JPH1188342A - Computer readable storage medium stored with program information of data communication method in communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simulate the state of completing an access request by the same operation as an access operation inside a radio wave area even when a radio wave state is defective in a radio network environment and to complete many planned access requests on the spot without delaying them. SOLUTION: In the case of transmitting data, the radio wave state is detected (B11) on a portable information terminal side and the possibility of data transmission is checked (B12). In the case of a transmission possible state, the data are transmitted through a radio network 11 to a communicating party (B13). In the case of a transmission impossible state, a transmission processing is interrupted and the transmission processing is restarted when the transmission possible state is attained (B14 and B15). Thus, even when the radio wave state is defective, a transmission request from a portable information terminal to the server computer of an office is inputted beforehand and work is efficiently executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication system used in an office system, and more particularly to a remote LAN (Loc) using a portable information terminal having a wireless communication function.
The present invention relates to a computer-readable storage medium storing program information of a data communication method in a communication system suitable for performing an (Al Area Network) access.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a wireless network environment, it is common practice to connect a portable telephone to a portable information terminal while traveling and to access a server computer in an office by radio.

[0003] However, in this type of wireless communication, a mobile phone (PDC) is used even in an area outside the radio range, or in a place where radio interference occurs, such as a building street or an underground mall, even in the radio range, and even when the radio wave condition is good. And simple mobile phones (PH
If you are in a cell with more than the maximum number of simultaneous connections per base station of a mobile telephone system such as S), you will not be able to make a call. There is a problem that you cannot access until you enter.

[0004] As described above, if access cannot be completed on the spot when an idea comes up, the work may be hindered. In addition, it is not possible to meet the need to perform a plurality of accesses at once outside the radio range or in a poor radio wave condition. Examples of such access include, for example, inquiries to a database on a server computer, e-mail processing, and printing out to a printer controlled by the server computer.

More specifically, an inquiry with a customer to a transaction database, reception and transmission of an e-mail, and a request for printing a form or the like whose contents have already been determined are made.
It is input and stored in advance in the portable information terminal in a state where it is not connected to the server computer. If the radio wave condition is good, the connection is automatically transmitted to the server computer. Flexible wireless access such as holding the information in an information terminal and automatically making a connection when the radio wave condition becomes good cannot be performed.

[0006]

As described above, whether a portable information terminal can access a server computer in an office in a wireless network environment depends on the state of radio waves. For this reason, the access request to the server computer in the office cannot be completed in advance on the portable information terminal, and there is a problem that the work is hindered.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and solves the above-mentioned disadvantages. In a wireless network environment, even if the radio wave condition is poor, the same operation as the access operation in the radio wave range is performed. A computer-readable storage medium storing program information of a data communication method in a communication system capable of simulating a state in which an access request has been completed by a user without delaying several access requests. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

The present invention has the following aspects to attain the object mentioned above.

(1) The present invention relates to a communication system in which a portable information terminal having a wireless communication function is connected via a wireless network by using program information stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Means for instructing data transmission, radio wave detecting means for detecting the current radio wave state when the data transmitting instruction is issued by the instructing means, and the current radio wave state detected by the radio wave detecting means If the transmission is possible, the data is transmitted to the communication partner via the wireless network. If the transmission is not possible, the transmission processing is interrupted, and the transmission processing is resumed when the transmission becomes possible. This is to function as control means.

According to such a configuration, if the current radio wave condition is such that data can be transmitted when data is transmitted, the data is transmitted to the communication partner via the wireless network. Further, if the current radio wave state is a state where transmission is not possible, the transmission processing is interrupted, and the transmission processing is resumed when the state becomes a state where transmission is possible. (2) Also, the present invention is computer-readable. According to the program information stored in the storage medium, in a communication system in which a portable information terminal having a wireless communication function is connected via a wireless network,
Instructing means for instructing data reception, radio wave detecting means for detecting the current radio wave state when the data receiving instruction is issued by the instructing means, and the current radio wave state detected by the radio wave detecting means can receive data. Communication control to receive the data from the communication partner via the wireless network if the communication is in an unacceptable state, suspend reception processing if the state is unreceivable, and resume reception processing when the reception is enabled. It is designed to function as a means.

