JP7579101B2 - Wireless communication terminal, wireless communication method, and wireless communication program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a wireless communication terminal, a wireless communication method, and a wireless communication program.

In recent years, the fifth generation mobile communication system (5G) has been widely adopted to realize a faster communication environment. To complement the 5G environment, which is not yet fully developed, wireless communication terminals that support both the conventional Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G communication methods have been proposed. One example of such a wireless communication terminal is a wireless communication terminal using the Non-Stand Alone (NSA) method.

In wireless communication terminals, the amount of electromagnetic waves a user is exposed to during voice calls is regulated by laws and regulations such as the Radio Act. In wireless communication terminals that support multiple communication methods, such as the NSA method, the amount of electromagnetic waves a user is exposed to is likely to increase. For this reason, technology has been proposed that controls the transmission power to reduce the amount of electromagnetic wave exposure (Patent Documents 1 and 3), and technology that reduces the amount of electromagnetic wave exposure by switching between multiple communication methods in a time-division manner (Patent Document 2).

International Publication No. 2018/230091 JP 2013-143575 A JP 2018-191330 A

When wireless communication terminals are made compatible with 5G communication methods in addition to LTE, wireless local area network (LAN), and Bluetooth (registered trademark), the amount of electromagnetic waves exposed to the human body will increase. The amount of electromagnetic waves exposed to the human body can be reduced by lowering the transmission power in each communication method, but if the transmission power is lowered too much, there is a risk that the transmission power regulations of The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) will not be met.

In addition, when designing the hardware of wireless communication terminals, it is possible to consider arranging each device in a way that reduces the amount of electromagnetic wave exposure to the human body. However, as wireless communication terminals become smaller and more functional, the degree of freedom in hardware design is decreasing, making it difficult to reduce the amount of electromagnetic wave exposure by changing the device arrangement.

One aspect of the disclosed technology aims to reduce the amount of electromagnetic waves exposed to the human body during voice calls in a wireless communication device that supports multiple communication methods.

One aspect of the disclosed technology is exemplified by a wireless communication terminal as follows. The wireless communication terminal includes a wireless communication unit, a call processing unit, and a control unit. The wireless communication unit executes a first wireless communication process for performing communication control and data transmission with a first base station using radio waves of a first frequency, and a second wireless communication process for performing data transmission with a second base station using radio waves of a second frequency that allows faster data transmission than the radio waves of the first frequency, and for performing communication control with the first base station using radio waves of the first frequency. The call processing unit executes a voice call with another wireless communication terminal via the wireless communication unit. When the control unit detects a voice call, it suppresses the execution of the second wireless communication process.

This wireless communication terminal is a wireless communication device that supports multiple communication methods and can reduce the amount of electromagnetic waves exposed to the human body during voice calls.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a smartphone according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating communication between the smartphone and the base station according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing block of the smartphone according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow of the smartphone according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a first diagram illustrating an example of a transition of a communication state between a smartphone and a base station according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a second diagram showing an example of a transition of a communication state between the smartphone and the base station according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing flow of the smartphone in the modified example. FIG. 8 illustrates a flow of transition from the ENDC state to the ENDC disallowed state in the modified example.

<Embodiment>
In this embodiment, a wireless communication terminal including a wireless communication unit, a call processing unit, and a control unit will be described. The wireless communication terminal is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable computer, a feature phone, etc. When performing data transmission with a first base station using radio waves of a first frequency, the wireless communication unit executes a first wireless communication process in which communication control is also performed with the first base station using the first frequency. When performing data transmission with a second base station using radio waves of a second frequency that allows faster data transmission than the radio waves of the first frequency, the wireless communication unit executes a second wireless communication process in which communication control is performed with the first base station using radio waves of the first frequency. When detecting that a voice call with another wireless communication terminal via the wireless communication unit has been performed by the call processing unit, the control unit suppresses the execution of the second wireless communication process.

In the wireless communication terminal according to this embodiment, when it is detected that a voice call has been executed by the call processing unit, the execution of the second wireless communication process is suppressed. By suppressing the second wireless communication process, communication by radio waves of the second frequency is suppressed, and the amount of electromagnetic waves exposed to the user is reduced. Here, the voice call may include a call by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). By such processing, even in a situation where the degree of freedom in hardware design is reduced due to demands for miniaturization and high functionality, or in a situation where it is difficult to reduce the transmission power, the amount of electromagnetic waves exposed to the user can be reduced.

