Information management device, location registration system, location registration method, and program

Abstract

In order to reduce an amount of processing required for registration of a location of a terminal in a mobile communication network, an information management device has an acquisition unit that acquires a mobility of the terminal, and an information management unit that manages identification information of the terminal and registered location information of the terminal in different storage areas according to the mobility of the terminal.

Description

Information management device, location registration system, location registration method, and program

[0001] The present invention relates to an information management device, a location registration system, a location registration method, and a program.

[0002] In recent years, with the spread of 5G (5th Generation), higher frequency radio waves have come into use, and their propagation characteristics have made more detailed area management necessary, increasing the burden of location registration and management.

[0003] In addition, a link ID allocation method is known that can allocate an optimal paging area size based on the movement frequency and communication frequency of each wireless terminal, and can set the link ID allocation unit to a set of paging area units (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] JP 2008-193592 A

[0005] As the number of terminals accommodated in a network increases due to the expansion of IoT (Internet of Things), the amount of processing required for location registration will inevitably increase, and in some cases, the possibility of congestion will increase.

[0006] The embodiments of the present invention have been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and provide a technique for realizing a reduction in the amount of processing required for registering the location of a terminal in a mobile communication network.

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, an information management device according to an embodiment of the present invention has an acquisition unit that acquires the mobility of a terminal, and an information management unit that manages the identification information of the terminal and the location registration information of the terminal in different memory areas depending on the mobility of the terminal.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for reducing the amount of processing required for registering the location of a terminal in a mobile communication network.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a location registration system according to the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a conventional location registration device; FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a conventional location registration process; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a location registration device and an information management device according to the present embodiment; FIG. 5 is a diagram (1) illustrating a terminal management DB according to the present embodiment; FIG. 6 is a diagram (2) illustrating a terminal management DB according to the present embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram (3) illustrating a terminal management DB according to the present embodiment; FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a mobility management device according to the present embodiment; FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a terminal location DB according to the present embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a mobility DB according to the present embodiment; FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a location registration process according to Example 1; FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a location registration process according to Example 2; FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer.

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0011] In this embodiment, a multiple simultaneous connection environment in 5G (5th Generation) mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communications) is assumed as the mobile communication network environment. However, the application range of the technology according to this embodiment is not limited to the multiple simultaneous connection environment in 5G mMTC, and can be applied to all mobile communication networks that perform location registration.

[0012] <System Configuration> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a location registration system according to this embodiment. In the location registration system 100 shown in Fig. 1, multiple base stations 113, 113b, and 113c are connected to a core network 120. In addition, a location registration device 121 is connected to an information management device 131 of the same administrator (operator) as the location registration device 121. The information management device 131 is a node that configures an information sharing network 130 together with other nodes 132a, 132b, and 132c.

[0013] In the following description, when referring to any of the multiple base stations 113, 113b, and 113c, the term "base station 113" is used. When referring to any of the other nodes 132a to 132c, the term "other node 132" is used. Note that the number of base stations 113 and the number of other nodes 132 shown in FIG. 1 are merely examples, and other numbers may be used.

[0014] The other nodes 132 are managed, for example, by an administrator different from the administrator of the information management device 131. The information management devices 131 and the other nodes 132 are generally installed all over the world, and even if the information management device 131 breaks down or is damaged due to a disaster such as an earthquake, data shared by the information management devices 131 or other nodes 132 in unaffected areas can be used.

[0015] Each base station has one or more terminals 111a, 111b, and 111c in its cell 112a, 112b, and 112c. In the following description, the term "terminal 111" will be used to refer to any of the terminals 111a, 111b, and 111c. The terminal 111 is also called UE (User Equipment). The base station 113 forms a radio access network (RAN) 110 that connects the terminal 111 to a core network 120 via a wireless connection.

[0016] Preferably, each node (information management device 131 and other nodes 132) constituting the information sharing network 130 is realized by a RAN node (e.g., base station 113, or a base station control device capable of communicating with base station 113, etc.) located within RAN 110.

