Network connection method using mobile communication equipment

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a network connection method, mobile communication equipment, and a network system, with which it is possible to construct a network capable of high-capacity communication even if wired cables have been disconnected.　A network system 301 according to the present invention comprises mobile communication equipment 10 that can be moved between a user area Ar1 and a base area Ar2, and the network system is characterized in that the mobile communication equipment 10 includes: communication units (11, 12) that wirelessly communicate with a terminal 20 in the user area Ar1 and communicate with a content server 32 in the base area Ar2; a content storage unit 13 that stores content; and a control unit 15 that, when remaining in the user area Ar1, causes the content to be transmitted from the content storage unit 13 via the communication unit 11 in response to a request from the terminal 20.

Description

Network connection method using mobile communication devices

[0001] The present disclosure relates to network connections via mobile communication devices such as drones.

[0002] As shown in Fig. 1, in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake, flood, or typhoon, a situation may arise in which a wired cable is disconnected, making it impossible to connect to a network. Methods for dealing with a wired cable disconnection during a disaster include a first method (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1) that uses multiple wireless terminals, as shown in Fig. 2, and a second method that builds a network via a satellite or an air vehicle (HAPS).

[0003] H. Nishiyama, M. Ito and N. Kato, “Relay-by-smartphone: realizing multihop device-to-device communications”, in IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 56-65, April 2014, doi: 10.1109 / MCOM. 2014.6807947.

[0004] However, the above-mentioned methods have the problem that the available bandwidth is small, making it difficult to view streaming video and other content that requires high-capacity communication. Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, the present invention aims to provide a network connection method, a mobile communication device, and a network system that can build a network that allows high-capacity communication even if a wired cable is disconnected.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the network connection method of the present invention is such that a mobile communication device that returns from a disaster area to a base (outside the disaster area) stores content that requires large-volume communication in a content storage unit in advance, and when the mobile communication device is dispatched to the disaster area, the content is provided to the user from the storage unit.

[0006] Specifically, the network connection method of the present invention is a network connection method that utilizes a mobile communication device that can communicate wirelessly with a terminal in a user area, can communicate with a content server in a base area, and can travel between the user area and the base area, and is characterized by storing content in a content storage unit of the mobile communication device, and transmitting the content from the content storage unit in response to a request from the terminal when the mobile communication device is staying in the user area.

[0007] In addition, the mobile communication device of the present invention comprises: a communication unit that communicates wirelessly with a terminal in a user area and communicates with a content server in a base area; a power unit that travels between the user area and the base area; a content storage unit that stores content; and a control unit that, when staying in the user area, causes the content storage unit to transmit the content via the communication unit in response to a request from the terminal.

[0008] Furthermore, the network system of the present invention is a network system equipped with a mobile communication device that can move between a user area and a base area, wherein the mobile communication device has: a communication unit that communicates wirelessly with a terminal in the user area and communicates with a content server in the base area; a content storage unit that stores content; and a control unit that, when staying in the user area, causes the content storage unit to transmit the content via the communication unit in response to a request from the terminal.

[0009] By storing content that requires large-capacity communication in a content storage unit and moving the mobile communication device to the disaster area, the mobile communication device can transmit the content directly to the user terminal without using the previous communication path with a small bandwidth. Therefore, the present invention can provide a network connection method, a mobile communication device, and a network system that can build a network that allows large-capacity communication even if a wired cable is disconnected.

[0010] The network connection method of the present invention is characterized by: learning content that may be requested by the terminal in the future based on the content usage history of the terminal, and using the content as the content; and storing the content from the content server in a content storage unit of the mobile communication device when the mobile communication device is staying in the base area.

[0011] In addition, the mobile communication device according to the present invention is characterized by further comprising a learning unit that learns content that may be requested from the terminal in the future based on the content usage history of the terminal and sets the content as the learned content.

[0012] The network connection method according to the present invention is characterized in that the content used by the terminal via the mobile communication device is the content, and the content storage unit of the mobile communication device retains the content for a certain period of time.

[0013] In addition, the mobile communication device according to the present invention is characterized in that the content storage unit is a cache server that stores the content used by the terminal as the content for a certain period of time.

[0014] The network connection method according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the mobile communication devices are sequentially stationed in the user area, thereby reducing communication interruption time.

[0015] The above inventions can be combined as much as possible.

[0016] The present invention can provide a network connection method, a mobile communication device, and a network system that can build a network that allows large-capacity communication even if a wired cable is disconnected.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a network connection is not possible. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a method for dealing with a wired cable break. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a network connection method according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a network system according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a network system according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a network connection method according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a network system according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a network system according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the network connection method according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a network system according to the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a network system according to the present invention.

[0018] Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below are examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Note that components with the same reference numerals in this specification and drawings indicate the same components. Furthermore, in the following embodiments, the mobile communication device will be described as a drone, but the mobile communication device is not limited to a drone. The mobile communication device may also be an automobile, motorcycle, airship, helicopter, ship, or the like equipped with communication functions. Furthermore, in the following embodiments, the user area will be described as a disaster-stricken area, and the base area will be described as a non-disaster-stricken area.

[0019] 3 is a diagram illustrating a network system 301 according to this embodiment. The network system 301 is a network system including a mobile communication device 10 that can travel between a user area Ar1 and a base area Ar2, and the mobile communication device 10 has: communication units (11, 12) that wirelessly communicate with a terminal 20 in the user area Ar1 and communicate with a content server 32 in the base area Ar2; a content storage unit 13 that stores content; and a control unit 15 that, when the mobile communication device 10 is staying in the user area Ar1, causes the content storage unit 13 to transmit the content via the communication unit 11 in response to a request from the terminal 20.

[0020] In this embodiment, the mobile communication device 10 has a learning device 17. The learning device 17 learns content that may be requested by the terminal 20 in the future based on the content usage history of the terminal 20, and sets the learned content as the content. Then, the control unit 15 operates the communication unit 12 to store the content from the content server 32 in the content storage unit 13 of the mobile communication device 10 while the mobile communication device 10 is staying in the base area Ar2.

[0021] The communication units (11, 12) of the mobile communication device 10 may be combined into one communication unit by using the same network protocol (Wi-Fi, LTE, 5G, etc.) for communication between the terminal 20 and the mobile communication device 10 and communication between the base station 30 and the mobile communication device 10. There may also be multiple terminals 10 in the user area Ar1. The mobile communication device 10 flies to a position where it can communicate with multiple terminals 10. The flight route of the mobile communication device 10 can be set in advance.

[0022] The terminal 20 has a communication unit 21 for communicating with the mobile communication device 10, and an application 22 for requesting content and executing content.

[0023] The base area Ar2 has a base station 30, which is connected to a content server 32 via a network 31. When the mobile communication device 10 is staying in the base area Ar2, it can communicate with the content server 32 via the base station 30 and the network 31.

[0024] 4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the network system 301. FIG. 4(A) is a diagram illustrating the existing communication Rn for communicating with the user area Ar1. This existing communication Rn is the communication of the second method described in FIG. 2. At this time, the mobile communication device 10 is staying in the user area Ar1. The learning device 17 learns content that is likely to require high-capacity communication in the future based on the content usage history of the terminal 20 through communication Rn using satellites or HAPS 50 (step Sb01 in FIG. 5). The learning device 17 can learn content that is likely to require high-capacity communication in the future based on the content usage history, for example, using the method described in the following reference document. [Reference] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-102407

[0025] 4B is a diagram illustrating the process of storing learned content that may be requested in the future in the mobile communication device 10's content storage unit 13 when the mobile communication device 10 returns to the base area Ar2. The process will be explained in more detail below. The mobile communication device 10 moves to the base area Ar2 and connects to the network 31 capable of high-capacity communication Rb (step Sb02 in FIG. 5). The mobile communication device 10 then requests the learned content from the content server 32 (step Sb03 in FIG. 5). The content server 32 transmits the requested content to the mobile communication device 10 (step Sc01 in FIG. 5). The mobile communication device 10 receives the content from the content server 32 and stores it in the content storage unit 13 (step Sb04 in FIG. 5).

[0026] 4(C) is a diagram illustrating a process for transmitting content stored in the content storage unit 13 from the content storage unit 13 in response to a request from the terminal 20 when the mobile communication device 10 returns to the user area Ar1. A more detailed explanation follows. The mobile communication device 10 moves to the user area Ar1 and connects with the terminal 20 via communication R1 (steps Sb05 and Sb06 in FIG. 5). Communication R1 is also capable of large-volume communication. The application 22 of the terminal 20 requests the content (step Sa01 in FIG. 5).

[0027] If the content requested by the terminal 20 is stored in the content storage unit 13 ("Yes" in step Sb07 of FIG. 5), the control unit 15 of the mobile communication device 10 causes the content storage unit 13 to transmit the content to the terminal 20 (step Sb08 of FIG. 5). On the other hand, if the content requested by the terminal 20 is not stored in the content storage unit 13 ("No" in step Sb07 of FIG. 5), the control unit 15 of the mobile communication device 10 requests the content from the content server 32 via the previous communication Rn (step Sb09 of FIG. 5). The content server 32 transmits the requested content to the mobile communication device 10 via the previous communication Rn (step Sc02 of FIG. 5). The mobile communication device 10 transmits the content received via the previous communication Rn to the terminal 20 (step Sb10 of FIG. 5). The terminal 20 receives the content from the mobile communication device 10 and plays the content using the application 22 (step Sa02 of FIG. 5).

[0028] (Embodiment 2) Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating a network system 302 according to this embodiment. Network system 302 differs from network system 301 in Fig. 3 in that learning unit 17 is located in content server 32 rather than in mobile communication device 10. In other words, in network system 302, rather than mobile communication device 10 directly learning based on content usage history, content server 32 learns and passes content that is likely to require large-capacity communication in the future to mobile communication device 10.

[0029] 7 and 8 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the network system 302. FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating the existing communication Rn for communicating with the user area Ar1. This existing communication Rn is the second method communication described in FIG. 2. At this time, the mobile communication device 10 is staying in the user area Ar1. The learning device 17 of the content server 32 learns content that is likely to require large-capacity communication in the future from the content usage history of the terminal 20 through communication Rn using satellites or HAPS 50 (step Sc11 in FIG. 8).

[0030] 7B is a diagram illustrating the process of storing, in the content storage unit 13 of the mobile communication device 10, content that the content server 32 has learned and that may be requested in the future when the mobile communication device 10 returns to the base area Ar2. The process will be explained in more detail below. The mobile communication device 10 moves to the base area Ar2 and connects to the network 31 capable of high-capacity communication Rb (step Sb11 in FIG. 8). Then, when the mobile communication device 10 connects to the network 31, the content server 32 transmits to the mobile communication device 10 the content that may be requested in the future (step Sc12 in FIG. 8). The mobile communication device 10 receives the content from the content server 32 and stores it in the content storage unit 13 (step Sb12 in FIG. 8).

[0031] 7C is a diagram illustrating a process for transmitting content stored in the content storage unit 13 from the content storage unit 13 in response to a request from the terminal 20 when the mobile communication device 10 returns to the user area Ar1. A more detailed explanation follows. The mobile communication device 10 moves to the user area Ar1 and connects with the terminal 20 via communication R1 (steps Sb13 and Sb14 in FIG. 8). Communication R1 is also capable of high-volume communication. The application 22 of the terminal 20 requests the content (step Sa11 in FIG. 8). The steps following step Sa11 (steps Sb15-Sb18, Sc13, Sa12) are the same as the steps following step Sa01 in FIG. 5 (steps Sb07-Sb10, Sc02, Sa02).

[0032] (Embodiment 3) Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating a network system 303 of this embodiment. Network system 303 differs from network system 301 in Fig. 3 in that it does not have a learning unit 17 and uses content storage unit 13 as a cache server. In other words, the content stored in content storage unit 13 is content that terminal 20 has used via mobile communication device 10, and content storage unit 13 of mobile communication device 10 holds the content for a certain period of time.

[0033] The network system 303 learns contents likely to require large-capacity communication in the future based on the content usage history and stores them in the content storage part 13 of the mobile communication device 10, but stores contents that have been used in the past and require large-capacity communication based on the content usage history in the content storage part 13 of the mobile communication device 10.

[0034] 10 and 11 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the network system 303. Fig. 10(A) is a diagram illustrating the existing communication Rn for communicating with the user area Ar1. This existing communication Rn is the communication of the second method described in Fig. 2. At this time, the mobile communication device 10 is staying in the user area Ar1. The control unit 15 of the mobile communication device 10 picks out content that has been used in the past and requires large-capacity communication from the content usage history of the terminal 20 through communication Rn using a satellite or HAPS 50 (step Sb21 in Fig. 11).

[0035] 10B is a diagram illustrating the process of storing previously used content requiring high-capacity communication in the content storage unit 13 of the mobile communication device 10 when the mobile communication device 10 returns to the base area Ar2. The process will be explained in more detail below. The mobile communication device 10 moves to the base area Ar2 and connects to the network 31 capable of high-capacity communication Rb (step Sb22 in FIG. 11). Then, upon connecting to the network 31, the mobile communication device 10 requests the previously used content requiring high-capacity communication from the content server 32 (step Sb23 in FIG. 11). The content server 32 transmits the requested content to the mobile communication device 10 (step Sc21 in FIG. 11). The mobile communication device 10 receives the content from the content server 32 and stores it in the content storage unit 13 (step Sb24 in FIG. 11).

[0036] 10C is a diagram illustrating a process for transmitting content stored in the content storage unit 13 from the content storage unit 13 in response to a request from the terminal 20 when the mobile communication device 10 returns to the user area Ar1. A more detailed explanation follows. The mobile communication device 10 moves to the user area Ar1 and connects with the terminal 20 via communication R1 (steps Sb25 and Sb26 in FIG. 11). Communication R1 is also capable of high-volume communication. The application 22 of the terminal 20 requests the content (step Sa21 in FIG. 11). The steps following step Sa21 (steps Sb27-Sb30, Sc22, Sa22) are the same as the steps following step Sa01 in FIG. 5 (steps Sb07-Sb10, Sc02, Sa02).

[0037] (Embodiment 4) Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating a network system 304 according to this embodiment. The network system 304 differs from the network system 301 of Fig. 3 in that a plurality of mobile communication devices 10 (n devices) exist in the network system 304. The network system 304 is characterized in that the plurality of mobile communication devices 10 sequentially reside in the user area. The network system 304 can minimize communication disconnections by having the plurality of mobile communication devices 10 take turns going to the user area Ar1.

[0038] In this embodiment, a case where two mobile communication devices 10 exist will be described. Figures 13 and 14 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the network system 304. Figure 13(A) is a diagram illustrating the existing communication Rn for the mobile communication device 10 to communicate with the user area Ar1. This existing communication Rn is the communication of the second method described in Figure 2. At this time, the mobile communication device 10-1 is staying in the user area Ar1, and the mobile communication device 10-2 is staying in the base area Ar2. The learning device 17 of the mobile communication device 10-1 learns content that is likely to require large-capacity communication in the future from the content usage history of the terminal 20 through communication Rn using satellites or HAPS 50 (step Sb31 in Figure 14).

[0039] 13B is a diagram illustrating the mobile communication device 10-2 moving to user area Ar1. When the mobile communication device 10-2 moves to user area Ar1 (step Sb40 in FIG. 14), the mobile communication device 10-1 disconnects communication with the terminal 20 (step Sb32 in FIG. 14), and the mobile communication device 10-2 connects to the terminal 20 (step Sb41 in FIG. 14). When the mobile communication device 10-2 and the terminal 20 are connected, the communication is switched to the previous communication Rn via the mobile communication device 10-2.

[0040] FIG. 13C is a diagram illustrating the process by which the mobile communication device 10-1 stores learned content that may be requested in the future in its own content storage unit 13 when it returns to base area Ar2. A more detailed explanation follows. The mobile communication device 10-1 moves to base area Ar2 and connects to network 31 capable of high-volume communications Rb (step Sb33 in FIG. 14). The mobile communication device 10-1 then requests the learned content from the content server 32 (step Sb34 in FIG. 14). The content server 32 transmits the requested content to the mobile communication device 10-1 (step Sc42 in FIG. 14). The mobile communication device 10-1 receives the content from the content server 32 and stores it in its content storage unit 13 (step Sb35 in FIG. 14).

[0041] 13(D) is a diagram illustrating the process of transmitting content stored in the content storage unit 13 from the content storage unit 13 in response to a request from the terminal 20 when the mobile communication device 10-2 moves to the user area Ar1. A more detailed explanation follows. The mobile communication device 10-2 moves to the user area Ar1 and connects with the terminal 20 via communication R1 (steps Sb40 and Sb41 in FIG. 14). Communication R1 is also capable of large-volume communication. The application 22 of the terminal 20 requests the content (step Sa31 in FIG. 14).

[0042] If the content requested by terminal 20 is stored in content storage unit 13 ("Yes" in step Sb42 of FIG. 14), control unit 15 of mobile communication device 10-2 causes content storage unit 13 to transmit the content to terminal 20 (step Sb43 of FIG. 14). On the other hand, if the content requested by terminal 20 is not stored in content storage unit 13 ("No" in step Sb42 of FIG. 14), control unit 15 of mobile communication device 10-2 requests the content from content server 32 via previous communication Rn (step Sb44 of FIG. 14). Content server 32 transmits the requested content to mobile communication device 10 via previous communication Rn (see step Sc41 of FIG. 14 and previous communication Rn in FIG. 13(C)). Mobile communication device 10 then causes the content received from previous communication Rn to be transmitted to terminal 20 (step Sb45 of FIG. 14). The terminal 20 receives the content from the mobile communication device 10-2 and plays back the content using the application 22 (step Sa32 in FIG. 14).

[0043] When a predetermined time has elapsed since the mobile communication device 10-2 moved into the user area Ar1, the mobile communication device 10-1 and the mobile communication device 10-2 start to switch places. That is, the mobile communication device 10-1 moves into the user area Ar1 (step Sb40 in FIG. 14), and the mobile communication device 10-2 moves into the base area Ar2. Then, the mobile communication device 10-1 performs the operations of the mobile communication device 10-2 described above, and the mobile communication device 10-2 performs the operations of the mobile communication device 10-1 described above.

[0044] (Effects) When disaster strikes, backbone lines such as satellites and HAPS are used to provide Internet access to disaster victims, but the narrow bandwidth of these lines makes it difficult to provide high-volume communications such as video viewing. This invention solves this problem by using the following means: Drones act as access points / base stations, and while the drones are in the base area, they collect high-volume content that users are likely to request from a content server. When the drones move into the disaster area, they provide this content in response to user requests. This makes it possible to use video distribution services that require high-volume communications without using backbone lines such as satellites and HAPS.

[0045] 10, 10-1, 10-2, ..., 10-n: mobile communication device 11, 12: communication unit 13: content storage unit 15: control unit 17: learning unit 20: terminal 30: base station 31: network 32: content server

Claims

1. A network connection method using a mobile communication device that can wirelessly communicate with a terminal in a user area, can communicate with a content server in a base area, and can travel between the user area and the base area, characterized by storing content in a content storage unit of the mobile communication device, and transmitting the content from the content storage unit in response to a request from the terminal when the mobile communication device is staying in the user area.

2. A network connection method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: content that may be requested from the terminal in the future is learned based on the content usage history of the terminal, and the content is used as the learned content; and when the mobile communication device is staying in the base area, the content is stored from the content server in the content storage unit of the mobile communication device.

3. The network connection method according to claim 1, characterized in that the content used by the terminal via the mobile communication device is the content, and the content storage unit of the mobile communication device retains the content for a certain period of time.

4. A network connection method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a plurality of said mobile communication devices stay in said user area sequentially.

5. A mobile communication device comprising: a communication unit that communicates wirelessly with a terminal in a user area and communicates with a content server in a base area; a power unit that travels between the user area and the base area; a content storage unit that stores content; and a control unit that, when staying in the user area, causes the content storage unit to transmit the content via the communication unit in response to a request from the terminal.

6. The mobile communication device according to claim 5, further comprising a learning unit that learns content that may be requested from the terminal in the future based on the content usage history of the terminal and sets the content as said content.

7. The mobile communication device according to claim 5, wherein the content storage unit is a cache server that stores the content used by the terminal as the content for a certain period of time.

8. A network system comprising a mobile communication device capable of moving between a user area and a base area, wherein the mobile communication device has: a communication unit that communicates wirelessly with a terminal in the user area and communicates with a content server in the base area; a content storage unit that stores content; and a control unit that, when staying in the user area, causes the content storage unit to transmit the content via the communication unit in response to a request from the terminal.

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