In addition, in this embodiment, suppressing the execution of the second wireless communication process may include suppressing a cell search for the second base station. By such processing, it is possible to suppress connection to the second base station during a voice call.

In the present embodiment, the control unit may permit execution of the second wireless communication process when detecting the end of the voice call.
After the voice call ends, communication can be started using radio waves of the second frequency, which are faster than the radio waves of the first frequency, without the user having to perform any special operation.

The wireless communication terminal, wireless communication method, and wireless communication program according to the embodiment will be further described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the wireless communication terminal is applied to a smartphone. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a smartphone according to the embodiment. The smartphone 1 according to the embodiment includes an application Central Processing Unit (CPU) 11, memory 12, a modem CPU 13, a wireless unit 14, an antenna 15, a microphone 16, a display 17, a speaker 18, and an input unit 19.

The application CPU 11 is also called a microprocessor unit (MPU) or a processor. The application CPU 11 is not limited to a single processor, and may have a multiprocessor configuration. A single application CPU 11 connected to a single socket may have a multicore configuration. At least a part of the processing executed by the application CPU 11 may be executed by an integrated circuit (IC) or other digital circuit. At least a part of the application CPU 11 may include an analog circuit. The integrated circuit includes a large scale integrated circuit (LSI), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a programmable logic device (PLD). The PLD includes, for example, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The application CPU 11 may be a combination of a processor and an integrated circuit. This combination is called, for example, a microcontroller unit (MCU), a system-on-a-chip (SoC), a system LSI, or a chipset. In the smartphone 1, the application CPU 11 controls peripheral devices by executing programs stored in the memory 12. This enables the smartphone 1 to execute processes that meet a specific purpose. The memory 12 is a recording medium that can be read by the application CPU 11.

Memory 12 is exemplified as a storage unit that is directly accessed by application CPU 11. Memory 12 includes Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM).

The memory 12 stores an operating system (OS), various computer programs, various tables, etc. The memory 12 may be, for example, an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), a solid state drive (SSD), a hard disk drive (HDD), etc.

The modem CPU 13 controls the wireless unit 14 according to instructions from the application CPU 11.

The wireless unit 14 transmits and receives radio waves to and from a base station via the antenna 15. The wireless unit 14 is capable of communication in both the fifth generation mobile communication system (hereinafter, 5G) and Long Term Evolution (LTE). In 5G, communication is performed using radio waves with frequencies up to 6 GHz (sub6: FR1) and radio waves with frequencies from 24 GHz to 40 GHz (millimeter waves: FR2). The wireless unit 14 may be compatible with both sub6 and millimeter waves, or may be compatible with either sub6 or millimeter waves.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of communication between a smartphone and a base station according to the embodiment. In FIG. 2, the control plane for controlling communication is described as "C-plane", and the user plane for transmitting and receiving user data is described as "U-plane". FIG. 2A shows a schematic diagram of communication between the smartphone 1 and a base station 51 that supports LTE. When communicating with the base station 51, the wireless unit 14 uses LTE in both the user plane and the control plane. FIG. 2B shows a schematic diagram of communication between the smartphone 1 and a base station 52 that supports 5G. When communicating with the base station 52, the wireless unit 14 communicates with the base station 52 using 5G in addition to LTE with the base station 51 in the user plane, and communicates with the base station 51 using LTE in the control plane. When communicating with the base station 51 or the base station 52, the wireless unit 14 connects to the base station 51 using LTE in the control plane. That is, the smartphone 1 can be said to be an NSA type wireless communication terminal. 2, the base station 51 and the base station 52 are illustrated as separate base stations, but the base station 51 and the base station 52 may be formed as a single base station. The base station 51 is an example of a "first base station." The base station 52 is an example of a "second base station."

Returning to FIG. 1, microphone 16 accepts audio input. Speaker 18 outputs the sound of videos, music, etc. played by smartphone 1. Speaker 18 also outputs the voice of the other party using smartphone 1. With microphone 16 and speaker 18, smartphone 1 can realize voice calls using telephone lines or voice calls by VoIP.

