Network access and roaming communication method and system for electronic price tags

Abstract

The present invention discloses a network access and roaming communication method and system for electronic price tags. According to the present invention, the success rate of a background server selecting an optimal base station and timely communicating with an electronic price tag that has newly entered or moved into the coverage area of ​​the electronic price tag system is greatly improved, and the reliability and stability of communication between the background server and the electronic price tag is ensured.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of mobile communications, and more particularly to a network access and roaming communication method and system for electronic price tags. [Background technology]

[0002] This section is intended to provide a background or context for the claimed embodiments of the invention. Nothing herein is admitted to be prior art by virtue of its inclusion in this section.

[0003] In an EPL system, a background server needs to communicate with EPLs through a base station, as shown in Figure 1. In an actual EPL system network, there are many base stations, and to ensure communication quality, the background server needs to find the most reasonable base station for communicating with a specified EPL. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the prior art, EPLs typically periodically transmit heartbeats to base stations, which then report the power of the received EPL heartbeats to a background server. The background server selects the optimal base station for communicating with the EPL based on the power of the heartbeats received by different base stations from the same EPL. However, the prior art has the following drawbacks: Although EPLs periodically transmit heartbeats, the period is typically long given the EPL's power-saving settings. When an EPL enters a base station's coverage area, the background server is unable to immediately detect the EPL's presence and allow it to access the network. Furthermore, when an EPL moves from one base station's coverage area to another, the background server is unable to immediately detect the EPL's movement. In these two scenarios, when the background server needs to communicate with an EPL, it is unable to select a base station that covers the EPL to communicate with the EPL, resulting in communication failure or incommunication failure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] An embodiment of the present invention is a network access and roaming communication method for an electronic price tag, comprising: The EPL transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a slow period T1, receives the base station signal at a period P1, and records the power of the base station signal; Comparing the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times to determine whether the EPL has entered the coverage area of ​​the base station or whether the EPL has roamed within the coverage area of ​​the base station; When entering a coverage area of ​​a base station or when roaming of the coverage area of ​​the base station occurs, the electronic price tag transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a fast period T2, the base station reports the received heartbeat signal to a background server, and the background server selects an optimal base station for communicating with the electronic price tag based on the power of the heartbeat signal received by the base station.

[0006] An embodiment of the present invention further provides an electronic price tag network access and roaming communication system, which includes an electronic price tag, a base station, and a background server, and is used to realize the above-mentioned electronic price tag network access and roaming communication method.

[0007] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer device including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, which, when executed by the processor, realizes the above-mentioned network access and roaming communication method for electronic price tags.

[0008] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program, when executed by a processor, realizing the above-mentioned network access and roaming communication method for electronic price tags.

[0009] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, realizes the above-mentioned network access and roaming communication method for electronic price tags. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In the prior art, the EPL periodically transmits a heartbeat signal. When the EPL enters the coverage area of ​​the EPL system, the background server cannot immediately detect the presence of the EPL and allow it to access the network. When the EPL moves from the coverage area of ​​one base station to the coverage area of ​​another base station, the background server cannot immediately detect the movement of the EPL. In these two situations, when the background server needs to communicate with the EPL, it cannot select the covering base station to communicate with the EPL, resulting in communication failure or incommunication failure. In contrast, in the embodiment of the present invention, the EPL transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a slow period T1, and when the EPL receives a base station signal at a period P1, In addition, the power of the base station signal is recorded by the EPL, and the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times is compared to determine whether the EPL has entered a base station coverage area or whether the EPL has roamed out of the base station coverage area. When the EPL has entered a base station coverage area or roamed out of the base station coverage area, the EPL transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a fast period T2, and the base station reports the received heartbeat signal to the background server. The background server selects the optimal base station for communicating with the EPL based on the power of the heartbeat signal received by the base station, thereby quickly detecting when the EPL has entered the coverage area of ​​the EPL system or moved from one base station coverage area to another. In the present invention, the EPL reports the heartbeat signal at irregular periods, which significantly improves the success rate of the background server selecting the optimal base station to communicate in a timely manner with an EPL that has newly entered or moved into the coverage area of ​​the EPL system, thereby ensuring the reliability and stability of communication between the background server and the EPL.