[0017] In the example of Fig. 1, the core network 120 includes a location registration device 121, a mobility management device 122, and a communication control device 123. Note that in the example of Fig. 1, the location registration device 121 and the mobility management device 122 are separate devices, but this is just an example. For example, the location registration device 121 may include the functions of the mobility management device 122. Note that a system constructed by at least the information management device 131 and the mobility management device 122 may be called a "location registration system."

[0018] The communication control device 123 may be, for example, a gateway device for connecting to an external data network, or a call control device for making calls, etc. The communication control device 123 in Fig. 1 is a representative example of various communication control devices provided in the core network 120.

[0019] The location registration device 121 may be realized by one computer (server) or by multiple computers. The configurations and processing of the location registration device 121 and mobility management device 122 will be described later.

[0020] (Regarding conventional location registration processing) Before describing the location registration processing according to this embodiment, an overview of conventional location registration processing will be described. In a mobile communication network, it is essential to know the location of a terminal, and the home memory for recording the location registration and its management function are usually provided on the core network side, which has an overview of the entire network.

[0021] In location registration, identification information of the area in which the terminal is located is recorded in a database of the location registration device (hereinafter referred to as a terminal management DB (Database)) together with identification information of the terminal. In addition, as the terminal moves (movement that changes areas), the information in the terminal management DB for the terminal is updated. The terminal management DB of the location registration device may also be called a "home memory." The above area may also be called a visiting zone, visiting area, tracking area, paging area, etc. In the following description, the above area will be called a "visiting zone."

[0022] Generally, a coverage zone includes multiple cells (multiple base stations). For example, when a call control device receives an incoming call signal for a certain terminal, the call control device acquires the coverage zone in which the terminal is located from the terminal management DB of the location registration device, and transmits an incoming call signal (call signal) only to base stations within the coverage zone to call the terminal.

[0023] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a conventional position registration device 200. The conventional position registration device 200 includes, for example, a communication unit 201, a position information processing unit 202, and a terminal management DB 203.

[0024] The communication unit 201 performs data communication with each base station 113, etc. The location information processing unit 202 registers (including updates) the information acquired by the communication unit 201 in the terminal management DB 203, or reads out the information from the terminal management DB 203.

[0025] The terminal management DB 203 stores, for each terminal 111, a set of terminal identification information and an identifier of the current zone in which the terminal is located (hereinafter referred to as a current zone identifier).

[0026] 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a conventional location registration process. Here, it is assumed that terminal 111 moves from a certain service zone B (a service zone that does not include base station 113) to a service zone A (a service zone that includes base station 113). While terminal 111 is located in service zone B, it receives an identifier of service zone B from base station 113 through broadcast information (which may also be called system information) or the like.

[0027] In step S101, it is assumed that the terminal 111 moves to the current zone A. Specifically, it is assumed that the terminal 111 moves to the cell of the base station 113 in the current zone A.

[0028] In step S102, the terminal 111 receives the identifier of the visit zone A from the base station 113 by means of broadcast information or the like.

[0029] In step S103, when the terminal 111 detects that the received identifier of the visitor zone has changed from the identifier of visitor zone B to the identifier of visitor zone A, it determines that the visitor zone has changed.

[0030] In step S104, terminal 111 transmits to location registration device 200 a location registration request including identification information of terminal 111 for identifying terminal 111 (SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) information (specifically, IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) etc.) and the visit zone identifier of visit zone A. As a result, location registration device 200 updates the visit zone identifier of terminal 111 in terminal management DB 203 from the identifier of visit zone B to the identifier of visit zone A. Note that the visit zone identifier of the terminal is an example of location registration information of the terminal.

[0031] In the prior art, location information is uniformly registered in the terminal management DB 1230 without distinguishing between terminals with high and low mobility.