The display 17 is, for example, a display device that displays characters, images, etc. The display 17 is, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Plasma Display Panel (PDP), an Electroluminescence (EL) panel, an organic EL panel, etc.

The input unit 19 accepts operations from the user of the smartphone 1. The input unit 19 is, for example, a hardware key or a touch panel. The touch panel is provided superimposed on the display 17 and detects touch operations by the user's finger or the like. There is no limitation on the method by which the touch panel detects touch operations. Examples of the method by which the touch panel detects touch operations include a capacitive method and a resistive film method.

<Processing block of smartphone 1>
3 is a diagram showing an example of a processing block of a smartphone according to an embodiment. The smartphone 1 includes a Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) control unit 101, a call control unit 102, a call processing unit 103, a voice data control unit 104, a VoIP processing unit 105, and a wireless control unit 106. The smartphone 1 executes the processing of each unit of the smartphone 1, such as the SAR control unit 101, the call control unit 102, the call processing unit 103, the voice data control unit 104, the VoIP processing unit 105, and the wireless control unit 106, by the application CPU 11 executing a computer program stored in the memory 12.

The SAR control unit 101 monitors the call control unit 102 and the voice data control unit 104. When the SAR control unit 101 detects that a voice call by the call processing unit 103 or a VoIP call by the VoIP processing unit 105 is being established or has already been established, it instructs the wireless control unit 106 to stop 5G. By stopping the 5G wireless connection, the SAR control unit 101 prevents transition to an E-UTRAN New Radio - Dual Connectivity (ENDC) state in which communication by LTE and communication by 5G are performed simultaneously.

The call control unit 102 acquires the status of the voice call by the call processing unit 103 and the data communication by the VoIP processing unit 105. In this specification, the call control of the voice call using the telephone line is called the voice call, and the call control of the call using VoIP is called the VoIP call. When either the state of the voice call by the call processing unit 103 or the state of the data communication by the VoIP processing unit changes, the call control unit 102 notifies the SAR control unit 101 of the change. The state of the voice call can be, for example, one of three states: "idle", "establishing (calling)", and "established".

For example, when the OS of the smartphone 1 is Android (registered trademark), the call control unit 102 can obtain the state of the voice call by referring to the value of "PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_CALL_STATE". The value of "PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_CALL_STATE" can take three values: "CALL_STATE_IDLE", "CALL_STATE_RINGING", and "CALL_STATE_OFFHOOK". "CALL_STATE_IDLE" indicates, for example, "idle". "CALL_STATE_RINGING" indicates, for example, "establishing (ringing)". "CALL_STATE_OFFHOOK" indicates, for example, "established".

When the call control unit 102 detects a change in the state of the voice call based on the acquired value of "PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_CALL_STATE", it notifies the SAR control unit 101 of that fact. When there is a change in the state of the voice call, the call control unit 102 notifies the SAR control unit 101 of the state of the voice call based on "PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_CALL_STATE".

Data communication states can include five states, for example: "no data being sent or received," "data being sent," "data being received," "data being sent or received," and "data connection and physical channel open."

For example, when the OS of the smartphone 1 is Android, the call control unit 102 can obtain the state of data communication by referring to the value of "PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_DATA_ACTIVITY". The value of "PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_DATA_ACTIVITY" can take five values: "DATA_ACTIVITY_NONE", "DATA_ACTIVITY_OUT", "DATA_ACTIVITY_IN", "DATA_ACTIVITY_INOUT", and "DATA_ACTIVITY_DORMANT". "DATA_ACTIVITY_NONE" indicates, for example, "no data being sent or received". "DATA_ACTIVITY_OUT" indicates, for example, that "there is data to be transmitted." "DATA_ACTIVITY_IN" indicates, for example, that "there is data to be received." "DATA_ACTIVITY_INOUT" indicates, for example, that "there is data to be transmitted or received." "DATA_ACTIVITY_DORMANT" indicates, for example, that "there is a data connection and the physical channel is released."