[0011] In order to more clearly describe the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions of the prior art, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings necessary for describing the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other accompanying drawings based on these accompanying drawings without any creative efforts. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a skeleton diagram of an electronic price tag, a base station, and a background server. [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart of a network access and roaming communication method for an electronic price tag according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the following will further describe in detail the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the exemplary embodiments of the present invention and the description thereof are for interpreting the present invention but are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0014] In response to the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention proposes a technical solution that can quickly detect when an EPL enters the coverage area of ​​an EPL system or when it moves from the coverage area of ​​one base station to the coverage area of ​​another base station, and quickly selects the most suitable base station for communicating with the EPL, thereby ensuring successful communication.

[0015] 2 is a flowchart of a network access and roaming communication method for an EPL in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the method includes: The EPL transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a slow period T1, receives the base station signal at a period P1, records the power of the base station signal, and compares the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times to determine whether the EPL has entered the coverage area of ​​the base station or whether the EPL has roamed (performed by the EPL) within the coverage area of ​​the base station; When entering a coverage area of ​​a base station or when roaming of the coverage area of ​​the base station occurs, the EPL transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a fast period T2, the base station reports the received heartbeat signal to a background server, and the background server selects an optimal base station for communicating with the EPL based on the power of the heartbeat signal received by the base station.

[0016] Specifically, the slow and fast cycles of an EPL are defined as follows: For example, a typical value for the slow cycle may be defined as 15 minutes, and a typical value for the fast cycle may be defined as 1 minute.

[0017] The slow period T1 is the period in which the EPL transmits the heartbeat signal. The period P1 is the period in which the EPL receives the base station signal. The slow period T1 is unrelated to the period P1.

[0018] The EPT transmits the heartbeat signal to the base station at a slow period T1, which means that the heartbeat signal is transmitted at points 0, T1, 2T1, 3T1, . . .

[0019] When the EPT receives the base station signal at a period P1, it means that it receives the base station signal at points 0, P1, 2P1, 3P1, . . .

[0020] The EPT transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a fast period T2, which means that the heartbeat signal is transmitted at points 0, T2, 2T2, 3T2, . . .

[0021] Specifically, the EPL continuously transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station regardless of whether the EPL is within the coverage area of ​​the base station. When the EPL is able to receive a base station signal, it indicates that the EPL has entered the coverage area of ​​the base station. In this case, the EPL continues to continuously transmit a heartbeat signal to the base station.

[0022] The EPL in the present invention detects, by receiving a base station signal, whether it has entered a base station coverage area or whether the coverage area of ​​the base station where it is located has changed. When the EPL moves from a non-covered area to a covered area, the background server must perform operations related to the EPL's network access. When the EPL moves from the coverage area of ​​one base station to the coverage area of ​​another base station, the background server must perform operations related to the EPL's roaming.

[0023] By monitoring the original base station (i.e., the base station immediately before the EPL tag), it is possible to determine whether the EPL tag has moved (roamed). Even after the EPL tag has moved and entered a new base station, it can re-determine whether the EPL tag has moved again as the original base station.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present invention, comparing the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times to determine whether the EPL has entered the coverage area of ​​the base station includes: If the base station signal is not received at the first time point but the base station signal is received at the second time point, it indicates that the EPL has entered a coverage area of ​​the base station; and If the base station signal is not received at the first time point and the base station signal is not received at the second time point, it is indicated that the EPL is not within the coverage area of ​​the base station.

[0025] Specifically, the first time point is earlier than the second time point.

[0026] In an embodiment of the present invention, comparing the power of base station signals received by an electronic value tag at different times to determine whether roaming of the coverage area of the base station by the electronic value tag has occurred is When the power of the base station signal received at the first time point is greater than the power of the base station signal received at the second time point, and the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is indicated that the electronic value tag may have moved from the coverage area of one base station to the coverage area of another base station, and roaming of the coverage area of the base station may have occurred. Here, the predetermined threshold is determined according to the actual situation, and When the power of the base station signal received at the first time point is greater than the power of the base station signal received at the second time point, but the difference does not exceed the predetermined threshold, and the power of the base station signal received at the second time point is less than a predetermined threshold, it is indicated that the electronic value tag may have moved from the coverage area of one base station to the coverage area of another base station, and roaming of the coverage area of the base station may have occurred. Here, the predetermined threshold is determined according to the actual situation, including.

[0027] In an embodiment of the present invention, the electronic value tag further includes setting a holding time of a fast period T2, and when the holding time times out, or when the electronic value tag receives a response from the base station, the electronic value tag returns to transmitting a heartbeat signal at a slow period T1.

[0028] Specifically, a heartbeat signal is transmitted at a fast period T2 (T2 < T1), the holding time of the period T2 is W1, when W1 times out, or after receiving a response from the base station (multiple times), it returns to transmitting a heartbeat at a slow period T1.

[0029] Here, when W1 times out, for example, assuming that the electronic value tag transmits a heartbeat signal at 0, T2, 2T2, 3T2, when W1 is between 3T2 and 4T2, it is considered that W1 has timed out, and then the heartbeat signal will be transmitted at 3T2 + T1.

[0030] Specifically, the EPL may have been moved multiple times, but the EPL is continually monitoring changes in the base station signal, and after each move, the EPL must adjust its heartbeat signal transmission accordingly.

[0031] Multiple APs (base stations) connected to the background server may receive heartbeats from the same EPL tag, although the received power may differ. Based on the heartbeats from the EPL tag received by the base stations, the background server selects the base station with the strongest received power as the optimal base station and selects that base station to communicate with the EPL tag.

[0032] An embodiment of the present invention further provides an electronic price tag network access and roaming communication system, which includes an electronic price tag, a base station, and a background server, and is used to realize the above-mentioned electronic price tag network access and roaming communication method.

[0033] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer device including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, which, when executed by the processor, realizes the above-mentioned network access and roaming communication method for electronic price tags.

[0034] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program, when executed by a processor, realizing the above-mentioned network access and roaming communication method for electronic price tags.

[0035] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, realizes the above-mentioned network access and roaming communication method for electronic price tags.

[0036] In the prior art, EPLs periodically report heartbeats. When an EPL enters the coverage area of ​​an EPL system, the background server cannot immediately detect the presence of the EPL and allow it to access the network. When an EPL moves from the coverage area of ​​one base station to the coverage area of ​​another base station, the background server cannot immediately detect the movement of the EPL. In these two situations, when the background server needs to communicate with an EPL, it cannot select a covering base station to communicate with the EPL, resulting in communication failure or incommunication failure. In contrast, in the embodiment of the present invention, the EPL transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a slow period T1, and when the EPL receives a base station signal at a period P1, In addition, the power of the base station signal is recorded by the EPL, and the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times is compared to determine whether the EPL has entered a base station coverage area or whether the EPL has roamed out of the base station coverage area. When the EPL has entered a base station coverage area or roamed out of the base station coverage area, the EPL transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a fast period T2, and the base station reports the received heartbeat signal to the background server. The background server selects the optimal base station for communicating with the EPL based on the power of the heartbeat signal received by the base station, thereby quickly detecting when the EPL has entered the coverage area of ​​the EPL system or moved from one base station coverage area to another. In the present invention, the EPL reports the heartbeat signal at irregular periods, which significantly improves the success rate of the background server selecting the optimal base station to communicate in a timely manner with an EPL that has newly entered or moved into the coverage area of ​​the EPL system, thereby ensuring the reliability and stability of communication between the background server and the EPL.

[0037] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk memory, CD-ROM, optical memory, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0038] The present invention has been described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of processes and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, may be implemented by computer program commands. These computer program commands may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to generate an apparatus that, when executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, implements the function(s) specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0039] These computer program commands may be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to operate in a particular manner, such that the commands stored in the computer-readable memory cause a product including a command device to implement the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0040] These computer program commands may be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, causing the computer or other programmable apparatus to execute a series of operational steps to produce a computer-implemented process, and the commands executed by the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0041] The specific embodiments described above further illustrate the objectives, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of the present invention. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any amendments, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. the EPL transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a slow period T1, receives a base station signal at a period P1, and records the power of the base station signal; comparing the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times to determine whether the EPL has entered a coverage area of ​​a base station or whether the EPL has roamed into the coverage area of ​​a base station; When the EPL enters a coverage area of ​​the base station or when roaming occurs in the coverage area of ​​the base station, the EPL transmits the heartbeat signal to the base station in a fast cycle T2, the base station reports the received heartbeat signal to a background server, and the background server selects an optimal base station for communication with the EPL based on the power of the heartbeat signal received by the base station; the EPL tag sets a holding time of the fast cycle T2, and when the holding time times out or when the EPL tag receives a response from the base station, the EPL tag returns to transmitting the heartbeat signal in the slow cycle T1. A network access / roaming communication method for an electronic price tag, comprising:

2. Comparing the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times to determine whether the EPL has entered a coverage area of ​​the base station; If the base station signal is not received at a first time point and the base station signal is received at a second time point, it is indicated that the EPL has entered the coverage area of ​​the base station.

2. The network access and roaming communication method for electronic price tags according to claim 1.

3. Comparing the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times to determine whether the EPL has entered a coverage area of ​​the base station; If the base station signal is not received at a first time point and the base station signal is not received at a second time point, it is indicated that the EPL is not within the coverage area of ​​the base station.

2. The network access and roaming communication method for electronic price tags according to claim 1.

4. Comparing the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times to determine whether the EPL has roamed within the coverage area of ​​the base station, If the power of the base station signal received at the first time point is greater than the power of the base station signal received at the second time point and the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold, it indicates that the EPL has moved from the coverage area of ​​one of the base stations to the coverage area of ​​another of the base stations, and roaming of the coverage areas of the base stations has occurred; If the power of the base station signal received at the first time point is greater than the power of the base station signal received at the second time point, but the difference does not exceed a predetermined threshold, and the power of the base station signal received at the second time point is less than the predetermined threshold, it indicates that the EPL has moved from the coverage area of ​​one base station to the coverage area of ​​another base station, and roaming of the coverage areas of the base stations has occurred.

2. The network access and roaming communication method for electronic price tags according to claim 1.

5. An electronic price tag, a base station, and a background server, A method for implementing the network access and roaming communication method for electronic price tags according to claim 1, A network access and roaming communication system for electronic price tags.

6. A computer device including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, When the computer program is executed by the processor, the EPL transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a slow period T1, receives a base station signal at a period P1, and records the power of the base station signal; comparing the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times to determine whether the EPL has entered a coverage area of ​​a base station or whether the EPL has roamed into the coverage area of ​​a base station; When the EPL enters the coverage area of ​​the base station or when roaming occurs in the coverage area of ​​the base station, the EPL transmits the heartbeat signal to the base station in a fast cycle T2, the base station reports the received heartbeat signal to a background server, and the background server selects an optimal base station for communication with the EPL based on the power of the heartbeat signal received by the base station; the EPL sets a holding time for the fast cycle T2, and when the holding time times out or when the EPL receives a response from the base station, the EPL returns to transmitting the heartbeat signal in the slow cycle T1, thereby realizing a network access / roaming communication method for an EPL.

1. A computer device characterized by:

7. A computer program is stored The computer program, when executed by a processor, the EPL transmits a heartbeat signal to the base station at a slow period T1, receives a base station signal at a period P1, and records the power of the base station signal; comparing the power of the base station signal received by the EPL at different times to determine whether the EPL has entered a coverage area of ​​a base station or whether the EPL has roamed into the coverage area of ​​a base station; When the EPL enters the coverage area of ​​the base station or when roaming occurs in the coverage area of ​​the base station, the EPL transmits the heartbeat signal to the base station in a fast cycle T2, the base station reports the received heartbeat signal to a background server, and the background server selects an optimal base station for communication with the EPL based on the power of the heartbeat signal received by the base station; the EPL sets a holding time for the fast cycle T2, and when the holding time times out or when the EPL receives a response from the base station, the EPL returns to transmitting the heartbeat signal in the slow cycle T1, thereby realizing a network access / roaming communication method for an EPL. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:

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