensity is shown using shapes, colors, etc., but a numerical value indicating the radio wave intensity may also be displayed superimposed on the corresponding shape, color, etc. Furthermore, the user may be able to select whether or not to display the numerical value indicating the radio wave intensity superimposed.

[0039] 5 to 8 are merely examples, and the specific display methods of radio wave strength and the figures representing radio waves are not limited to these examples. Furthermore, the terminal device 1-1 can display the radio wave strength using a plurality of display methods, and the display may be changed at the user's selection. For example, the displays of FIGS. 6 to 8 may be switchable at the user's selection.

[0040] 5 to 8, an example in which map information is superimposed on the peripheral information has been described, but only the radio wave intensity measured by the terminal device 1-1 itself may be superimposed on the peripheral information. For example, only the image 201 in the example shown in FIG. 5 may be superimposed on the peripheral information, only the image 203 in the example shown in FIG. 6 may be superimposed on the peripheral information, or only the image 205 in the example shown in FIG. 7 may be superimposed on the peripheral information. Furthermore, it may be possible for the user to switch between displaying only the radio wave intensity measured by the terminal device 1-1 itself or displaying map information. Note that if the terminal device 1-1 displays only the radio wave intensity measured by the terminal device 1-1 itself, the base station 2 does not need to generate map information.

[0041] 6 to 8 show examples in which signal strength is superimposed on surrounding information, but the display control unit 14 may change the display method of signal strength depending on the application used by the user. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen depending on the application of the terminal device 1-1 of this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 9, an application that displays signal strength, a route guidance application, and a map application are shown as examples of applications. The leftmost screen in FIG. 9 is the same as the example shown in FIG. 5, and is a display screen that is displayed when the user starts an application that checks surrounding signal strength.

[0042] The center of FIG. 9 shows a display screen of a route guidance app, for example, a display screen that provides guidance on a walking route. The display screen in the center of FIG. 9 is displayed, for example, by launching the route guidance app and performing an input indicating selection of route guidance that takes radio wave information into consideration. The display screen in the center of FIG. 9 displays the current location 210 of the terminal device 1-1, a route 211 with strong radio wave strength, and a route 212 with weak radio wave strength. In the example shown in the center of FIG. 9, the route guidance app generates a route using map information. In this way, the terminal device 1-1 may link map information indicating radio wave strength and other information with processing in the app. For example, the display control unit 14 outputs map information to the application processing unit 13, and the application processing unit 13 calculates the integrated value of radio wave strength per mesh of positions, i.e., per unit area, for each route based on the map information and map information for route guidance. Then, the application processing unit 13 determines route information indicating a route with strong radio wave strength and route information indicating a route with weak radio wave strength based on the current location of the terminal device 1-1 and the integrated value, and notifies the display control unit 14 of the determined result, the current location, and map information. The display control unit 14 generates display information for displaying the display screen shown in the center of Fig. 9 based on the map information, the current location, and the route information, and outputs the display information to the information display unit 16. This allows the information display unit 16 to display the map information, the current location 210, the route with strong radio wave strength 211, and the route with weak radio wave strength 212 in a superimposed manner. As described above, the current location is calculated, for example, by a location information calculation unit (not shown).

[0043] The right side of FIG. 9 shows a display screen of a map application, displaying a map of a wider range than the range shown in the center of FIG. 9. For example, the display screen of the right side of FIG. 9 is displayed when the map application is launched and wide-area display is selected. In the display screen of the right side of FIG. 9, wide-area map information is superimposed on wide-area map information as a color-coded distribution map. In addition, in the narrow-area display screen shown in the center of FIG. 9, map information may be superimposed as a color-coded distribution map, similar to the wide-area map information on the right side of FIG. 9. In addition, when a range wider than the range shown in FIG. 9 is displayed in a route guidance application, wide-area map information may be superimposed and displayed, similar to the display screen on the right side of FIG. 9. Note that the display method of the map information and wide-area map information is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 9. In addition, the display method of the route is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 9.

[0044] Each display screen shown in FIG. 9 is switched appropriately by a user operation such as starting an app or selecting a display area. In this way, the terminal device 1-1 can select and display information appropriate for the app display screen from information indicating its own reception strength, map information, and wide-area map information, depending on the app display screen. Therefore, the terminal device 1-1 can display information indicating radio wave strength depending on the user's usage scenario. Although a route guidance app is illustrated in FIG. 9, apps that reflect radio wave strength are not limited to this. Furthermore, when radio wave strength is measured for each frequency as described above, a frequency may be selected by a user operation, and information indicating the radio wave strength corresponding to the selected frequency may be displayed.