[0032] However, it is assumed that the location information of a huge number of terminals will be registered in the terminal management DB 203, and in such an assumption, the above-mentioned conventional technology has poor processing efficiency in the terminal management DB 203.

[0033] For example, in the conventional technology, the terminal management DB 203 does not distinguish between terminals 111 based on their mobility. Therefore, in the conventional technology, when updating the location information of a terminal 111, regardless of whether the mobility is low or high, it is necessary to search all the information in the terminal management DB 203, extract the information of the terminal 111, and update the information of the terminal 111.

[0034] Therefore, for example, when processing such as updating location information for a terminal with high mobility that is updated frequently, it is necessary to perform processing such as searching including location information for terminals with low mobility that are rarely updated, which increases the processing load.

[0035] Furthermore, for example, a processing error when processing location information for a highly mobile terminal that is frequently updated may cause a problem that affects the location information of a less mobile terminal.

[0036] (Location Registration Processing According to the Present Embodiment) To solve the above problem, the location registration system 100 according to the present embodiment includes the mobility management device 122 shown in FIG.

[0037] The mobility management device 122 calculates (or acquires) the mobility of each terminal 111 and notifies the mobility of each terminal to the position registration device 200. Alternatively, the position registration device 121 may acquire the mobility of the terminal 111 from the mobility management device 122.

[0038] <Functional Configuration> FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the location registration device and the information management device according to this embodiment.

[0039] (Functional Configuration of Location Registration Device) The location registration device 121 has the configuration of a computer, and realizes a communication unit 401 by executing a predetermined program on the computer. The communication unit 401 transfers the mobility of each terminal 111 obtained from the mobility management device 122 to the information management device 131. For example, when the communication unit 401 receives a location registration request including the identification information of the terminal 111 and the location zone identifier of the terminal 111 via the base station 113, the communication unit 401 obtains the mobility of the terminal 111 from the mobility management device 122. Furthermore, the communication unit 401 transmits the location registration request including the identification information of the terminal 111, the location zone identifier of the terminal 111, and the mobility of the terminal 111 to the information management device 131.

[0040] 4 is an example. For example, the location registration device 121 may have a location information processing unit that acquires the mobility of the terminal 111 and transmits a location registration request including the identification information of the terminal 111, the location zone identifier of the terminal 111, and the mobility of the terminal 111 to the information management device 131.

[0041] (Functional Configuration of Information Management Device) The information management device 131 has a computer configuration, and by executing predetermined processes on the computer, realizes, for example, each functional configuration as shown in Fig. 4. In the example of Fig. 4, the information management device 131 has each functional configuration such as an acquisition unit 411, an information management unit 412, a sharing unit 413, and a terminal management DB 414. Note that at least a part of each of the above functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0042] The acquisition unit 411 executes an acquisition process to acquire the mobility of the terminal 111. For example, the acquisition unit 411 acquires the mobility of the terminal 111 by receiving a location registration request transmitted by the location registration device 121 and including identification information of the terminal 111, a location zone identifier of the terminal 111, and the mobility of the terminal 111. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 411 may receive a location registration request including the identification information of the terminal 111 and a location zone identifier of the terminal 111, and acquire the mobility of the terminal 111 from the mobility management device 122 using the identification information of the terminal 111.

[0043] The information management unit 412 executes an information management process for managing the identification information of the terminal and the location registration information of the terminal (e.g., a location zone identifier, etc.) in different storage areas depending on the mobility of the terminal. For example, the information management unit 412 classifies (hierarchizes) the terminal 111 by mobility based on the mobility of the terminal 111, and stores the location zone identifier in a storage area for each mobility in the terminal management DB 414.

[0044] That is, in this embodiment, the storage area in the terminal management DB 414 is divided by mobility. Dividing the storage area by mobility may mean providing a table for each mobility, dividing the storage area in memory, physically dividing the memory, or dividing the database device (server).

[0045] When physically dividing the memory, separate memories are used, for example, memory A for "mobility: high speed", memory B for "mobility: medium speed", and memory C for "mobility: low speed or stopped".