According to such a configuration, if the current radio wave condition is such that data can be received when data is received, the data is received by the communication partner via the wireless network. If the current radio wave state is a state in which reception is impossible, the reception processing is interrupted, and the reception processing is restarted when the state becomes receivable.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a communication system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of portable information terminals 10a,.
Exchange 12, LAN (Local Area Network
(or) 13 to the server computer 14. The portable information terminals 10a,..., 10n are, for example, PHS (personal Handyphone S).
PDA (Personal Di)
and a data processing device such as a digital assistant. The wireless network 11 is a public network such as a telephone network. The exchange 12 selects and connects a communication path to the other party according to a communication request from the operator. LA
N13 is an in-company network provided in the office, where a server computer 14 is connected. The server computer 14 is a portable information terminal 10a,.
10n and the server computer 14 are mutually connected under the control of the exchange 12.

Hereinafter, a process of transmitting and receiving mail data between the portable information terminal 10a and the server computer 14 will be described by taking an electronic mail as an example.

First, the configuration of the portable information terminal 10a will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a portable information terminal 1 according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the first embodiment. Portable information terminal 10
a has a CPU 21, a memory 22, a screen display device 23, an input device 24, a communication control device 25, and a radio wave detection device 26.

The CPU 21 controls the entire information processing including communication processing. The memory 22 has a screen control program 22a for controlling screen display, a mail program 22b for performing e-mail, a communication program 22c for instructing the communication control device 25 to perform transmission / reception processing of mail data, that is, communication data, and cancels the power save mode. Time setting program 22d for setting the waiting time until power saving, power control program 22 for executing the power save mode
e, various programs such as a radio wave detection program 22f for instructing the radio wave detection device 26 to detect the radio wave state of the wireless network 11 are stored.

The memory 22 has a communication data buffer 22g for storing communication data and a mailbox address buffer 22h for storing addresses of mailboxes (here, provided in the server computer 14). , A destination address buffer 22i for storing an address of a destination (here, the server computer 14), and a screen operation data buffer 2 for storing data of various icons displayed on the screen display device 23.
2j are provided.

The screen display device 23 is, for example, an LCD (Li
It is composed of a liquid crystal display (quid Crystal Display) and displays data. Here, an operation screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed at the time of communication. The input device 24 includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and is for inputting data and giving instructions. Communication control device 25
Controls communication with the server computer 14 or another terminal via the wireless network 11. The radio wave detecting device 26 detects a radio wave state of the wireless network 11.

Next, an operation screen of the portable information terminal 10a will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a view showing an operation screen of the portable information terminal 10a in the present embodiment. Portable information terminal 1
0a, the transmission icon 31, the reception icon 32, the communication data 33, the mailbox address 3
4. There is a destination address 35.

The transmission icon 31 is for instructing transmission of mail data. The reception icon 32 is for instructing reception of mail data. The communication data 33 indicates transmitted or received mail data. The mailbox address 34 indicates a mailbox address specified by the operator. Destination address 35
Indicates the destination address specified by the operator.

In such an operation screen, data relating to the transmission icon 31 and the reception icon 32 is stored in the screen operation data buffer 22j shown in FIG. Also,
The communication data 33 is stored in the communication data buffer 22g, the mailbox address 34 is stored in the mailbox address buffer 22h, and the destination address 35 is stored in the destination address buffer 22i.

Next, the flow of the mail transmission / reception processing will be described separately for (a) transmission processing and (b) reception processing.

(A) Transmission Process FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the transmission process of the mail program in the embodiment. When transmitting the mail data, the operator of the portable information terminal 10a operates the communication data 33 and the mailbox address 3 on the operation screen shown in FIG.
4. Set the destination address 35 (step A1)
1). In this case, it is assumed that the mail data is transmitted from the portable information terminal 10a to the server computer 14. Therefore, the mailbox address 34 is a mailbox address provided in the server computer 14,
The transmission destination address 35 is the address of the server computer 14.