[0045] In the above example, the base station 2 generates the map information. However, if the terminal device 1 has a function for communicating between terminal devices 1, the terminal device 1 may generate the map information by receiving radio wave intensity information from another terminal device 1. The communication between the terminal devices 1 may be performed by the wireless communication unit 11 in a communication mode different from that for communication with the base station 2, or the terminal device 1 may be provided with a wireless communication unit that performs communication using a communication method different from that of the wireless communication unit 11, and the communication method may be performed using a communication method different from that of the wireless communication unit 11. The other communication method may be, for example, a short-range wireless communication method such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), or a communication method called LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) that enables long-distance and wide-area communication with low power, or may be other than these. Furthermore, multiple other communication methods may be used. For example, the terminal device 1 may be compatible with both Bluetooth (registered trademark) and the LPWA communication method. In this case, the terminal devices 1 may communicate using Bluetooth (registered trademark), for example, if the distance between the terminal devices 1 is less than the maximum distance that can be communicated using Bluetooth (registered trademark), and may communicate using the LPWA communication method if the distance between the terminal devices 1 exceeds the maximum distance that can be communicated using Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0046] Alternatively, a base station control device (not shown) that manages multiple base stations 2 may acquire map information from each base station 2 and generate wide-area map information using the acquired map information. In this case, the base station control device transmits wide-area map information to each base station 2, and each base station 2 transmits the wide-area map information received from the base station control device to the terminal device 1.

[0047] Next, the hardware configuration of the terminal device 1 of this embodiment will be described. In the terminal device 1 of this embodiment, a computer program that describes the processing in the terminal device 1 is executed on the computer system, causing the computer system to function as the terminal device 1. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer system that realizes the terminal device 1 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, this computer system includes a control unit 101, an input unit 102, a memory unit 103, a display unit 104, a communication unit 105, and an output unit 106, which are connected via a system bus 107. The control unit 101 and the memory unit 103 form a processing circuit. Although not shown in FIG. 10, the terminal device 1 also includes a camera, and when the terminal device 1 performs positioning, the terminal device 1 includes a GPS receiver that performs GPS positioning.

[0048] In FIG. 10 , the control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes a program describing the processing of the terminal device 1 of this embodiment. Note that a portion of the control unit 101 may be realized by dedicated hardware such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The input unit 102 is composed of, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and is used by a user of the computer system to input various information. The memory unit 103 includes various memories such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory) and a storage device such as a hard disk, and stores programs to be executed by the control unit 101, necessary data obtained during processing, etc. The memory unit 103 is also used as a temporary storage area for programs. The display unit 104 is composed of a display, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display Panel), etc., and displays various screens to the user of the computer system. Note that the display unit 104 and the input unit 102 may be integrated and realized as a touch panel, etc. The communication unit 105 is a receiver and a transmitter that perform communication processing. The communication unit 105 may be composed of a plurality of devices that respectively support a plurality of communication methods. The output unit 106 is a speaker or the like. Note that FIG. 10 is an example, and the configuration of the computer system is not limited to the example of FIG. 10.

[0049] Here, an example of the operation of the computer system until the program of this embodiment is ready to be executed will be described. In the computer system having the above-mentioned configuration, for example, a computer program is installed in storage unit 103 from a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM inserted in a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM drive or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM drive (not shown). Then, when the program is executed, the program read from storage unit 103 is stored in the main storage area of ​​storage unit 103. In this state, control unit 101 executes processing as terminal device 1 of this embodiment in accordance with the program stored in storage unit 103.

[0050] In the above description, a program describing the processing in the terminal device 1 is provided using a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM as a recording medium, but this is not limited to this, and depending on the configuration of the computer system, the capacity of the program to be provided, etc., it is also possible to use a program provided via a transmission medium such as the Internet.

[0051] For example, the program of this embodiment causes the terminal device 1 in the communication system 100 to execute a measurement step of measuring the strength of radio waves received from the communication device, and a display step of superimposing and displaying information indicating the radio wave strength generated based on the measurement results measured in the measurement step on a display screen corresponding to the application software.

[0052] The radio wave intensity information generating unit 12, the application processing unit 13, and the display control unit 14 shown in Fig. 2 are realized by the control unit 101 shown in Fig. 10 executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Fig. 10. The storage unit 103 shown in Fig. 10 is also used to realize the radio wave intensity information generating unit 12, the application processing unit 13, and the display control unit 14 shown in Fig. 2. The wireless communication unit 11 shown in Fig. 2 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in Fig. 10. The surrounding information acquiring unit 15 is realized by a camera (not shown in Fig. 10) and the control unit 101 shown in Fig. 10. The information display unit 16 is realized by the display unit 104 shown in Fig. 10.

[0053] The base station 2 is also a computer system and may have the same configuration as the computer system shown in FIG. 10, or may have a different configuration from the computer system shown in FIG. structure component Part of 10. For example, the base station 2 may include only the control unit 101, the storage unit 103, and the communication unit 105 among the components shown in FIG. 10, and may not include the other components. The communication control unit 22 and the intensity map generation unit 23 shown in FIG. 3 are realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 10 executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 10. The communication control unit 22 and the intensity map generation unit 23 shown in FIG. 3 are also realized by the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 10. The wireless communication unit 21 and the inter-base station communication unit 24 shown in FIG. 3 are realized by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG. 10.

[0054] As described above, the terminal device 1 of the present embodiment measures the radio wave reception strength and displays the measurement results superimposed on an application display screen corresponding to the application, thereby enabling the user to easily understand information indicating the reception strength. Furthermore, the terminal device 1 can display radio wave strength according to the user's usage scenario by selecting and displaying map information generated using the measurement results of multiple terminal devices 1 and wide-area map information generated based on multiple map information according to the application display screen.

[0055] Embodiment 2 Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication system according to a second embodiment. A communication system 100a according to this embodiment includes terminal devices 1a-1 to 1a-3, a base station 2a, and an electric device 3. The terminal devices 1a-1 to 1a-3 are capable of performing wireless communication with the base station 2a. The base station 2a, the terminal devices 1a-1 to 1a-3, and the electric device 3 are examples of communication devices capable of performing wireless communication. Hereinafter, when the terminal devices 1a-1 to 1a-3 are referred to without being individually distinguished, they will be referred to as terminal devices 1a.

[0056] Like the base station 2 in the first embodiment, the base station 2a may be, for example, a base station in a wireless LAN, a base station in a mobile phone network, or a base station in other wireless communication. The communication service using the base station 2a may be free or paid. If the communication service using the base station 2a is paid, the fee may be determined according to the amount of communication, or a fixed fee per unit time may be determined. Although FIG. 11 illustrates one base station 2a, three terminal devices 1a, and one electrical device 3, the numbers of base stations 2a, terminal devices 1a, and electrical devices 3 are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 11. Components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and redundant description will be omitted. Differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described below.

[0057] In this embodiment, the terminal device 1a grasps the usage status of radio resources for communication between the other terminal device 1a and the base station 2a, and if there is another terminal device 1a that can provide radio resources, it requests a share of the radio resources from the other terminal device 1a. This enables effective use of radio resources. The communication that is the subject of the sharing of radio resources may be either uplink communication from the terminal device 1a to the base station 2a or downlink communication from the base station 2a to the terminal device 1a, or both. The sharing of radio resources may be free or paid. If paid, the user of the terminal device 1a that uses the surplus radio resources of the other terminal device 1a pays a fee to the user of the other terminal device 1a that provides the surplus radio resources.

[0058] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal device 1a according to the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 12, the terminal device 1a is similar to the terminal device 1 according to the first embodiment except that it includes a first wireless communication unit 11a instead of the wireless communication unit 11 of the terminal device 1 according to the first embodiment, and that it also includes a second wireless communication unit 17 and a resource adjustment unit 18.

[0059] The first wireless communication unit 11a has the same functions as the wireless communication unit 11 of the first embodiment, and upon receiving a result of wireless resource allocation from the base station 2a, notifies the resource adjustment unit 18 of the allocation result.

[0060] The second wireless communication unit 17 can perform communication between the terminal devices 1a (hereinafter also referred to as D2D (Device to Device)) using a communication method different from that used by the first wireless communication unit 11a. The communication method for communication between the terminal devices 1a may be, for example, a short-range wireless communication method such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), an LPWA communication method, or other methods. Furthermore, a plurality of other communication methods may be used, and for example, the terminal device 1a may be compatible with both Bluetooth (registered trademark) and the LPWA communication method. In this case, the terminal device 1a may perform communication using Bluetooth (registered trademark) when the distance between the terminal devices 1a is equal to or shorter than the maximum distance at which communication is possible using Bluetooth (registered trademark), and may perform communication using the LPWA communication method when the distance between the terminal devices 1a exceeds the maximum distance at which communication is possible using Bluetooth (registered trademark). 12, the second wireless communication unit 17 is provided separately from the first wireless communication unit 11a, but this is not limiting. If the first wireless communication unit 11a is capable of performing communication between terminal devices 1a, the second wireless communication unit 17 may not be provided, and the first wireless communication unit 11a may also have the function of the second wireless communication unit 17. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices 1a may be performed via a base station 2a. When the second wireless communication unit 17 is used, the terminal device 1a can perform processing related to resource sharing, which will be described later, before connecting with the base station 2a. Furthermore, if the second wireless communication unit 17 uses a communication method with low power consumption, the processing related to resource sharing can be performed while suppressing power consumption.