When the call control unit 102 detects a change in the state of data communication based on the acquired value of "PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_DATA_ACTIVITY", it notifies the SAR control unit 101 of that fact. For example, the call control unit 102 acquires the value of "PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_DATA_ACTIVITY" at a predetermined interval, and notifies the SAR control unit 101 if the acquired value has changed from the previously acquired value.

The call processing unit 103 is an application program that executes voice calls with other smartphones and mobile phones. The call processing unit 103 starts and ends voice calls according to the control from the call control unit 102.

The VoIP processing unit 105 is an application program that executes VoIP calls with other smartphones and mobile phones. The VoIP processing unit 105 starts and ends VoIP calls according to the control from the call control unit 102.

The voice data control unit 104 acquires the status of a voice call or a VoIP call. Examples of the status of a voice call or a VoIP call include five states: "establishing, and neither an established voice call nor a VoIP call exists", "incoming call ringing", "voice call in progress", "Voice call in progress", and "call screening". Here, an example of "call screening" is a process of automatically rejecting an incoming call before the user answers. The voice data control unit 104 notifies the SAR control unit 101 of the acquired status of the voice call or VoIP call.

For example, if the OS of the smartphone 1 is Android, the audio data control unit 104 obtains the return value of the Application Programming Interface (API) "AudioManager.getMode()" provided by Android, and notifies the SAR control unit 101 of the obtained return value.

The return value of "AudioManager.getMode()" can take five values: "MODE_NORMAL", "MODE_RINGTONE", "MODE_IN_CALL", "MODE_IN_COMMUNICATION", and "MODE_CALL_SCREENING". "MODE_NORMAL" indicates, for example, that there is no voice call or VoIP call being established or already established. "MODE_RINGTONE" indicates, for example, that an incoming call is ringing. "MODE_IN_CALL" indicates, for example, that a voice call is in progress. "MODE_IN_COMMUNICATION" indicates, for example, that a VoIP call is in progress. "MODE_CALL_SCREENING" indicates, for example, "screening a call."

The wireless control unit 106 controls the wireless unit 14 and the antenna 15 to establish a wireless connection with a base station and perform wireless communication using the established wireless connection. For example, when the wireless control unit 106 detects base station 51 and base station 52 by cell search, it connects the control plane to base station 51 by LTE and connects the user plane to base station 51 by LTE and base station 52 by 5G. That is, when the wireless control unit 106 detects base station 51 and base station 52, it transitions to the ENDC state. Also, for example, when the wireless control unit 106 detects base station 51 without detecting base station 52 by cell search, it connects both the control plane and the user plane to base station 51 by LTE. That is, when the wireless control unit 106 detects base station 51 without detecting base station 52, it does not transition to the ENDC state.

Here, the upper limit of the amount of radio waves that a user is exposed to during a voice call by the call processing unit 103 or a VoIP call by the VoIP processing unit 105 is regulated by laws and regulations such as the Radio Law. The amount of exposure is regulated by, for example, a total exposure ratio (TER). TER is determined by the following (Equation 1).

In formula 1, SAR indicates the specific absorption rate, SAR _Limit indicates the allowable value of SAR, PD indicates the power density, and PD _Limit indicates the allowable value of power density. Laws such as the Radio Law stipulate that the TER per minute for any 6-minute period must be less than 1.

In formula 1, the term "SAR/SAR _Limit " indicates the amount of exposure resulting from LTE, Sub6, wireless LAN, and Bluetooth (registered trademark). The term "PD/PD _Limit " indicates the amount of exposure resulting from 5G millimeter waves. In other words, the TER is likely to increase when the smartphone 1 supports communication methods other than LTE. Therefore, when the smartphone 1 supports both LTE and 5G, it becomes difficult to set the TER so as to satisfy the conditions stipulated in laws and regulations such as the Radio Act.

Therefore, when the smartphone 1 detects a voice call or a VoIP call, it suppresses an increase in TER by disallowing the ENDC state. For example, when the SAR control unit 101 receives a notification from the call control unit 102 that the state of either the voice call or the data communication has changed, it acquires the execution status of the voice call and the VoIP call from the voice data control unit 104. Note that this acquisition process is preferably performed after performing a wait process for the time of the signaling process that controls the wireless channel and wireless connection between the smartphone 1 and the base station. When the information acquired from the voice data control unit 104 indicates that at least one of a voice call and a VoIP call exists, the SAR control unit 101 determines that the ENDC state is not allowed. For example, when the OS of the smartphone 1 is Android, it can be said that at least one of a voice call and a VoIP call is detected when the return value acquired from the voice data control unit 104 is other than "MODE_NORMAL".

When the SAR control unit 101 detects at least one of a voice call and a VoIP call, it notifies the wireless control unit 106 that the ENDC state is not permitted. When the wireless control unit 106 receives the notification that the ENDC state is not permitted, it stops the transmission and reception of radio waves by 5G if 5G communication is being performed with the base station. When the wireless control unit 106 receives the notification that the ENDC state is not permitted, it may also suppress cell search in 5G. The wireless control unit 106 maintains the suspension of transmission and reception of radio waves by 5G until it receives a notification from the SAR control unit 101 that the ENDC state prohibition is lifted. In addition, it is preferable that the wireless control unit 106 maintains the suppression of cell search in 5G until it receives a notification from the SAR control unit 101 that the ENDC state prohibition is lifted.

When the SAR control unit 101 no longer detects voice calls or VoIP calls, it notifies the wireless control unit 106 of the lifting of the ENDC state disallowance. When the wireless control unit 106 receives the notification of the lifting of the ENDC state disallowance, it lifts the inhibition of cell search by 5G. By lifting the inhibition of cell search, the wireless control unit 106 becomes able to transition to the ENDC state. By being able to transition to the ENDC state, the smartphone 1 becomes able to communicate by 5G.

<Processing flow of smartphone 1 according to the embodiment>
4 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the smartphone according to the embodiment. Hereinafter, an example of a processing flow of the smartphone 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

At T1, the call control unit 102 acquires the status of the voice call and the VoIP call. If the acquired status of the voice call and the VoIP call has changed (YES at T1), the call control unit 102 notifies the SAR control unit 101 of the change, and the process proceeds to T2. If the acquired status of the voice call and the VoIP call has not changed (NO at T1), the process of T1 is repeated.

At T2, the SAR control unit 101 waits for the time required for signaling processing to control the wireless channel and wireless connection between the base station 51 and the base station 52, and then obtains determination information from the voice data control unit 104 as to whether or not a voice call and a VoIP call are being executed.

At T3, the SAR control unit 101 determines whether a voice call or a VoIP call that is being established or has already been established is in progress. If at least one of a voice call and a VoIP call is in progress (YES at T3), processing proceeds to T4. If neither a voice call nor a VoIP call is in progress (NO at T3), processing proceeds to T5.

At T4, the SAR control unit 101 notifies the wireless control unit 106 that the ENCD state is not permitted. The wireless control unit 106 stops transmitting and receiving radio waves using 5G.

At T5, the SAR control unit 101 notifies the wireless control unit 106 of the release of the disallowance of the ENDC state. The wireless control unit 106 connects to the base station 51 via LTE on the control plane, and connects to the base station 51 via LTE and to the base station 52 via 5G on the user plane.

<Transition of communication state of smartphone 1 according to embodiment>
5 and 6 are diagrams showing an example of a transition of a communication state between a smartphone and a base station according to an embodiment. Fig. 5 illustrates a flow of transition from an ENDC state to an ENDC unpermitted state. Fig. 6 illustrates a flow of transition from an ENDC unpermitted state to an ENDC state. First, the flow of transition from an ENDC state to an ENDC unpermitted state will be described with reference to Fig. 5.

At C1, the smartphone 1 connects to the base station 51 using LTE on the control plane, and connects to the base station 51 using LTE and to the base station 52 using 5G on the user plane. In other words, the smartphone 1 is in the ENDC state.

In C2, the smartphone 1 detects at least one of a voice call and a VoIP call and determines not to permit the ENDC state. In C3, the smartphone 1 stops transmitting and receiving radio waves via 5G.

In C4, the smartphone 1 notifies the base station 51 that communication with the base station 52 has been disconnected. The smartphone 1 can notify the base station 51, for example, by sending "scgFailureInformationNR" to the base station 51. In C5, both the user plane and the control plane are connected to the base station 51 using LTE.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the flow of transition from the ENDC disallowed state to the ENDC state will be described. At D1, the smartphone 1 connects to the base station 51 using LTE for both the user plane and the control plane.