Here, when the operator selects the transmission icon 31 (step A12), the mail program 22b is started. The mail program 22b stores the communication data 33 set by the operator on the operation screen in the communication data buffer 22g of FIG. 2, and stores the mailbox address 34 in the mailbox address buffer 22h and the transmission destination address 35 in the transmission destination address buffer. 22i (step A13).

Next, the mail program 22b calls the communication program 22c to execute a data transmission process (step A14). FIG. 5 shows the transmission processing operation at this time.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the transmission process of the communication program 22c in the embodiment.
The communication program 22c inquires of the radio wave detection program 22f about the radio wave state (step B11). As a result, the radio wave detection program 22f
6, the current radio wave state is detected, and the detection result is returned to the communication program 22c.

The communication program 22c determines whether the radio wave condition is good based on the detection result (step B12). A good radio wave state indicates that the radio wave reception level is in a state where data can be transmitted normally.Specifically, a reference level and a detection level set in advance according to the transmission capability of the terminal are set. In comparison, the detection level is higher than the reference level.

If the radio wave condition is good (Yes in step B12), the communication program 22c transmits the mail data via the wireless network 11 (step B13). Specifically, the communication data buffer 22
g, reads out the communication data 33 which is the mail data, adds the destination address 35 of the destination address buffer 22i to the communication data 33, and transmits the communication data 33 to the server computer 14 indicated by the mailbox address 34 of the mailbox address buffer 22h. I do.

Next, the communication program 22c determines whether or not the transmission of the mail data has been completed normally (step B14). When the communication program 22c ends normally (Yes in step B14), the communication program 22c ends the processing here and returns control to the mail program 22b.

On the other hand, when the radio wave condition is bad (No in step B12) or when a radio wave failure occurs during transmission of the mail data (No in step B14), the communication program 22c interrupts the transmission process ( Step B
15).

Here, after the transmission processing is interrupted, the radio wave state is checked again and the transmission processing is restarted. However, even if the radio wave state is immediately checked, no improvement can be expected. This is because there is a high possibility that the operator is still near a place with poor radio wave conditions. Therefore, considering the time required for the operator to move to a place with good radio wave conditions, it is more efficient to try to restart the transmission process after a certain interval, and to avoid wasting power. I'm done.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when restarting the transmission processing, the waiting time setting program 22d sets the holding time according to the current radio field intensity (step B1).
6) The power save mode is executed by the power control program 22e until the allotted time elapses (steps B17 and B18).

In this power save mode, for example, the operation screen is not displayed, so that wasteful power consumption until the rotation of the disk is stopped and the transmission process is restarted can be suppressed. In addition, by setting the holding time according to the radio wave intensity, it is possible to reflect a different travel time of the operator in a place where the radio wave condition is very bad and a place where the radio wave condition is somewhat good in the waiting time.

After the elapse of the waiting time (Yes in step B18), when the power save mode is released (step B19), the communication program 22c restarts the transmission processing (step B20).

Thus, even if the radio wave condition is poor,
When the radio wave condition becomes good, the mail data is transmitted. Therefore, the operator can perform the transmission operation only once when he or she comes up, regardless of the state of the radio wave, and thereafter can transmit the data to the communication partner without any particular awareness.

In the above embodiment, the portable information terminal 1
Although the server computer 14 is assumed as the transmission partner of 0a, the same applies when another terminal is set as the transmission partner.

When the transmission process is restarted, there are a method of retransmitting data to be transmitted from the beginning and a method of transmitting data from an interrupted place, but the present invention is not limited to these retransmission methods. . In this case, in the latter method, if data to be transmitted is divided in predetermined packet units and the data is sequentially transmitted in packet units, re-reception from the middle can be realized.