[0061] The resource adjustment unit 18 manages the wireless resources of the terminal device 1a. For example, when the resource adjustment unit 18 receives a request for resource information indicating the usage status of wireless resources from another terminal device 1a via the second wireless communication unit 17, the resource adjustment unit 18 calculates a surplus amount of wireless resources using the allocation result received from the first wireless communication unit 11a and the usage amount, which is the amount of wireless resources used by a running application and which is obtained from the application processing unit 13. The resource adjustment unit 18 outputs the resource information indicating the surplus amount of wireless resources to the second wireless communication unit 17. The surplus amount is calculated by subtracting the usage amount from the allocation amount. If the allocation amount is greater than the usage amount, the surplus amount is a positive value, and if the allocation amount is less than the usage amount, the surplus amount is a negative value. Furthermore, when the resource adjustment unit 18 receives a request for sharing wireless resources from another terminal device 1a via the second wireless communication unit 17, the resource adjustment unit 18 determines the amount of wireless resources to share based on the request and transmits the determined result to the terminal device 1a that requested the sharing via the second wireless communication unit 17. Furthermore, the resource adjustment unit 18 transmits the determined result to the base station 2a via the first wireless communication unit 11a.

[0062] The surplus amount presented as resource information may be a value obtained by subtracting a certain amount from the value obtained by subtracting the usage amount from the allocation amount, instead of the actual value obtained by subtracting the usage amount from the allocation amount. The certain amount may be determined in advance or may be set by the user, for example. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in the communication speed of the terminal device 1a that transmits the resource information when the usage amount of the wireless resources in the terminal device 1a that transmits the resource information increases from the time the resource information was generated. Furthermore, the surplus amount presented as resource information may be a value obtained by multiplying the value obtained by subtracting the usage amount from the allocation amount by a predetermined ratio that is less than 1.

[0063] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station 2a according to the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 13, the base station 2a is the same as the base station 2 according to the first embodiment, except that it includes a communication control unit 22a instead of the communication control unit 22 of the base station 2 according to the first embodiment.

[0064] The communication control unit 22a allocates wireless resources for communication between the base station 2a and the communication device accommodated by the base station 2a. The wireless resources allocated by the communication control unit 22a may be at least one of the time and bandwidth used in wireless communication, but the following describes an example in which a bandwidth is allocated as the wireless resource. When the terminal device 1a requests allocation of a bandwidth, the requested value may be the bandwidth itself or a communication speed corresponding to the bandwidth.

[0065] Next, a resource sharing process according to this embodiment will be described. Fig. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the resource sharing process according to this embodiment. In the example shown in Fig. 14, it is assumed that the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 shown in Fig. 11 have already been assigned wireless resources by the base station 2a. It is also assumed that the terminal device 1a-1 shown in Fig. 11 has not yet performed connection processing with the base station 2a.

[0066] The base station 2a performs resource allocation (step S11) and notifies the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 of the allocation result (step S12). The resource allocation method in the base station 2a may be any method, such as a method of equally allocating bandwidth to the communication devices accommodated, a method of periodically receiving resource allocation requests from the communication devices and allocating resources according to the requested amounts, or any other method.

[0067] For example, when starting communication using the base station 2a, the user of the terminal device 1a-1 transmits a resource information acquisition request through communication between terminal devices 1a (D2D) (step S13). In detail, the resource adjustment unit 18 of the terminal device 1a-1 generates a resource information acquisition request requesting acquisition of resource information and outputs it to the second wireless communication unit 17, and the second wireless communication unit 17 transmits the resource information acquisition request by broadcast.

[0068] The terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 that have received the resource information acquisition request notify the terminal device 1a-1 of the resource information (step S14). In detail, when the second wireless communication unit 17 of the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 receives the resource information acquisition request from the terminal device 1a-1, it outputs the received resource information acquisition request to the resource adjustment unit 18. Upon receiving the resource information acquisition request, the resource adjustment unit 18 calculates a surplus amount using the allocation result by the base station 2a and the usage amount by the application, as described above. The resource adjustment unit 18 generates resource information including the surplus amount and outputs the generated resource information to the second wireless communication unit 17. The resource information may also include location information of the terminal device 1a. The second wireless communication unit 17 of the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 transmits the resource information to the terminal device 1a-1.