[0046] When the database device is divided, it is assumed that the terminal management DB 414 is configured with a plurality of database servers. In this case, separate database servers are used, for example, a database server A for "mobility: high speed," a database server B for "mobility: medium speed," and a database server C for "mobility: low speed or stopped."

[0047] 5 shows an image of a conventional terminal management DB 203 that does not separate storage areas according to mobility, and a terminal management DB 414 according to this embodiment that separates storage areas according to mobility. The example of Fig. 5 shows an image of the case where the terminal management DB 414 is separated into three storage areas: high mobility 501, medium mobility 502, and low mobility 503, according to the mobility of the terminal 111.

[0048] Figure 6 shows examples of a table 601 for "mobility: high speed" stored in the high mobility 501 memory area of ​​the terminal management DB 414, a table 602 for "mobility: medium speed" stored in the medium mobility 502 memory area, and a table 603 for "mobility: low speed / stopped".

[0049] In the example of Fig. 6, SIM information (specifically, IMSI) is used as the identification information of terminal 111, and the name of a city, ward, town, or village is used as the location zone identifier. Note that using SIM information as the identification information of terminal 111 is just one example. Other information may be used as the identification information of terminal 111 as long as it is information that can identify terminal 111. Another example is using the name of a city, ward, town, or village as the location zone identifier. Other information may be used as the location zone information as long as it is information that can identify the area in which terminal 111 is located.

[0050] An overview of the processing of the location registration device 121 and the information management device 131 will be described using the example of Fig. 6. Here, an example of updating location information will be described.

[0051] 4 receives a location registration request from a certain terminal 111 (terminal T). This location registration request includes identification information of terminal T and an identifier of the zone in which terminal T is located.

[0052] Next, the communication unit 401 inquires about the mobility of terminal T by transmitting the identification information of terminal T to the mobility management device 122. When the communication unit 401 receives the mobility of terminal T from the mobility management device 122, it transmits a location registration request to the information management device 131. This location registration request includes the identification information and the presence zone identifier of terminal T acquired from terminal T, and the mobility of terminal T acquired from the mobility management device 300. As a result, the acquisition unit 411 of the information management device 131 shown in FIG. 4 acquires (receives) the location registration request including the identification information of terminal T, the presence zone identifier of terminal T, and the mobility of terminal T.

[0053] Furthermore, the information management unit 412 of the information management device 131 accesses only the table corresponding to this mobility in the terminal management DB 414, searches the table using the identification information of terminal T, and updates the location zone identifier of the entry for terminal T. For example, if the mobility of terminal T is "mobility: high speed," the location information processing unit 420 accesses only the table 601 for "mobility: high speed."

[0054] By the above processing, the information management unit 412 accesses only the memory area corresponding to the mobility of the terminal T being processed, thereby reducing the processing load related to location registration and enhancing security compared to conventional technology.

[0055] Note that the mobility of terminal T changes. For example, when the mobility management device 122 determines that the mobility of terminal T has changed, it transmits the identification information of terminal T, the mobility before the change, and the mobility after the change to the location registration device 121. The communication unit 401 of the location registration device 121 receives the mobility after the change and transfers it to the information management device 131. In the information management device 131, the acquisition unit 411 receives the mobility after the change, and the information management unit 412 deletes the location information of terminal T from the storage area for the mobility before the change in the terminal management DB 414 and stores the location information of terminal T in the storage area for the mobility after the change. This allows the information management device 131 to dynamically update the mobility management classification, for example, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0056] (Functional Configuration of Mobility Management Device) Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the mobility management device according to this embodiment. The mobility management device 122 has a computer configuration, and by executing predetermined processing on the computer, for example, each functional configuration shown in Fig. 8 is realized. In the example of Fig. 8, the mobility management device 122 has each functional configuration such as a terminal information collection unit 801, a terminal location DB 802, a mobility calculation unit 803, a mobility DB 804, and a notification unit 805. Note that at least a part of each of the above functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

[0057] The terminal information collection unit 801 periodically (e.g., at predetermined time intervals) collects, for example, "location information and the time when the location information was acquired" of each terminal 111, and stores the collected information in the terminal location DB 802 together with the identification information of the terminal 111. This allows the mobility management device 122 to obtain time-series data of the location information of the terminal 111.

[0058] 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal location DB according to this embodiment. In the terminal location DB 802, the acquisition time collected by the terminal information collection unit 801, terminal identification information (SIM, etc.), and terminal location information (latitude, longitude, etc.) are associated and managed.

[0059] Here, the location information of the terminal may be latitude and longitude information acquired by the terminal 111 using a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) function or the like, information on the cell in which the terminal is located (cell ID), information on the zone in which the terminal is located, or other information.

[0060] The mobility calculation unit 803 calculates the mobility of each terminal 111. For example, by referring to the terminal location DB 802, when the mobility calculation unit 803 detects that the movement distance of a certain terminal 111 within a predetermined time is equal to or greater than threshold A, it determines the mobility of the terminal to be "high speed." Furthermore, when the mobility calculation unit 803 detects that the movement distance within a predetermined time is less than threshold A and equal to or greater than threshold B, it determines the mobility of the terminal to be "medium speed," and when it detects that the movement distance within the predetermined time is less than threshold B, it determines the mobility of the terminal to be "low speed or stationary." Furthermore, the mobility calculation unit 803 stores the determined mobility in the mobility DB 804.

[0061] 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a mobility DB according to this embodiment. The mobility DB 804 manages terminal identification information (such as a SIM) and mobility information in association with each other. The mobility of each terminal is updated periodically, for example.

[0062] 9 reads the mobility of the terminal 111 from the mobility DB 804 in response to an inquiry from the position registration device 200 or autonomously, and notifies, for example, the position registration device 121. Note that the notification destination of the mobility of the terminal 111 may be, for example, the information management device 131, etc.

[0063] <Processing Flow> Next, the processing flow of the location registration method according to this embodiment will be described.

[0064] (Mobility Management Process) Fig. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of mobility management process according to this embodiment. This process shows an example of mobility management process executed by the terminal 111 and the mobility management device 122 in the location registration system 100 shown in Fig. 1, for example. Here, an example will be described in which the terminal 111 acquires its own location information using the GNSS function.

[0065] In step S1101, the terminal 111 acquires location information of the terminal 111 using the GNSS function or the like provided in the terminal 111.

[0066] In step S1102, the terminal 111 transmits the acquired location information together with the identification information of the terminal 111 to the mobility management device 122. The terminal 111 executes the processes of steps S1101 and S1102, for example, periodically. This allows the terminal information collection unit 801 of the mobility management device 122 to collect the location information of the terminal 111 and the identification information of the terminal 111.

[0067] In step S1103, the terminal information collection unit 801 of the mobility management device 122 associates the location information of the terminal 111 and the identification information of the terminal 111 with the acquired time, and stores them in the terminal location DB 802 as shown in FIG. 9, for example.

[0068] In step S1104, the mobility calculation unit 320 of the mobility management device 122 calculates the mobility of the terminal 111 based on multiple location information of the terminal 111 stored in the terminal location DB 802 (time series data of location information indicating the location of the terminal 111).

[0069] In step S1105, the mobility calculation unit 320 associates the calculated mobility information with the identification information of the terminal 111, and stores the information in the mobility DB 804 shown in FIG. 10, for example.

[0070] By executing the process of FIG. 11 for each terminal 111 , the mobility management device 122 can manage the mobility of each terminal 111 in the mobility DB 804 .

[0071] (Location Registration Processing) [Example 1] Fig. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of location registration processing according to Example 1. This processing illustrates an example of location registration processing executed by, for example, the location registration system 100 illustrated in Fig. 1 .

[0072] In step S1201, it is assumed that terminal 111 moves to visit zone A. Specifically, it is assumed that terminal 111 moves from base station 113 in another visit zone to the cell of base station 113 in visit zone A.

[0073] In step S1202, the terminal 111 receives the visit zone identifier of the visit zone A from the base station 113 via broadcast information or the like.

[0074] In step S1203, when the terminal 111 detects that the received identifier of the visit zone has changed to the identifier of visit zone A, it determines that the visit zone has changed.

[0075] In step S1204, the terminal 111 transmits a location registration request including identification information of the terminal 111 (for example, SIM information (specifically, IMSI)) and the location zone identifier of the location zone A to the location registration device 121. As a result, the communication unit 401 of the location registration device 121 receives the location registration request.

[0076] In step S1205, the communication unit 401 of the location registration device 121 makes an inquiry to the mobility management device 122 about the mobility of the terminal 111. This inquiry includes identification information of the terminal 111. As a result, the mobility management device 122 receives the mobility inquiry from the terminal 111.

[0077] In step S1206, the notification unit 350 of the mobility management device 122 reads out, from the mobility DB 804, mobility information corresponding to the identification information of the terminal 111, and transmits the information to the position registration device 121. As a result, the communication unit 401 of the position registration device 121 receives the mobility information of the terminal 111.

[0078] In step S1207, the communication unit 401 of the location registration device 121 transmits a location registration request to the information management device 131. This location registration request includes the mobility of the terminal 111 acquired in step S1206, the identification information of the terminal 111 acquired in step 1204, and the location zone identifier of the terminal 111. As a result, the acquisition unit 411 of the information management device 131 receives the location registration request from the location registration device 121.

[0079] In step S1208, the information management unit 412 of the information management device 131 performs an update process by storing the identification information of the terminal 111 and the location zone identifier in a table corresponding to the mobility of the terminal management DB 415, as shown in Fig. 6. For example, if the mobility of the terminal 111 is "high speed," the information management unit 412 stores the identification information of the terminal 111 and the location zone identifier in table 601 for "mobility: high speed."

[0080] At this time, if the same identification information and current zone identifier of terminal 111 are already stored in a table different from the table to be updated, information management unit 412 deletes the identification information and current zone identifier of terminal 111 from the different table. Also, if the same identification information and current zone identifier of terminal 111 are already stored in the table to be updated, information management unit 412 overwrites and saves the identification information and current zone identifier of terminal 111.

[0081] In step S1209, the sharing unit 413 of the information management device 131 requests data sharing from, for example, the other nodes 132a, 132b, and 132c within the same information sharing network 130. This request includes the information about the terminal 111 (mobility, terminal identification information, and current zone identifier) ​​acquired by the acquisition unit 411 in step S1207. As a result, the devices 500, 600, and 700 receive the data sharing request and manage the information about the terminal 111 (mobility, terminal identification information, and current zone identifier) ​​in the same way as the information management device 131. As a result, the other nodes 132a, 132b, and 132c can share the content updated by the information management device 131.

[0082] [Example 2] Fig. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of location registration processing according to Example 2. This processing shows another example of location registration processing executed by, for example, the location registration system 100 shown in Fig. 1. Among the processing in Fig. 13, the processing in steps S1201 to S1204 and S1209 is the same as the location registration processing according to Example 1 described in Fig. 12, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here. Also, a detailed description of the processing contents that are the same as those in the example will be omitted here.

[0083] In step S1301, the communication unit 401 of the location registration device 121 transfers the location registration request received from the terminal 111 to the information management device 131. As a result, the acquisition unit 411 of the information management device 131 acquires the location registration request including the identification information of the terminal 111 and the location zone identifier (location registration information of the terminal 111).

[0084] In step S1302, the acquisition unit 411 of the information management device 131 makes an inquiry about the mobility of the terminal 111. This inquiry includes identification information of the terminal 111. As a result, the mobility management device 122 receives the mobility inquiry from the terminal 111.