(B) Reception Processing FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the reception processing of the mail program in the same embodiment. When receiving the mail data, the operator of the portable information terminal 10a operates on the operation screen shown in FIG. The mail box address 34 is set (step C11). In this case, out of the mail data from each terminal stored in the mailbox in the server computer 14, the mail data addressed to the user is transferred to the portable information terminal 10.
Since the storage type mail system is assumed to be difficult to receive, the mailbox address 34 is the address of the mailbox provided in the server computer 14.

Here, when the operator selects the reception icon 32 (step C12), the mail program 22b is started. The mail program 22b stores the mailbox address 34 set by the operator on the operation screen in FIG.
Then, the mail program 22b calls the communication program 22c to execute a data reception process (reception request) (step C14). FIG. 7 shows the reception processing operation at this time. When mail data is obtained by this reception processing, the mail program 22
b performs the display (step C15).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the receiving process of the communication program 22c in the embodiment.
The communication program 22c inquires of the radio wave detection program 22f about the radio wave condition (step D11). As a result, the radio wave detection program 22f
6, the current radio wave state is detected, and the detection result is returned to the communication program 22c.

The communication program 22c determines whether the radio wave condition is good based on the detection result (step D12). A good radio wave state indicates that the radio wave reception level is in a state in which data can be normally received.Specifically, a reference level and a detection level set in advance according to the reception capability of the terminal are set. In comparison, the detection level is higher than the reference level.

If the radio wave condition is good (Yes in step D12), the communication program 22c receives mail data via the wireless network 11 (step D13). Specifically, a reception request is made to the server computer 14 indicated by the mailbox address 34 of the mailbox address buffer 22h,
The mail data addressed to itself is received from the mailbox in the server computer 14 and stored in the communication data buffer 22g.

Next, the communication program 22c determines whether or not the reception of the mail data has been normally completed (step D14). When the communication program 22c ends normally (Yes in step D14), the communication program 22c ends the processing here, and returns control to the mail program 22b.

On the other hand, if the radio wave condition is poor (No in Step D12) or if a radio wave failure occurs during the reception of mail data (No in Step D14), the communication program 22c interrupts the reception processing (Step D14). Steer D
15).

Here, after the reception processing is interrupted, the radio wave state is checked again and the reception processing is restarted. However, even if the radio wave state is immediately checked, no improvement can be expected. This is because there is a high possibility that the user is near a place with poor radio wave conditions. Therefore, considering the time it takes for the operator to move to a place with good radio wave conditions, it is more efficient to try to restart the reception process after a certain interval, and to avoid wasting power. I'm done.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the receiving process is restarted, a waiting time according to the current radio field intensity is set by the waiting time setting program 22d (step D1).
6) Until the waiting time elapses, the power control program 22e executes the power save mode (steps D17 and D18).

In this power save mode, for example, the operation screen is not displayed, and the wasteful power consumption until the rotation of the disk is stopped and the receiving process is restarted can be suppressed. In addition, by setting the holding time according to the radio wave intensity, it is possible to reflect the traveling time of different operators, such as when the user is in a place where the radio wave condition is extremely bad and when the user is in a slightly better place, in the holding time.

After the elapse of the waiting time (Yes in step D18), when the power save mode is released (step D19), the communication program 22c restarts the reception processing (step D20).

Thus, even if the radio wave condition is poor,
When the radio wave condition becomes good, the mail data is received. Therefore, regardless of the radio wave condition, if the operator performs the receiving operation only once when he or she comes up, the operator can thereafter receive the data from the communication partner without being particularly conscious.

In the above embodiment, the portable information terminal 1
Although the server computer 14 is assumed to be the recipient of 0a, the same applies to the case where another terminal is the recipient.

When the receiving process is restarted, there are a method of receiving data to be received from the beginning and a method of receiving data from where it was interrupted, but the present invention is not limited to these re-receiving methods. In this case, the latter method
If data to be received is divided in units of a predetermined packet, and the data is sequentially received in the unit of a packet, re-reception from the middle can be realized.