[0069] The terminal device 1a-1 determines the resource request amount, which is the amount of resources to be requested for sharing (step S15). ,end The second wireless communication unit 17 of the terminal device 1a-1 teeth, When resource information is received from terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3, the received resource information is output to resource adjustment unit 18, and resource adjustment unit 18 uses the resource information to determine the resource request amount for each terminal device 1a that is the source of the resource information. For example, a maximum value for the total value of the resource request amount is determined in advance, and if the total value of the positive values ​​among the surplus amounts in the resource information received from terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 is equal to or less than the maximum value, resource adjustment unit 18 determines the resource request amount of the terminal device 1a whose surplus amount is a positive value as the surplus amount of that terminal device 1a.

[0070] Furthermore, each terminal device 1a may include information indicating a unit price of the resource in the resource information, and the resource adjustment unit 18 may determine the resource request amount taking into account the unit price in addition to the surplus amount. The unit price may be set, for example, by a user or by an administrator who manages the operation of wireless resource sharing. For example, if the unit price is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the resource request amount of the corresponding terminal device 1a may be set to zero. Alternatively, the resource request amount of the terminal device 1a may be determined so that the lower the unit price, the greater the requested resource amount. Furthermore, the maximum total value of the resource request amount is not limited to being predetermined, and the resource adjustment unit 18 of the terminal device 1a-1 may determine the maximum total value of the resource request amount based on the communication speed corresponding to the running apps (the communication speed required for the apps to normally operate when the apps are started). The communication speed corresponding to each app may be predetermined, or a value disclosed by the vendor of the app may be used. Alternatively, the communication speed may be determined in advance using the actual communication speed when the apps are started on the terminal device 1a.

[0071] Furthermore, the resource adjustment unit 18 of the terminal device 1a-1 may determine the maximum value of the total value of the resource request amount based on an input from the user, or may determine the resource request amount for each terminal device 1a based on an input from the user. For example, the resource adjustment unit 18 may output resource information to the display control unit 14, and the display control unit 14 may display the resource information on the information display unit 16. For example, the display control unit 14 may display the resource information superimposed on the information indicating the surrounding information and radio wave intensity described in the first embodiment on the information display unit 16.

[0072] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a display example of resource information according to this embodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 15, the resource information is superimposed on the information indicating the surrounding area information and radio wave intensity described in the first embodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 15, the resource information includes a surplus amount, a usage time, and a unit price. The surplus amount is indicated by a communication speed, and the unit price is indicated by a price per unit bandwidth and unit time. The usage time is set, for example, by the user of the corresponding terminal device 1a-1. Note that the resource information only needs to include the surplus amount, and does not necessarily need to include the usage time and the unit price. The user checks this resource information, determines the maximum total value of the resource request amount, and inputs it to the terminal device 1a-1 using an input receiving unit (not shown). The resource adjustment unit 18 may then determine the resource request amount for each terminal device 1a, as described above, using the maximum total value of the resource request amount received from the user. Alternatively, the user may check this resource information, determine the resource request amount for each terminal device 1a, and input it to the terminal device 1a-1 using an input receiving unit (not shown).

[0073] Furthermore, the communication speed for each application may be displayed so that the user can refer to it when determining the maximum total value of the resource request amount described above, the resource request amount for each terminal device 1a, etc. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a display of the communication speed for each application according to the present embodiment. Furthermore, in FIG. 16, when the communication speed for the same application differs depending on the mode, the communication speed for each mode is also shown. For example, the resource adjustment unit 18 outputs the communication speed for each application to the display control unit 14, and the display control unit 14 displays the communication speed for each application on the information display unit 16. This allows the user to determine the maximum total value of the resource request amount or the resource request amount for each terminal device 1a, taking into account the communication speed corresponding to the application to be used. Furthermore, the user can check both the resource information exemplified in FIG. 15 and the communication speed for each application exemplified in FIG. 16, and, if there is little surplus, limit the applications to be used to those corresponding to a low communication speed or set the mode to a mode with a low communication speed.

[0074] Returning to the description of Fig. 14, after step S15, the terminal device 1a-1 transmits a resource share request indicating a request for sharing of wireless resources to the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 through inter-terminal device 1a communication (step S16). In detail, the resource adjustment unit 18 of the terminal device 1a-1 generates a resource share request including a resource request amount corresponding to each of the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3, and transmits the resource share request to each of the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 via the second wireless communication unit 17. In the example shown in Fig. 14, in order to request a share of wireless resources from both the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3, the terminal device 1a-1 transmits a resource share request to both the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3. However, a resource share request may not be transmitted to a terminal device 1a that does not request a share of wireless resources, or a resource share request with a resource request amount of 0 may be transmitted.

[0075] When the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 receive the resource share request, they transmit a resource share response to the terminal device 1a-1 through inter-terminal device 1a communication (step S17). More specifically, when the second wireless communication unit 17 of the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 receives the resource share request from the terminal device 1a-1, it outputs the received resource share request to the resource adjustment unit 18. If the resource request amount requested in the resource share request can be shared, the resource adjustment unit 18 generates a resource share response indicating that the requested resource request amount can be shared, outputs the resource share response to the second wireless communication unit 17, and the second wireless communication unit 17 transmits the resource share response to the terminal device 1a-1. Note that, if the resource request amount requested in the resource share request cannot be shared, the resource adjustment unit 18 generates a resource share response indicating that the requested resource request amount cannot be shared, outputs the resource share response to the second wireless communication unit 17, and the second wireless communication unit 17 transmits the resource share response to the terminal device 1a-1.

[0076] For example, when the requested resource request amount is equal to or less than the surplus amount, the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 determine that the requested resource request amount can be shared. If the usage status of wireless resources changes suddenly after the transmission of resource information and the requested resource request amount exceeds the surplus amount, the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 may transmit a resource share response indicating that the requested resource request amount cannot be shared. Also, even if the usage status of wireless resources changes suddenly after the transmission of resource information and the requested resource request amount exceeds the surplus amount, the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 may determine that the resource request amount requested in the resource share request can be shared. In this case, although the communication speed of the terminal device 1a that shares the wireless resources will decrease, if the sharing is for a fee, the terminal device 1a can receive compensation. Note that the conditions under which the terminal device 1a determines that the resource request amount can be shared may be set by the user.

[0077] The terminal devices 1a-1 to 1a-3 determine the amount of resource share (step S18). In detail, when the resource adjustment units 18 of the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 transmit a resource share response indicating that the requested amount of resources can be shared, they set the amount of resource share requested by the terminal device 1a-1 as the amount of resource share corresponding to the terminal device 1a-1. On the other hand, when the resource adjustment units 18 of the terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3 transmit a resource share response indicating that the requested amount of resources cannot be shared, they set the amount of resource share corresponding to the terminal device 1a-1 to 0. When the resource adjustment unit 18 of the terminal device 1a-1 receives a resource share response indicating that the requested amount of resources can be shared via the second wireless communication unit 17, they determine the corresponding amount of resource share to be provided by the terminal device 1a that is the sender of the resource share response.

[0078] The terminal devices 1a-1 to 1a-3 notify the base station 2a of the resource sharing results (step S19). In detail, the resource adjustment unit 18 of the terminal devices 1a-1 to 1a-3 transmits the resource sharing results to the base station 2a via the first wireless communication unit 11a. The resource sharing results include, for example, combinations of terminal devices 1a that provide wireless resources and terminal devices 1a that receive the resources, and the resource share amounts corresponding to each combination. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the terminal device 1a-2 only needs to notify the base station 2a of the resource sharing results for the combination in which the terminal device 1a-2 is the provider and the terminal device 1a-1 is the recipient, and the terminal device 1a-3 only needs to notify the base station 2a of the resource sharing results for the combination in which the terminal device 1a-3 is the provider and the terminal device 1a-1 is the recipient. Terminal device 1a-1 notifies base station 2a of resource sharing results corresponding to both the combination in which terminal device 1a-2 is the provider and terminal device 1a-1 is the recipient, and the combination in which terminal device 1a-3 is the provider and terminal device 1a-1 is the recipient.

[0079] 14, the terminal devices 1a-1 to 1a-3 notify the base station 2a of the resource sharing result, but since the resource sharing result transmitted by the terminal device 1a-1 is a combination of the resource sharing result transmitted by the terminal device 1a-2 and the resource sharing result transmitted by the terminal device 1a-3, either the terminal device 1a-1 or the terminal device 1a-2 or 1a-3 may notify the base station 2a of the resource sharing result. When the terminal device 1a-1 notifies the base station 2a of the resource sharing result, the notification is made after performing connection processing with the base station 2a.

[0080] Upon receiving the resource sharing result, the base station 2a performs resource allocation reflecting the resource sharing result (step S20). The resource allocation result reflecting the resource sharing result is notified to the terminal devices 1a-1 to 1a-3, and thereafter, communication based on the resource allocation result reflecting the resource sharing result is performed.

[0081] When the terminal device 1a-1 receives a resource sharing response indicating that the requested resource amount cannot be shared in step S17, the terminal device 1a-1 may notify the display control unit 14 of this fact, and the display control unit 14 may display on the information display unit 16 that resource sharing was not possible. After confirming this display, the user may move to another location and perform the processing from step S13 again. Furthermore, when resource sharing is not possible, the terminal device 1a-1 may communicate with the base station 2a according to a normal procedure and receive wireless resource allocation from the base station 2a.

[0082] 14, the terminal device 1a-1 performs step S13 before receiving wireless resources from the base station 2a, but may perform step S13 after receiving wireless resources from the base station 2a in order to further use the wireless resources. In this case, in step S15, the total resource request amount may be calculated based on the difference between the wireless resources (communication speed) allocated to the terminal device 1a-1 and the communication speed corresponding to the application being used.

[0083] In the above example, the terminal device 1a-1 requesting the provision of wireless resources requests the other terminal device 1a to acquire resource information for notifying the other terminal device 1a of the surplus amount. However, if the surplus amount is large, the terminal device 1a-1 may also request the other terminal device 1a to acquire resource information for notifying the other terminal device 1a of the required amount of wireless resources. For example, if the surplus amount is equal to or greater than a threshold, the terminal device 1a-1 may transmit to the other terminal device 1a a request for resource information for notifying the other terminal device 1a of the required amount. Upon receiving the resource information including the required amount, the terminal device 1a-1 determines a resource request amount as the amount of resources to be provided using the required amount included in the resource information, and transmits a resource share request including the determined resource request amount to the other terminal device 1a. The other terminal device 1a then transmits a resource share response indicating that it will receive the resource request amount included in the resource share request, thereby determining a resource share result and notifying the base station 2a. The base station 2a then allocates resources reflecting the resource share result. In this case, the resource information may include a unit price to be paid for sharing the wireless resources, and the terminal device 1a-1 may determine the resource request amount taking the unit price into consideration. As described above, if the surplus amount included in the resource information is negative, it indicates a shortage of resources. Therefore, if the surplus amount is negative, the absolute value of the surplus amount may be used as the required amount.

[0084] That is, when there are multiple terminal devices 1a including a first terminal device and a second terminal device, the first terminal device may transmit a resource information acquisition request to the second terminal device requesting notification of the surplus or required amount of radio resources available between the second terminal device and the base station 2a. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the first terminal device is terminal device 1a-1, and the second terminal device is terminal devices 1a-2 and 1a-3, but the number of second terminal devices is not limited to this example and may be one or more. Upon receiving the resource information acquisition request, the second terminal device transmits resource information including the surplus or required amount to the first terminal device.

[0085] The first terminal device uses the resource information to determine a resource request amount, which is the amount of wireless resources to be requested to be transferred between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and transmits the resource request amount to the second terminal device. The transfer is a provision of wireless resources from the second terminal device to the first terminal device if the resource information includes a surplus amount, or a provision of wireless resources from the first terminal device to the second terminal device if the resource information includes a required amount. If the resource request amount can be transferred between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, the second terminal device transmits a response (resource share response) indicating that the transfer is possible to the first terminal device. The first terminal device and the second terminal device determine a shared resource amount, which is the amount of wireless resources to be transferred between the first terminal device and the second terminal device. Then, at least one of the first terminal device and the second terminal device notifies the base station 2a of the shared resource amount.

[0086] Furthermore, the first terminal device may communicate with the second terminal device using a short-range wireless communication scheme when it can communicate with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication scheme, and may communicate with the second terminal device using an LPWA communication scheme when it cannot communicate with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication scheme. Although not shown in FIG. 11, the first terminal device may also include a relay device capable of one-to-one communication with the first terminal device and the second terminal device. The first terminal device may communicate with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication scheme when it can communicate with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication scheme, and may communicate with the second terminal device via the relay device when it cannot communicate with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication scheme.

[0087] In addition, if the sharing of wireless resources is subject to a fee, the fee for the sharing of wireless resources may be settled in any manner. For example, if the communication service using base station 2a is subject to a fee, the fee for the sharing may be settled together with the fee for the communication service.

[0088] In the above example, the terminal device 1a performing the resource sharing process described in this embodiment also has the function of displaying the radio wave intensity described in embodiment 1. However, the terminal device 1a performing the resource sharing process described in this embodiment does not have to have the function of displaying the radio wave intensity described in embodiment 1. That is, the terminal device 1a does not have to include the radio wave intensity information generator 12. In this case, the base station 2a does not have to include the intensity map generator 23.

[0089] The hardware configurations of the terminal device 1a and the base station 2a of this embodiment are the same as the hardware configurations of the terminal device 1 and the base station 2 of the first embodiment. The first wireless communication unit 11a and the second wireless communication unit 17 shown in FIG. 12 are realized by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG. 10, and the resource adjustment unit 18 shown in FIG. 12 is realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 10 executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 10. The storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 10 is also used to realize the resource adjustment unit 18 shown in FIG. 12. The communication control unit 22a of the base station 2a is realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 10, similar to the communication control unit 22 of the first embodiment.

[0090] As described above, in this embodiment, the terminal device 1a acquires resource information indicating the amount of surplus wireless resources from other terminal devices 1a, and determines the terminal device 1a that requests a resource share using the resource information, and the requested terminal device 1a shares the resource based on the request. This allows for effective use of wireless resources.

[0091] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and may be combined with other known technologies, or different embodiments may be combined with each other. It is also possible to omit or modify parts of the configurations as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0092] 1, 1-1 to 1-3, 1a, 1a-1 to 1a-3 terminal devices, 2, 2a base stations, 3 electrical equipment, 11, 21 wireless communication unit, 11a first wireless communication unit, 12 radio wave intensity information generation unit, 13 application processing unit, 14 display control unit, 15 peripheral information acquisition unit, 16 information display unit, 17 second wireless communication unit, 18 resource adjustment unit, 22, 22a communication control unit, 23 intensity map generation unit, 24 inter-base station communication unit, 100, 100a communication system.

Claims

1. a communication device capable of wireless communication, a first terminal device, and a second terminal device; the first terminal device transmits, to the second terminal device, a resource information acquisition request for requesting notification of a surplus amount or a required amount of radio resources usable between the second terminal device and the communication device; When the second terminal device receives the resource information acquisition request, the second terminal device transmits resource information including the surplus amount or the required amount to the first terminal device; the first terminal device uses the resource information to determine a resource request amount, which is an amount of radio resources to be requested to be transferred between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and transmits the resource request amount to the second terminal device; the second terminal device transmits, when the resource request amount can be transferred between the second terminal device and the first terminal device, a response indicating that the transfer is possible to the first terminal device; the first terminal device and the second terminal device determine a shared resource amount, which is an amount of radio resources to be transferred between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; at least one of the first terminal device and the second terminal device notifies the communication device of the amount of shared resources; The communication device allocates radio resources that reflect the notified amount of shared resources.

2. 2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the second terminal device is a plurality of devices.

3. 2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device is performed using a communication method different from communication between the first terminal device and the communication device.

4. the other communication methods include a short-distance wireless communication method and a low-power wide-area communication method, The communication system described in claim 3, characterized in that the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication method when it is possible to communicate with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication method, and communicates with the second terminal device using the low-power wide-area communication method when it is not possible to communicate with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication method.

5. a relay device capable of one-to-one communication with each of the first terminal device and the second terminal device; the other communication method includes a short-range wireless communication method, The communication system described in claim 3, characterized in that the first terminal device communicates with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication method when it is possible to communicate with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication method, and communicates with the second terminal device via the relay device when it is not possible to communicate with the second terminal device using the short-range wireless communication method.

6. A base station; a plurality of terminal devices including a first terminal device and a second terminal device; Equipped with the first terminal device transmits, to the second terminal device, a resource information acquisition request requesting notification of an amount of surplus radio resources available between the second terminal device and the base station; When the second terminal device receives the resource information acquisition request, the second terminal device transmits resource information including the surplus amount or the required amount to the first terminal device; the first terminal device uses the resource information to determine a resource request amount, which is an amount of radio resources that the first terminal device requests to be provided from the second terminal device, and transmits the resource request amount to the second terminal device; When the second terminal device is able to provide the requested amount of resources to the first terminal device, the second terminal device transmits a response indicating that the requested amount of resources can be provided to the first terminal device, The first terminal device and the second terminal device determine a shared resource amount, which is an amount of radio resources to be provided from the second terminal device to the first terminal device, based on the response; At least one of the first terminal device and the second terminal device notifies the base station of the amount of shared resources; The base station allocates radio resources that reflect the notified amount of shared resources.

7. A communication system including a communication device capable of wireless communication, a first terminal device, and a second terminal device, a step of transmitting a resource information acquisition request from the first terminal device to the second terminal device, requesting notification of a surplus amount or a required amount of radio resources available between the second terminal device and the communication device; a step of transmitting resource information including the surplus amount or the required amount to the first terminal device when the second terminal device receives the resource information acquisition request; a step in which the first terminal device uses the resource information to determine a resource request amount, which is an amount of radio resources to be requested to be transferred between the first terminal device and the second terminal device, and transmits the resource request amount to the second terminal device; a step of transmitting a response indicating that the resource request amount can be transferred between the second terminal device and the first terminal device when the second terminal device can transfer the resource request amount to the first terminal device; a step in which the first terminal device and the second terminal device determine a shared resource amount, which is an amount of radio resources to be transferred between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; At least one of the first terminal device and the second terminal device notifying the communication device of the amount of shared resources; and a step of the communication device allocating radio resources that reflect the notified amount of shared resources.

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