KR20080091591A - Potable device and methode of roaming thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable terminal and a roaming method thereof are provided to perform the access to the public mobile communication network of the one's own country at the area adjacent to the public mobile communication network of the country. When power is supplied to a portable terminal(S101), a control member receives the system block information from the first base station and confirms MCC(Mobile Communication Code)(S102). When the MCC received from the first base station is not coincided with the MCC of a mobile communication network(S103), the control member registers the position to the first base station and performs an international roaming toward a visit public mobile communication network including the base station(S104). The control member drives a search timer of the mobile communication network(S105). When the search timer is finished(S106), the control member receives the system information block and confirms the MCC and national border(NB) field value(S107). When the present position of the portable terminal is an area adjacent to the one's own public mobile communication network(S108), the control member attempts the access to the one's own public mobile communication network(S109). Thereafter, after the success of the access, the portable device performs the communication by the one's own public mobile communication network(S111).

Description

Portable device and method of roaming thereof

1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a roaming method of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a screen configuration diagram showing an example in which a roaming method of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a roaming method thereof, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal and a roaming method thereof, which attempt to access a public telecommunication network of its own country when located in an adjacent area of the country during international roaming.

Recently, mobile service providers have cooperated with mobile service providers of other countries to provide international roaming services that can use mobile communication services in other countries with the same number when their mobile communication users visit other countries. International roaming acquires synchronization using a frequency of maximum reception strength, and then receives system block information from neighboring base stations, and obtains PLMN identification information from the received system block information. The mobile communication terminal requests registration to the base station using the acquired PLMN identification information. The PLMN identification information includes a mobile country code (MCC), a mobile network code (MNC), a location area identity (LAI), and a PLMN operator identifier so as to distinguish the PLMN. In detail, international roaming assigns a unique number of an international standard to a mobile communication terminal so that a mobile communication service can be provided to any country for two-way communication between a mobile communication terminal and a service provider in a corresponding country. Function. The subscriber identity module (SIM) of a mobile terminal having international roaming function includes a PLMN (Home PLMN or less HPLMN) subscribed to by the subscriber at the time of subscribing to a mobile communication service and a PLMN (Visited PLMN or less last used by the mobile communication terminal). VPLMN) information is stored. When the mobile communication terminal receives the mobile communication service from the VPLMN using the international roaming function, the mobile terminal scans the PLMN list for a predetermined time and requests registration from the base station located in the neighboring cell.

However, since the HPLMN is excluded from the PLMN list, which the mobile terminal scans in the VPLMN at regular intervals, the location cannot be registered in the HPLMN. For this reason, the mobile communication terminal cannot use the benefits provided by the HPLMN because the mobile terminal must use the VPLMN even though the HPLMN service is provided. In particular, roaming is more expensive than using HPLMN, so using VPLMN in areas where both HPLMN and VPLMN are supported simultaneously, such as border borders, is a financial burden on users.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal and a roaming method for attempting to access a public mobile communication network in a local area adjacent to a public mobile communication network while using international roaming. To provide.

A method according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object, the process of receiving a system information block when international roaming using a visited public mobile communication network, and the national boundary field value of the system information block is set And, when attempting to access the public telecommunication network of its own country and when the national boundary field value is released, performing international roaming by using the visited public telecommunication network. The system information block receiving process includes: When the international roaming in the mobile communication network, the local public mobile telecommunications network search timer is driven, and when the domestic public mobile telecommunications network search timer running expires, characterized in that it comprises the step of checking the received system information block.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal having an international roaming function, the apparatus comprising: a radio frequency communication unit configured to receive a system information block by forming a channel with a base station; And when the portable terminal roams internationally in a visited public mobile communication network, checks a country boundary field value of a system information block received through the radio frequency communication unit, and if the country boundary field value is set, goes to the local public mobile communication network. And a control unit for attempting access, wherein the control unit checks a mobile station code of the system block information, and attempts to access the local station public communication network if it is identical to a code of the local public mobile communication network.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, only the parts necessary for understanding the operation according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described, it should be noted that the description of other parts will be omitted so as not to distract from the gist of the present invention.

The terms or words used in the specification and claims described below should not be construed as being limited to the ordinary or dictionary meanings, and the inventors are appropriate to the concept of terms in order to explain their invention in the best way. It should be interpreted as meanings and concepts in accordance with the technical spirit of the present invention based on the principle that it can be defined. Therefore, the embodiments described in the specification and the drawings shown in the drawings are only one of the most preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not represent all of the technical idea of the present invention, various modifications that can be replaced at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

For example, in the following description, the domestic public mobile communication network according to the present invention refers to a land public mobile communication network of a country in which a mobile terminal user subscribes to a mobile terminal, and is defined as a home public land mobile network (HPLMN). In addition, the mobile terminal is located in a country other than the country registered as HPLMN, and the mobile communication network using international roaming is referred to as a visited public mobile communication network and is defined as a VPLMN (Visited Public Land Mobile Network). In addition, the PLMN selected by the mobile operator to which the mobile terminal is subscribed is defined as an operator controlled PLMN selector (OPLMN), and the PLMN selected by the user of the mobile terminal is a user controlled PLMN selector. define. These HPLMNs, OPLMNs, and UPLMNs may be classified as Higher Priority PLMNs.

In addition, hereinafter, to clarify the gist of the present invention and to facilitate the explanation and understanding thereof, a mobile country code (MCC) is defined as PLMN identification information in a base station for distinguishing a public land mobile communication network between countries. do. The National Boder (NB) field means the area where the PLMN of a corresponding country and the PLMN of a neighboring country can be used as a national boundary area. This system information block includes the MCC and NB fields and is transmitted from the base station to the mobile terminal.

In addition, the portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone (Smart Phone), an International Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT-2000) terminal, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) terminal, It can be applied to all information communication and multimedia devices such as wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) terminals, global system for mobile communication (GSM) terminals, universal mobile telecommunication service (UMTS) terminals, and cellular phones, and applications thereof. Will be self explanatory.

1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a mobile terminal 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a radio frequency (RF) communication unit 110, a data processor 120, an audio processor 130, an input unit 140, and a display unit. And a storage unit 160 and a control unit 170.

The RF communication unit 110 forms a call channel with a base station for data communication and voice call between the mobile terminal 100, wirelessly transmits user data to an external terminal, etc. using the call channel, or uses an external web server ( It is responsible for a series of calls related to the transmission and reception of content and control signals related to the content through interworking with a web server). The RF communicator 110 may include an RF transmitter for upconverting and amplifying a frequency of a transmitted signal, and an RF receiver for low noise amplifying and downconverting a received signal. In particular, the RF communication unit 110 according to the present invention forms a channel with a base station to receive system block information.

The data processor 120 is responsible for processing voice data transmitted from the audio processor 130, numeric / text data input from the user through the touch screen 140, and data transmitted from the RF communication unit 110. . The data processor 120 may include a transmitter configured to harmonize and modulate a signal transmitted through the RF communicator 110, and a receiver configured to demodulate and decode the received signal. Therefore, the data processor 120 includes a data codec for processing packet data and an audio codec for processing an audio signal such as voice.

The audio processor 130 plays a function of reproducing the audio signal output from the data processor 120 or transmitting an audio signal such as a voice input from the microphone MIC to the data processor 120. That is, the audio processor 130 converts the voice / sound data into an audible sound through the speaker SPK under the control of the controller 160 and outputs the audible sound. In addition, the audio processor 130 data-outputs an audio signal such as a voice received from the microphone MIC.

The input unit 140 includes a plurality of input keys and function keys for receiving numeric or character information and setting various functions. The function keys may include direction keys, side keys, shortcut keys, and the like, which are set to perform a specific function. In addition, the input unit 140 transmits a key signal input in relation to the user setting and the function control of the portable terminal to the control unit 170.

The display unit 150 displays various menus of the portable terminal 100, user data input by the user, function setting information, or various information provided to the user. The display unit 150 may be formed of a liquid crystal display (LCD), and when the LCD is formed in the form of a touch screen, the display unit 150 may be included in the input terminal.

The storage unit 160 stores an application program required for operating a function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, content to be downloaded, user data generated by a user, a text message, and the like. The storage unit 160 may include one or more buffers for temporarily storing user data generated while executing a predetermined application program, for example, a text message application program. The storage unit 160 may largely include a program area and a data area.

The program area may include an operating system (OS) for booting the mobile terminal 100, an application required for a text message, and the like, other options of the mobile terminal 100 such as a camera function, a sound playback function, an image or a video. Stores applications required for playback functions and the like. When the mobile terminal 100 activates each of the above functions in response to a user request, the mobile terminal 100 provides the respective functions by using corresponding application programs under the control of the controller 170.

The data area is an area in which data generated according to the use of the mobile terminal 100 is stored, and contents downloaded through a content server or the like and user data related to various other optional functions, for example, a photographed image by the camera function described above or A video, phonebook data, audio data, text messages, and the like may be stored, and setting information corresponding to user data may be stored. In particular, the data area according to the present invention stores PLMN identification information for identifying the PLMN in the system block information. The PLMN identification information may include a mobile country code (MCC), a mobile network code (MNC), a location area identity (LAI) and a PLMN operator identifier. In the present invention, the PLMN is identified using the MCC, but is not limited thereto. That is, the mobile terminal according to the present invention can identify the PLMN using a mobile country code (MCC), a mobile network code (MNC), a location area identity (LAI), etc., which can identify each PLMN. In addition, the data area according to the present invention stores Higher Priority PLMNs such as HPLMN, Operator Controlled PLMN Selector List (OPLMN), and User Controlled PLMN Selector List (UPLMN). Here, the priority PLMN supports a service provided by the HPLMN registered with the mobile terminal 100 without using the international roaming service.

The controller 170 may control the overall operation of the mobile terminal 100 and the signal flow between the internal blocks of the mobile terminal 100, and may include a function of the data processor 120. In particular, the control unit 170 according to the present invention receives the system block information from the base station when the mobile terminal 100 is located in the VPLMN area to confirm the location of the mobile terminal 100. In addition, when the controller 170 determines that the mobile terminal 100 is located in the HPLMN neighborhood, the controller 170 attempts to access the HPLMN.

In detail, the controller 170 checks whether the portable terminal 100 is a registered terminal when power is applied to the portable terminal 100. When the controller 170 determines that the mobile terminal 100 is not registered, the controller 170 requests a registration from the PLMN of the country where the mobile terminal 100 is currently located. When the controller 170 receives the system block information from the base station, the controller 170 checks the MCC. The controller 170 stores the received MCC as the HPLMN MCC after requesting registration, and stores the PLMN of the country where the mobile terminal 100 is located as the HPLMN. The controller 170 communicates using international roaming when the mobile terminal 100 is located in the VPLMN instead of the HPLMN. In addition, if the control unit 170 is located in the HPLMN adjacent area during international roaming in the VPLMN, the control unit 170 attempts to access the HPLMN. That is, the controller 170 checks the NB field value in the system block information when located in the VPLMN instead of the HPLMN. For example, if the NB field value is set to '1', the controller 170 determines the position of the mobile terminal 100 as an area accessible to the HPLMN. Therefore, when the controller 170 confirms that the national boundary field value is set, the controller 170 drives the HPLMN search timer. When the HPLMN search timer expires, the controller 170 attempts to access the HPLMN. If the control unit 170 according to the present invention is determined to be located in the HPLMN adjacent area is not limited to approaching the HPLMN. That is, the control unit 170 according to the present invention may scan the priority PLMN list and attempt to approach the PLMN transmitting the largest signal from the base station.

The controller 170 requests a location registration from the base station of the PLMN of the PLMN of the corresponding PLMN when the access is successful. In addition, if the control unit 170 fails to access the priority PLMN, the controller 170 roams internationally using the currently located VPLMN.

Meanwhile, FIG. 1 illustrates a block configuration required for describing an operation according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure for convenience of description, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, the portable terminal 100 of the present invention may further include a camera unit and / or a digital broadcasting module according to the provision form thereof.

In the above, the configuration for the roaming method of the mobile terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described. Hereinafter, a roaming method of the mobile terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a roaming method of a mobile terminal 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the control unit 170 detects that power is supplied to the mobile terminal 100 in step S101, the controller 170 receives system block information from a first base station in step S102 and receives a mobile country code (MCC). Check. If the control unit 170 confirms that the MCC received from the first base station is inconsistent with the MCC of the local public mobile communication network (HPLMN) in step S103, the controller 170 registers a location with the base station in step S104 and includes the base station. Roam internationally to VPLMN). For example, the portable terminal 100 is located in the area A of the visited station adjacent to the station as shown in FIG. The controller 170 receives system block information including the MCC and NB fields from the base station A in the area A. When the controller 170 checks the MCC and if it is inconsistent with the MCC of the local public mobile telecommunication network (HPLMN), the controller 170 requests the base station A to register the location of the mobile terminal 100. International Roaming).

The controller 170 drives the HPLMN search timer in step S105, and when the HPLMN search timer expires in step S106, the controller 170 receives a system information block in step S107 to receive an MCC and a NB field. Check the value. If the controller 170 confirms that the current location of the mobile terminal 100 is adjacent to the local public mobile communication network (HPLMN) in step S108, the controller 170 attempts to access the local public mobile communication network (HPLMN) in step S109. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 moves from the A region of the visited station to the B region, the controller 170 checks the MCC and NB field values in the system block information transmitted from the base station B. That is, if the MCC is the same as the MCC of the visited public mobile communication network (VPLMN) and the NB field value is set, the controller 170 may recognize that the MCC is adjacent to the local station. Here, the mobile terminal 100 located in the area B of the visited station adjacent to the own station may receive a signal transmitted from the base station C in the area C of the own station.

Therefore, if the control unit 170 succeeds in accessing the local public mobile communication network (HPLMN) in step S110, it communicates with the local public mobile communication network (HPLMN) in step S111. However, the roaming method of the mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention is not limited to the controller 170 approaching the local public mobile communication network (HPLMN) from the local area adjacent to the local station. In the roaming method of the mobile terminal 1000 according to the present invention, if the mobile terminal 100 is located in the visited country but is adjacent to the local station, the roaming method of the mobile terminal 1000 scans a list of a priority priority PLMN. May attempt to access the PLMN transmitting the largest transmission signal.

In addition, if it is determined in step S108 that the MCC of the system information block is the same as the MCC of the visited country but is not adjacent to the local public mobile telecommunication network (HPLMN), the controller 170 detects that the roaming in the visited public mobile telecommunication network (VPLMN) is performed. Therefore, the controller 170 attempts to access the base station in the visited public mobile communication network (VPLMN) except the priority PLMN.

As described above, in the detailed description of the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the claims below, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

As described above, the mobile terminal of the present invention proposed by the present invention and its roaming method may attempt to access the local public mobile communication network from the local public mobile communication network adjacent to the local public mobile communication network while using international roaming. As a result, the user of the portable terminal can reduce the burden of charge due to international roaming, and can use the service provided by the public public telecommunication network.

Claims (9)

In the roaming method of a mobile terminal, Receiving system information blocks when roaming internationally using a visited public telecommunication network; If the national boundary field value of the system information block is set, attempting access to a public telecommunication network of its own country; and And roaming internationally using the visited public mobile communication network when the national boundary field value is released. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the system information block comprises: Driving a local public mobile communication network search timer when roaming internationally in the visited public mobile communication network; And checking the received system information block when the local public mobile network search timer is expired. The method of claim 2, wherein the attempting access to the domestic public mobile communication network is performed. And roaming access to an operator-selected public mobile communication network or a user-selected public mobile communication network if the national boundary field value of the system information block is set. The method of claim 3, wherein the adjacent region, And a region accessible to the visited public mobile communication network and the local public mobile communication network. The method of claim 2, wherein the attempting access to the domestic public mobile communication network is performed. And roaming a mobile station code of the system information block. The method of claim 5, wherein And if the mobile country code of the system information block is the same as the code of the local public mobile communication network, attempting to access the local public mobile communication network. In a mobile terminal having an international roaming function, A radio frequency communication unit for receiving a system information block by forming a channel with a base station; And When the portable terminal roams internationally in the visited public mobile communication network, the mobile terminal checks the national boundary field value of the system information block received through the radio frequency communication unit. If the national boundary field value is set, the mobile terminal accesses the local public mobile communication network. The control unit for attempting a; a mobile terminal comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein the control unit, And checking the mobile station code of the system block information and attempting to access the local station public communication network if it is identical to the code of the local public mobile communication network. The method of claim 7, wherein the control unit, And if the national boundary field value is set, attempting to access an operator-selected public mobile communication network or a user-selected public mobile communication network.

Images