By the way, the above-mentioned method writes program information which can be executed by a computer to a storage medium such as a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), a semiconductor memory, etc. It is of course possible to apply the present invention to various devices, or to transmit the data via a communication medium to various devices. The computer that realizes this device is
The program information recorded on the storage medium is read, and the above-described processing is executed by controlling the operation according to the program information.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, the current radio wave condition is detected when data is transmitted, and if the data can be transmitted, the data is transmitted to the communication partner via the wireless network. In the case where transmission is not possible, the transmission process is interrupted and the transmission process is resumed when the transmission becomes possible. Even if it is defective, it becomes possible to pre-input a transmission request from the portable information terminal to the server computer in the office, and it is possible to efficiently perform business.

When data is received, the current radio wave state is detected. If the data can be received, the data is received by a communication partner via a wireless network. For example, when the portable information terminal is carried out for business when the portable information terminal is carried out for business, since the reception process is interrupted and the reception process is resumed when the reception becomes ready, the portable information terminal is Can input the reception request to the server computer in the office in advance, and the business can be efficiently executed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a portable information terminal used in the communication system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the terminal,

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the transmission processing operation of the mail program,

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a transmission processing operation of a communication program.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a mail program reception processing operation.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a receiving process operation of the communication program.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10a,..., 10n portable information terminal 11 wireless network 12 exchange 13 LAN 14 server computer 21 CPU 22 memory 23 screen display device 24 input device 25 communication control device 26 radio wave detection device 31 Send icon 32 ... Receive icon

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A communication system in which a portable information terminal having a wireless communication function is connected via a wireless network, said portable information terminal comprises: an instruction unit for instructing data transmission; When instructed,
A radio wave detecting means for detecting a current radio wave state; and, if the current radio wave state detected by the radio wave detecting means is a state in which data can be transmitted, the data is transmitted to a communication partner via the wireless network. Stores program information of a data communication method in a communication system characterized by functioning as communication control means for interrupting transmission processing if possible, and restarting transmission processing when transmission is possible. Computer readable storage medium. 2. A waiting time setting means for setting a waiting time in accordance with a radio wave intensity at the time when a current radio wave state is in a state in which transmission is impossible, and the communication time set by the waiting time setting means. 2. A computer-readable storage medium storing program information for a data communication method in a communication system according to claim 1, wherein said storage medium functions as power control means for executing a power save mode during a period of time. 3. In a communication system in which a portable information terminal having a wireless communication function is connected via a wireless network, the portable information terminal includes: an instruction unit for instructing data reception; When instructed,
A radio wave detecting means for detecting a current radio wave state; and if the current radio wave state detected by the radio wave detecting means is a data receivable state, the data is received from a communication partner via the wireless network. A computer-readable storage device that stores program information of a data communication method in a communication system, wherein the computer process functions as a communication control unit that suspends a reception process if it is possible and restarts the reception process when the reception is enabled. Possible storage medium. 4. A waiting time setting means for setting a waiting time according to the radio wave intensity at the time when the current radio wave state is in a state where reception is impossible, and the waiting time set by the waiting time setting means. 4. The computer-readable storage medium storing program information for a data communication method in a communication system according to claim 3, wherein the storage medium functions as power control means for executing a power save mode during a time period. 5. A portable information terminal having a wireless communication function detects a current radio wave state when transmitting data via a wireless network, and according to the detection result, the current radio wave state can transmit data. If it is in the state, the data is transmitted to the communication partner via the wireless network. If the current radio wave state is in a state where transmission is impossible, the transmission processing is interrupted, and the transmission processing is performed when the transmission becomes possible. A computer-readable storage medium storing program information of a data communication method in a communication system, wherein the program information is restarted. 6. A portable information terminal having a wireless communication function detects a current radio wave state when receiving data via a wireless network, and in accordance with the detection result, the current radio wave state can be received. If it is in the state, the data is received from the communication partner via the wireless network.If the current radio wave state is in a state where reception is not possible, the reception processing is interrupted, and the reception processing is resumed when the reception state is reached. A computer-readable storage medium storing program information of a data communication method in a communication system, characterized in that: