Communication terminal, data reception method, and program

Abstract

Provided are a communication terminal, a data reception method, and a program recording medium with which, even when communication quality has changed from hour to hour, it is possible to suppress the degradation of the quality of user experience of an application program that starts processing after buffering a given amount of data. The communication terminal has installed thereto an application program that starts processing after receiving data from a wireless network and buffering a given amount of the data, and comprises a reception means that receives the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network up to a prescribed time ahead and a first buffer adjustment means that increases or reduces the buffer amount to be received for the application program, on the basis of the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network up to the prescribed time ahead.

Description

Communication terminal, data receiving method, and program recording medium

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication terminal, a data receiving method, and a program recording medium.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic device that can minimize the occurrence of silence even when communication conditions deteriorate. According to this document, when a user instructs the electronic device to change the currently playing stream data, if the electronic device determines that the communication conditions are poor, it suppresses the instruction so that the currently playing stream data continues to be played. More specifically, this electronic device is mounted on a mobile object and determines whether the communication conditions are good or not based on its location and communication area information indicating areas where data communication is possible.

[0003] Patent Document 2 discloses a data prediction device that predicts the probability distribution of future communication throughput from past time-series data of communication throughput.

[0004] JP 2012-100104 A International Publication No. 2014 / 141344

[0005] In an application program that receives data from a wireless network and buffers a certain amount of the data before starting processing, it is known that if the buffer is made too large, the start of processing such as playback of the received data will be delayed, impairing the UX (user experience). On the other hand, if the buffer is small, it is possible to speed up the start of processing such as playback of the received data, but as pointed out in Patent Document 1, there is a problem in that it becomes vulnerable to changes in communication quality.

[0006] In this regard, the electronic device of Patent Document 1 determines whether the communication conditions are good or not based on the location of the electronic device and communication area information, which causes a problem that it cannot respond to changes in communication conditions due to factors other than the communication area (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

[0007] The present disclosure aims to provide a communication terminal, a data receiving method, and a program recording medium that can prevent deterioration in the user's quality of experience when an application program buffers a certain amount of data before starting processing, even when communication quality changes from moment to moment.

[0008] According to a first aspect, there is provided a communication terminal having installed thereon an application program that receives data from a wireless network and buffers a certain amount of the data before starting processing, the communication terminal comprising: a receiving means that receives a predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network up to a predetermined time ahead; and a first buffer adjustment means that increases or decreases the amount of buffer received for the application program based on the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network up to the predetermined time ahead.

[0009] According to a second aspect, there is provided a data reception method in a communication terminal having installed thereon an application program that receives data from a wireless network and buffers a certain amount of the data before starting processing, the data reception method receiving a predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network up to a predetermined time ahead, and increasing or decreasing the amount of buffering to be received for the application program based on the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network up to the predetermined time ahead.

[0010] According to a third aspect, there is provided a program recording medium having recorded thereon a program that causes a communication terminal having installed thereon an application program that receives data from a wireless network and buffers a certain amount of the data before starting processing to execute the following processes: receiving a predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network up to a predetermined time ahead; and increasing or decreasing the amount of buffering to be received for the application program based on the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network up to the predetermined time ahead.

[0011] According to the present disclosure, a communication terminal, a data receiving method, and a program recording medium are provided that can prevent deterioration in the user's quality of experience when an application program buffers a certain amount of data before starting processing, even when communication quality changes from moment to moment.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication terminal of a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the communication terminal of the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication terminal of a second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the communication terminal of the second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication terminal of a third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the communication terminal of the third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication terminal of a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the communication terminal of the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the communication terminal of the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] First, an overview of one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the reference numerals in this overview are added to each element for convenience as an example to facilitate understanding, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure to the illustrated form. Furthermore, connecting lines between blocks in the drawings and the like referred to in the following description include both bidirectional and unidirectional lines. Unidirectional arrows are used to schematically indicate the flow of main signals (data) and do not exclude bidirectionality. A program is executed via a computer device, which includes, for example, a processor, a storage device, an input device, a communication interface, and, if necessary, a display device. Furthermore, this computer device is configured to be able to communicate with internal or external devices (including computers) via the communication interface, whether wired or wireless. Furthermore, ports or interfaces are present at the input / output connection points of each block in the drawings, but are not shown.

[0014] In one embodiment, the present disclosure can be realized in a communication terminal 10, as shown in FIG. 1, which includes a receiving means 11 and a first buffer adjusting means 12 and has an application program 13 installed therein.

[0015] The application program 13 is an application program (hereinafter also referred to as "app") that receives data from a wireless network, buffers a certain amount of the data, and then starts processing. Examples of the app 13 include an action playback app, a music playback app, a navigation app, and an app for listening to internet content. The app 13 can also be considered a program for receiving and playing streaming data.

[0016] The receiving means 11 receives a predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network for a predetermined time ahead. Furthermore, as the predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network, a predicted value calculated by an external server or the like based on changes in parameters related to the communication quality of the wireless network can be used. The external server is not particularly limited as long as it can calculate a predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network for the predetermined time ahead. For example, a data prediction device disclosed in Patent Document 2 that predicts a probability distribution of time-series data from time-series data can be used.

[0017] The first buffer adjusting means increases or decreases the amount of buffer received for the application program 13 based on a predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network for the predetermined time ahead.

[0018] The communication terminal 10 configured as above operates as follows: First, the communication terminal 10 receives a predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network for a predetermined time period from an external server or the like (step S01 in FIG. 2).

[0019] Next, communication terminal 10 increases or decreases the buffer size of application 13 based on the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network up to the predetermined time ahead (step S02 in FIG. 2). For example, if it is determined that communication quality will deteriorate after a predetermined time and that this state will continue for a predetermined time, communication terminal 10 temporarily increases the buffer size. This increases the amount of data stored in the buffer, stabilizing video playback in application 13. If it is determined that communication quality will subsequently recover after a predetermined time and that this state will continue for a predetermined time, communication terminal 10 restores the buffer size. This reduces the amount of data stored in the buffer, but this is not a problem because communication quality will be restored.

[0020] According to the communication terminal 10 operating as described above, even if the communication quality changes from moment to moment, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the user's quality of experience (UX (User Experience)) of the application 13 .

[0021] [First Embodiment] Next, a first embodiment in which the present disclosure is applied to a communication terminal 100 mounted on a vehicle will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Fig. 3, a configuration including the communication terminal 100 that moves with the vehicle, a communication quality prediction device 200, and a network 300 is shown.

[0022] Communication terminal 100 is assumed to be an in-vehicle terminal installed in a vehicle, a mobile terminal of a vehicle passenger, etc. In the following explanation, it is assumed that communication terminal 100 has installed thereon an application that receives data from network 300 and buffers a certain amount of data before starting processing, and that a vehicle passenger is receiving a service using this application.

[0023] The communication quality prediction device 200 predicts future communication throughput (a predetermined time ahead) based on time-series data of past communication throughput of the communication terminal 100. This predicted value of future communication throughput (predicted time-series data) corresponds to the aforementioned "predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network up to a predetermined time ahead." Note that this time-series data of past communication throughput can be acquired from a management device or the like on the network 300 that provides communication services to the communication terminal 100. Of course, the communication terminal 100 or an edge server or the like located on the communication terminal side may also provide the time-series data of past communication throughput to the communication quality prediction device 200. Furthermore, as a method for predicting this communication throughput, for example, a method of predicting a probability distribution of time-series data based on a prediction model created in advance can be used (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Note that in this embodiment, communication throughput is used as the time-series data to be predicted, but other parameters such as received signal strength indicator (RSSI) can also be used as parameters related to the communication quality of the wireless network.

[0024] The network 300 includes a server and the like that transmits application data to the communication terminal 100 .