[0085] In step S1303, the notification unit 350 of the mobility management device 122 reads out, from the mobility DB 804, mobility information corresponding to the identification information of the terminal 111, and transmits the information to the information management device 131. As a result, the acquisition unit 411 of the information management device 131 acquires the mobility information of the terminal 111.

[0086] In step S1304, the information management unit 412 of the information management device 131 performs an update process by storing the identification information of the terminal 111 and the location zone identifier in a table according to the mobility of the terminal management DB 415, as shown in Fig. 6. The process content of the update process may be the same as the process content described in step S1208 of Fig. 12.

[0087] In this way, the information management device 131 may acquire the mobility of the terminal 111 from the mobility management device 122 without going through the location registration device 121 .

[0088] <Hardware Configuration> The location registration device 121, mobility management device 122, information management device 131, other nodes 132, etc. can all be realized by causing a computer to execute a program. This computer may be a physical computer or may be a virtual machine on the cloud, etc. Hereinafter, the location registration device 121, mobility management device 122, information management device 131, and other nodes 132 will be collectively referred to as "devices."

[0089] That is, the device can be realized by executing a program corresponding to the processing performed by the device using hardware resources such as a CPU and memory built into a computer. The program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (such as a portable memory) and stored or distributed. The program can also be provided via a network such as the Internet or email.

[0090] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer. In the example of Fig. 14, a computer 1400 includes a drive device 1000, an auxiliary storage device 1002, a memory device 1003, a CPU 1004, an interface device 1005, a display device 1006, an input device 1007, an output device 1008, and the like, which are all interconnected by a bus BS.

[0091] A program for realizing processing in the computer 1400 is provided by a recording medium 1001 such as a CD-ROM or a memory card. When the recording medium 1001 storing the program is set in the drive device 1000, the program is installed from the recording medium 1001 to the auxiliary storage device 1002 via the drive device 1000. However, the program does not necessarily have to be installed from the recording medium 1001, but may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 1002 stores the installed program as well as necessary files, data, etc.

[0092] The memory device 1003 reads and stores a program from the auxiliary storage device 1002 when an instruction to start the program is received. The CPU 1004 realizes functions related to the device in accordance with the program stored in the memory device 1003. The interface device 1005 is used as an interface for connecting to a network, etc. The display device 1006 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like according to the program. The input device 1007 is composed of a keyboard, mouse, buttons, a touch panel, etc., and is used to input various operation instructions. The output device 1008 outputs the results of calculations.

[0093] The CPU 1004 may be a processor such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0094] (Supplementary Information) (1) The programs executed by each device to perform each process of this embodiment can be recorded on a temporary or non-temporary recording medium and provided, or can be provided as data via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0095] (2) The CPU 1004 as a processor of each device that executes each process in this embodiment is not limited to a single CPU, but may be multiple CPUs.

[0096] <Effects of the embodiment> According to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a technique for realizing a reduction in the amount of processing required for registering the location of a terminal in a mobile communication network.

[0097] For example, the location registration system 1 according to the present embodiment stores the location information of the terminal 111 in storage areas for each mobility in the terminal management DB 414, thereby improving the efficiency of processing for the terminal management DB 414 and reducing the processing load. This also enables the location registration system 1 to improve the security of the information stored in the terminal management DB 414.

[0098] Furthermore, in the conventional technology, all terminals 111 in a mobile communication network are managed centrally using a single home memory. Therefore, if, for example, some kind of failure occurs and the data in the home memory becomes inaccessible or the data itself is lost, the conventional technology faces the problem of being unable to refer to the location registration data and therefore unable to perform communication processes such as making and receiving calls. In contrast, the location registration system 1 according to the present embodiment uses management based on physically distributed data within the RAN instead of the conventional home memory using a centralized database, thereby improving the fault tolerance of location registration.

[0099] Summary of Embodiments This specification discloses at least the information management device, location registration system, location registration method, and program of the following items. (Item 1) An information management device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires the mobility of a terminal; and an information management unit that manages identification information of the terminal and location registration information of the terminal in different storage areas depending on the mobility of the terminal. (Item 2) The information management device of Item 1, having a database divided into multiple storage areas corresponding to the mobility, wherein the information management unit accesses the storage area in the database that corresponds to the mobility of the terminal and updates the location registration information of the terminal in the database using the location registration information included in the location registration request. (Item 3) The information management device of Item 1 or 2, wherein the storage area has tables separated by the mobility of the terminal, memory areas separated by the mobility of the terminal, memory physically separated by the mobility of the terminal, or database servers separated by the mobility of the terminal. (Clause 4) The information management device according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, comprising a sharing unit that shares the location registration information of the terminal updated by the information management unit with other devices. (Clause 5) A location registration system including the information management device according to any one of clauses 1 to 4 and a mobility management device, wherein the mobility management device has a mobility calculation unit that calculates the mobility of the terminal from time-series data of location information that indicates the location of the terminal, and the acquisition unit acquires the mobility of the terminal calculated by the mobility management device. (Clause 6) The location registration system includes a location registration device, wherein the location registration device acquires the mobility of the terminal requesting location registration from the mobility management device, and transmits a location registration request to the information management device, the location registration information of the terminal, and the mobility of the terminal. (Clause 7) A location registration method in which a computer executes the following processes: a process of acquiring the mobility of a terminal; and a process of managing identification information of the terminal and location registration information of the terminal in different storage areas depending on the mobility of the terminal.(Clause 8) A program or a storage medium storing the program that causes a computer to execute the location registration method described in clause 7.

[0100] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

[0101] 100 Location registration system 110 RAN 111, 111a to 111d Terminal 112, 112a to 112c Cell 113, 113a to 113c Base station 120 Core network 121 Location registration device 122 Mobility management device 123 Communication control device 130 Information sharing network 131 Information management device 132, 132a to 132c Node 401 Communication unit 411 Acquisition unit 412 Information management unit 413 Sharing unit 414 Terminal management DB 601 Table for "mobility: high speed" 602 Table for "mobility: medium speed" 603 Table for "mobility: low speed / stop" 803 Mobility calculation unit

Claims

1. An information management device having: an acquisition unit that acquires the mobility of a terminal; and an information management unit that manages the identification information of the terminal and the location registration information of the terminal in a memory area that differs depending on the mobility of the terminal.

2. An information management device as described in claim 1, having a database divided into multiple storage areas corresponding to the mobility, wherein the information management unit accesses the storage area in the database corresponding to the mobility of the terminal and updates the location registration information of the terminal in the database using the location registration information included in the location registration request of the terminal.

3. The information management device of claim 1, wherein the storage area is divided into tables according to the mobility of the terminal, into memory areas according to the mobility of the terminal, into physical memories according to the mobility of the terminal, or into database servers according to the mobility of the terminal.

4. The information management device according to claim 1, wherein the information management device is arranged within a RAN and has a sharing unit that shares the location registration information of the terminal updated by the information management unit with other devices.

5. A location registration system including an information management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and a mobility management device, wherein the mobility management device has a mobility calculation unit that calculates the mobility of the terminal from time-series data of location information indicating the location of the terminal, and the acquisition unit acquires the mobility of the terminal calculated by the mobility management device.

6. The location registration system according to claim 5, further comprising a location registration device, which acquires the mobility of the terminal requesting location registration from the mobility management device, and transmits a location registration request to the information management device, the location registration request including the identification information of the terminal, the location registration information of the terminal, and the mobility of the terminal.

7. A location registration method in which a computer executes the following processes: a process of acquiring the mobility of a terminal; and a process of managing identification information of the terminal and location registration information of the terminal in different storage areas depending on the mobility of the terminal.

8. A program for causing a computer to execute the location registration method according to claim 7.

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