[0025] Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of communication terminal 100. Referring to Fig. 4, communication terminal 100 includes receiving unit 101 (corresponding to the receiving means) and control unit 102. In addition, application program 103 (hereinafter, app 103) is installed in communication terminal 100 in an executable manner.

[0026] The receiving unit 101 requests the communication quality prediction device 200 to transmit time series data predicting communication throughput (predicted time series data). When the receiving unit 101 receives the time series data predicting communication throughput from the communication quality prediction device 200, the receiving unit 101 sends this time series data to the control unit 102. Note that the prediction accuracy of the communication quality prediction device 200 may decrease the further in time (future) the data is. Therefore, it is desirable for the receiving unit 101 to request the communication quality prediction device 200 to transmit time series data at intervals that ensure a certain level of prediction accuracy.

[0027] The control unit 102 increases or decreases the buffer size of the application 103 based on time-series data (predicted time-series data) that predicts future communication throughput received from the communication quality prediction device 200. In this embodiment, when the predicted time-series data indicates that communication quality will deteriorate, the control unit 102 increases the buffer size of the application 103 before the deterioration occurs. In this embodiment, the control unit 102 corresponds to the first buffer adjustment means described above.

[0028] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the first embodiment. Referring to Fig. 5, first, the communication terminal 100 requests the communication quality prediction device 200 to transmit sequence data representing a predicted value of communication throughput at predetermined time intervals (step S101).

[0029] Upon receiving the request to transmit the time-series data representing the predicted value of communication throughput, the communication quality prediction device 200 calculates the predicted value of future communication throughput based on the time-series data of past communication throughput (step S201).Then, the communication quality prediction device 200 transmits the time-series data representing the predicted value of communication throughput to the communication terminal 100 (step S202).

[0030] The communication terminal 100 receives the time series data representing the predicted value of communication throughput and increases or decreases the buffer capacity of the application 103 based on the time series data representing the predicted value of communication throughput (step S102).

[0031] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the communication terminal of the first embodiment. The horizontal axis of FIG. 6 represents the position of the vehicle moving from left to right, the middle axis represents the buffer amount of the application 103, and the bottom axis represents the transition of the communication quality prediction value. When the predicted time-series data acquired by the vehicle indicates that there is a period of time in which communication quality deteriorates (a communication quality deterioration period) as shown in the bottom axis of FIG. 6, the control unit 102 performs processing to increase the buffer amount of the application 103 before the deterioration of communication quality begins. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, more data than the standard is accumulated before entering the communication quality deterioration period. After entering the communication quality deterioration period, the amount of data that can be received decreases, so the amount of data accumulated in the buffer decreases. However, since more data than the standard is accumulated, problems such as the application 103 stopping processing can be prevented.

[0032] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to ensure good UX even when communication quality changes from moment to moment.

[0033] [Second Embodiment] In the above-described first embodiment, an example has been described in which the control unit 102 increases the buffer size of the application 103 before the communication quality deteriorates. However, it is also possible to adopt a method in which the buffer size of the application 103 is reduced when it is known that the communication quality will improve.

[0034] Fig. 7 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a communication terminal 100a according to the second embodiment. The difference from the communication terminal 100 according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 4 is the operation of the control unit 102a. The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, so the following description will focus on the differences.

[0035] When the predicted time-series data received from the communication quality prediction device 200 indicates that the communication quality will improve, the control unit 102a performs an operation to reduce the buffer amount of the application 103 before the improvement occurs. In this embodiment, the control unit 102a corresponds to the first buffer adjustment means described above.

[0036] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the communication terminal of the second embodiment. The horizontal axis of FIG. 8 indicates the position of the vehicle moving from left to right, the middle axis indicates the buffer amount of the application 103, and the bottom axis indicates the transition of the predicted communication quality value. If the predicted time-series data acquired by the vehicle indicates that there is a period of time during which communication quality improves (a period of good communication quality) as shown in the bottom axis of FIG. 8, the control unit 102 performs processing to reduce the buffer amount of the application 103 before the change (improvement) in communication quality begins. As a result, the buffer amount is reduced before the period of good communication quality begins, as shown in FIG. 8. After the period of good communication quality begins, data can be received without any problems, so there is no problem even if the amount of data stored in the buffer is small.

[0037] As described above, this embodiment also makes it possible to ensure good UX.

[0038] [Third Embodiment] In the first and second embodiments described above, the communication terminals 100 and 100a are described as receiving predicted time series data from the communication quality prediction device 200. However, the communication quality prediction function may be arranged on the communication terminal side.

[0039] Fig. 9 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a communication terminal 100b according to the third embodiment. The difference from the communication terminal 100 according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 4 is that the communication terminal 100b is provided with a communication quality prediction unit 104, and therefore the operation of the receiving unit 101b and the control unit 102b is different. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the following description will focus on the differences.

[0040] The communication quality prediction unit 104 predicts a future communication throughput, which is a predetermined time ahead, based on time-series data of past communication throughput of the communication terminal 100b. This communication quality prediction unit 104 corresponds to a first prediction means. Note that in this embodiment, communication throughput is used as time-series data to be predicted, but other parameters such as received signal strength indicator (RSSI) can also be used as parameters related to the communication quality of the wireless network.

[0041] The receiving unit 101b requests the communication quality predicting unit 104 to transmit time-series data predicting the communication throughput, rather than the communication quality predicting device 200. When the receiving unit 101b receives the time-series data predicting the communication throughput from the communication quality predicting unit 104, the receiving unit 101b sends the time-series data to the control unit 102b.

[0042] The control unit 102 b increases or decreases the buffer capacity of the application 103 based on the predicted time series data predicted by the communication quality prediction unit 104 .

[0043] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the communication terminal of the third embodiment. Referring to Fig. 10, first, the communication quality prediction unit 104 of the communication terminal 100 calculates sequence data representing a predicted value of communication throughput at a predetermined time interval (step S301).

[0044] Next, the communication terminal 100 increases or decreases the buffer capacity of the application 103 based on the time-series data representing the predicted value of the communication throughput (step 302).

[0045] The communication terminal 100b of this embodiment, which operates as described above, is configured to calculate time-series data representing a predicted value of communication throughput by itself and adjust the buffer size. Also, in this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the buffer size of the application 103 is reduced when it is known that the communication quality will be improved.

[0046] [Fourth embodiment] Next, a fourth embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which a communication terminal adjusts the buffer amount of the application 103 based on its own movement route, obstacles on the route, base station information, etc. in addition to predicted time series data.

[0047] Fig. 11 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a communication terminal 100c of the fourth embodiment. The difference from the communication terminal 100 of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 4 is that the communication terminal 100c has a route information acquisition unit 105 and a map information storage unit 106 added thereto, and that the operation of the control unit 102c is accordingly different. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the following description will focus on the differences.

[0048] The route information acquisition unit 105 acquires route information set in the communication terminal 100c. Route information acquired from a car navigation system, a route guidance service, or the like can be suitably used as the route information. That is, the route information may be a travel route to a destination set by the user of the communication terminal. Furthermore, the route information is not limited to this, and may be, for example, route information estimated from the current position and travel direction of the communication terminal.

[0049] The map information storage unit 106 stores map information including buildings, obstacles, etc. The map information storage unit 106 may also store information related to the service area of ​​a mobile communication service as information accompanying the map.

[0050] The control unit 102c increases or decreases the buffer size of the application 103 based on the time-series data predicting future communication throughput received from the communication quality prediction device 200, and also increases or decreases the buffer size of the application 103 based on the route information and map information. For example, if the presence of an obstacle or a tunnel on the route of the communication terminal identified from the route information is known, the control unit 102c increases the buffer size of the application 103 just before the section where significant degradation of communication quality is expected. Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 102c functions as a second prediction means, a first buffer adjustment means, and a second buffer adjustment means.

[0051] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation performed by a communication terminal of the fourth embodiment independently of the buffer capacity increase / decrease process based on time-series data predicting future communication throughput. Referring to Fig. 12, first, the route information acquisition unit 105 of the communication terminal 100 acquires route information at predetermined time intervals (step S401). Note that if the user is not using a car navigation system or a route guidance service, route information cannot be acquired, and therefore the subsequent processing may be omitted.

[0052] Next, the control unit 102c of the communication terminal 100 refers to the route information and the map information to identify a section on the route where communication quality deteriorates (step 402). The control unit 102c of the communication terminal 100 increases or decreases the buffer size of the application 103 based on the identified section.

[0053] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the communication terminal 100c of the fourth embodiment. The horizontal axis of FIG. 13 represents the position of a vehicle moving from left to right, the middle axis represents the buffer size of the application 103, and the bottom axis represents the transition of the communication quality prediction value. The operation in the first half of FIG. 13 is the same as that in the first embodiment, so its description is omitted. In the example of FIG. 13, the communication terminal 100c increases the buffer size of the application 103 even before entering a tunnel. After entering a tunnel, the amount of data that can be received decreases significantly, so the amount of data stored in the buffer decreases significantly. However, since more data than normal is stored, problems such as the application 103 stopping processing are less likely to occur. In a more preferred embodiment, the control unit 102c of the communication terminal 100 references route information and map information, and adjusts the amount of buffer increase based on the degree and duration of degradation in reception quality. For example, if there is a long section where data cannot be received, such as a tunnel, the duration of service provided by the application 103 can be extended by setting the buffer size according to the length of the section, specifically the length of the tunnel.

[0054] Furthermore, if the map information includes information about the service area of ​​a mobile communication service, the control unit 102c of the communication terminal 100 may increase or decrease the buffer size based on this service area information. For example, if it is determined that a route identified from the route information will be outside the service area for a certain period of time, the control unit 102c increases the buffer size just before that section. This makes it possible to shorten the period during which the service provided by the application 103 cannot be provided due to the service area being out of the service area.

[0055] As described above, according to this embodiment, in addition to the predicted value predicted from the time-series data of past communication quality, it is possible to predict a change in communication quality due to an obstacle or the like on the actual route and adjust the buffer size of the application 103. In particular, it is possible to accurately predict deterioration of communication quality due to entering a tunnel or the like, which is difficult to predict from the time-series data of past communication quality, and use this prediction to help change the buffer size.

[0056] [Fifth Embodiment] In the above-described fifth embodiment, the communication terminal 100c is described as receiving time-series data predicting future communication throughput from the communication quality prediction device 200. However, as in the third embodiment, the communication quality prediction unit 104 may be arranged on the communication terminal side.

[0057] Fig. 14 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a communication terminal according to the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. The difference from the fourth embodiment shown in Fig. 11 is that the communication terminal 100d includes a communication quality prediction unit 104. The other configurations and operations are the same as those of the third and fourth embodiments, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0058] According to this embodiment, the effects of both the third and fourth embodiments can be obtained.

[0059] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and further modifications, substitutions, and adjustments can be made without departing from the basic technical concept of the present disclosure. For example, the network configurations, element configurations, and data representation formats shown in the drawings are examples intended to aid in understanding the present disclosure, and are not limited to the configurations shown in these drawings.

[0060] (Hardware Configuration) In each embodiment of the present disclosure, each component of each device represents a functional unit block. Some or all of the components of each device are realized, for example, by an arbitrary combination of an information processing device 900 and a program as shown in FIG. 15 . FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 900 that realizes each component of each device. The information processing device 900 includes, as an example, the following configuration: CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901 ROM (Read Only Memory) 902 RAM (Random Access Memory) 903 Program 904 loaded into RAM 903 Storage device 905 that stores the program 904 Drive device 907 that reads and writes to a recording medium 906 Communication interface 908 that connects to a communication network 909 Input / output interface 910 that inputs and outputs data Bus 911 that connects each component

[0061] Each component of each device in each embodiment is realized by the CPU 901 acquiring and executing a program 904 that realizes the function. That is, the CPU 901 in FIG. 15 executes a forecast time series data acquisition program and a buffer amount change program to update each calculation parameter stored in the RAM 903, the storage device 905, etc. The program 904 that realizes the function of each component of each device is stored in the storage device 905 or the ROM 902 in advance, for example, and is read by the CPU 901 as needed. The program 904 may be supplied to the CPU 901 via the communication network 909, or may be stored in advance on the recording medium 906, and the drive device 907 may read the program and supply it to the CPU 901.

[0062] There are various variations in the method of realizing each device. For example, each device may be realized by any combination of a separate information processing device 900 and a program for each component. Furthermore, multiple components of each device may be realized by any combination of a single information processing device 900 and a program. That is, each unit (processing means, function) of the communication terminal shown in the first to fifth embodiments can be realized by a computer program that causes a processor installed in the device to execute each of the above-mentioned processes using its hardware.

[0063] In addition, some or all of the components of each device may be realized by other general-purpose or dedicated circuits, processors, etc., or a combination of these. These may be configured by a single chip, or by multiple chips connected via a bus.

[0064] Some or all of the components of each device may be realized by a combination of the above-mentioned circuits and programs.

[0065] When some or all of the components of each device are realized by multiple information processing devices, circuits, etc., the multiple information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be centrally or decentralized. For example, the information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be realized as a client-server system, a cloud computing system, or the like, in a form in which each device is connected via a communication network.

[0066] It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to only the above-described embodiments. In other words, those skilled in the art can modify or substitute the above-described embodiments to construct various modified forms without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0067] For example, in the above-described first to fifth embodiments, predicted time series data calculated based on time series data of past communication throughput is used, but predicted values ​​of communication quality calculated using other methods can also be used.

[0068] In the first to fifth embodiments described above, the control units 102 to 102c are described as functioning as the second prediction unit, the first buffer adjustment unit, and the second buffer adjustment unit, but the configuration that the communication terminal can adopt is not limited to this configuration. For example, a configuration in which the second prediction unit, the first buffer adjustment unit, and the second buffer adjustment unit are provided independently of the control unit can also be adopted.

[0069] A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0070] [Supplementary Note 1] A communications terminal having installed thereon an application program that receives data from a wireless network and buffers a certain amount of the data before starting processing, the communications terminal comprising: receiving means for receiving a predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network for a predetermined time ahead; and first buffer adjustment means for increasing or decreasing the buffer amount received for the application program based on the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network for the predetermined time ahead. [Supplementary Note 2] The communications terminal described above may be configured to use, as the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network, a predicted value calculated based on changes in parameters related to communication quality of the wireless network. [Supplementary Note 3] The communications terminal described above may be configured to include, instead of the receiving means, first prediction means for calculating a predicted value that predicts changes in communication quality of the wireless network for the predetermined time ahead based on changes in parameters related to communication quality of the wireless network, and to use the predicted value calculated by the first prediction means as the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network. [Supplementary Note 4] The above-mentioned communication terminal may further include: second prediction means for predicting a change in communication quality of the wireless network based on the position and movement of the communication terminal and map information; and second buffer adjustment means for increasing or decreasing the buffer amount received for the application program based on the change in communication quality of the wireless network predicted by the prediction means. [Supplementary Note 5] The second prediction means of the above-mentioned communication terminal may further predict a change in communication quality of the wireless network based on a travel route to a destination set by a user of the communication terminal. [Supplementary Note 6] The application program of the above-mentioned communication terminal may be a program for receiving and playing streaming data.[Supplementary Note 7] A data reception method in a communications terminal having installed thereon an application program that receives data from a wireless network and buffers a certain amount of the data before starting processing, the method comprising: receiving a predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network for a predetermined time ahead; and increasing or decreasing the amount of buffering for receiving data for the application program based on the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network for the predetermined time ahead. [Supplementary Note 8] A program recording medium having recorded thereon a program that causes a communications terminal having installed thereon an application program that receives data from a wireless network and buffers a certain amount of the data before starting processing to execute the following processes: receiving a predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network for a predetermined time ahead; and increasing or decreasing the amount of buffering for receiving data for the application program based on the predicted value of communication quality of the wireless network for the predetermined time ahead. Note that the embodiments described in the above supplementary notes can be combined with each other after making necessary modifications. For example, a configuration that combines the contents of Supplementary Note 2 and one or more of Supplementary Notes 3 to 6 is also within the scope of the disclosure of this specification. The forms of Supplementary Notes 7 and 8 can be expanded to the forms of Supplementary Notes 2 to 6, similarly to Supplementary Note 1.

[0071] The disclosures of the above-cited patent documents are incorporated herein by reference and may be used as the basis or part of this disclosure, as necessary. Modifications and adjustments of the embodiments and examples are possible within the scope of this disclosure (including the claims), and further based on its basic technical concept. Furthermore, various combinations and selections (including partial deletions) of various disclosed elements (including elements of each claim, each element of each embodiment or example, each element of each drawing, etc.) are possible within the scope of this disclosure. In other words, this disclosure naturally includes various modifications and alterations that would be possible by a person skilled in the art in accordance with the entire disclosure, including the claims, and the technical concept. In particular, with regard to the numerical ranges described herein, any numerical value or subrange within that range should be construed as specifically described, even if not otherwise specified. Furthermore, the disclosures of the above-cited documents, when used in part or in whole in combination with the disclosures herein as part of this disclosure, in accordance with the spirit of this disclosure, are also deemed to be included in the disclosures of this application.

[0072] 10, 100 to 100d Communication terminal 11 Receiving means 12 First buffer adjusting means 13, 103 Application program 101, 101b Receiving unit 102, 102a to 102c Control unit 104 Communication quality prediction unit 105 Route information acquisition unit 106 Map information storage unit 200 Communication quality prediction device 300 Network 900 Information processing device 901 CPU (Central Processing Unit) 902 ROM (Read Only Memory) 903 RAM (Random Access Memory) 904 Program 905 Storage device 906 Recording medium 907 Drive device 908 Communication interface 909 Communication network 910 Input / output interface 911 Bus

Claims

1. An application program is installed that receives data from a wireless network, buffers a certain amount of the data, and then starts processing. Receiving means for receiving a predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network until a predetermined time in the future; First buffer adjustment means for increasing or decreasing the buffer amount received for the application program based on the predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network until a predetermined time in the future; A communication terminal comprising the above.

2. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein a predicted value calculated based on a change in a parameter related to the communication quality of the wireless network is used as the predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network.

3. Instead of the receiving means, First prediction means for predicting a change in the communication quality of the wireless network until a predetermined time in the future based on a change in a parameter related to the communication quality of the wireless network; The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the predicted value calculated by the first prediction means is used as the predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network.

4. Furthermore, Second prediction means for predicting a change in the communication quality of the wireless network based on the position and movement of the communication terminal and map information; Second buffer adjustment means for increasing or decreasing the buffer amount received for the application program based on the change in the communication quality of the wireless network predicted by the prediction means; The communication terminal according to claim 1.

5. The communication terminal according to claim 4, wherein the second prediction means further predicts a change in the communication quality of the wireless network based on a movement route to a destination set by a user of the communication terminal.

6. The communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the application program is a program for receiving and playing streaming data.

7. A method for receiving data in a communication terminal in which an application program is installed that receives data from a wireless network, buffers a certain amount of the data, and then starts processing, the method comprising: Receiving a predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network until a predetermined time in the future; Increasing or decreasing the buffer amount received for the application program based on the predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network until a predetermined time in the future. A method for receiving data.

8.

9.

10. On a communication terminal on which an application program is installed that receives data from a wireless network, buffers a certain amount of the data, and then starts processing A process of receiving a predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network up to a predetermined time in the future, A process of increasing or decreasing the amount of data buffered for the application program based on the predicted value of the communication quality of the wireless network up to a predetermined time in the future, A program for executing the above.