At D2, the smartphone 1 detects that neither a voice call nor a VoIP call is being performed and decides to cancel the disallowance of the ENDC state.

In D3, the smartphone 1 executes a cell search to detect a 5G base station 52. In D4, the smartphone 1 notifies the base station 51 of the result of the cell search in D3. The result of the cell search includes, for example, the communication quality with the base station 52. The notification in D4 is performed, for example, by a "Measurement Report." In D5, the base station 51 notifies the smartphone 1 of the addition of the base station 52 (addition of a cell of the base station 52). The notification in D5 is performed, for example, by an "rrcConnectionReconfiguration."

In D6, the smartphone 1 starts communication with the base station 52 added in D5. That is, the smartphone 1 transitions to an ENDC state in which the smartphone 1 communicates with the base station 51 using LTE in the control plane and communicates with the LTE base station 51 and the 5G base station 52 in the user plane.

<Effects of the embodiment>
When the smartphone 1 according to the embodiment detects at least one of a voice call and a VoIP call, the smartphone 1 stops communication using 5G. Through such processing, the smartphone 1 can suppress an increase in TER during a voice call.

The smartphone 1 according to the embodiment suppresses an increase in TER through software processing by the application CPU 11. Therefore, the smartphone 1 can suppress an increase in TER even in a situation where it is difficult to rearrange components within the housing due to the demand for compactness, thinness, and high functionality.

<Modification>
In the embodiment, when at least one of a voice call and a VoIP call is detected, communication using 5G is stopped. In the modified example, when at least one of a voice call and a VoIP call is detected, communication using 5G is stopped and a cell search in 5G is stopped. The same components as those in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. Hereinafter, the processing of the smartphone 1 in the modified example will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Processing flow of smartphone 1 in modified example>
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the smartphone in the modified example. The same processes as those in Fig. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, an example of a processing flow of the smartphone 1 in the modified example will be described with reference to Fig. 7.

At T41, the SAR control unit 101 determines whether or not the state is ENDC. If the state is ENDC (YES at T41), the process proceeds to T42. If the state is not ENDC (NO at T41), the process proceeds to T43.

At T42, the SAR control unit 101 notifies the wireless control unit 106 of the denial of permission for the ENCD state. The wireless control unit 106 stops transmitting and receiving radio waves using 5G.

At T43, the wireless control unit 106 suppresses cell search in 5G. That is, after T43, the wireless control unit 106 does not perform cell search to detect the base station 52.

At T51, the SAR control unit 101 notifies the wireless control unit 106 of the release of the disallowance of the ENDC state. The wireless control unit 106 starts a cell search in 5G. That is, after T51, the wireless control unit 106 executes a cell search to detect base station 52. When the wireless control unit 106 detects base station 51 and base station 52, it connects to base station 51 via LTE on the control plane, and connects LTE to base station 51 and 5G to base station 52 on the user plane.

<Transition of communication state of smartphone 1 in modified example>
8 illustrates a flow of transition from the ENDC state to the ENDC unpermitted state in the modified example. The same processes as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. The flow of transition from the ENDC state to the ENDC unpermitted state will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

In C51, the wireless control unit 106 suppresses cell search in 5G. That is, from C51 onwards, the wireless control unit 106 does not perform cell search to detect base station 52. Therefore, in C52, the wireless control unit 106 stops reporting the results of the cell search to base station 51.

Note that the flow of transition from the ENDC disallowed state to the ENDC state is the same as that shown in Figure 6 in the modified example, so its explanation is omitted.

When the smartphone 1 in the modified example stops communication using 5G, the smartphone 1 also stops cell search for the 5G base station 52. Therefore, the smartphone 1 in the modified example can prevent 5G communication from being started while a voice call or a VoIP call is being performed.

<Other variations>
In the above-described embodiment, each process is described using an API for Android, but similar processes can be performed using an OS other than Android by using an API provided by the OS. In other words, the present embodiment and the modified examples are not limited to the case where the OS is Android.

In the embodiment described above, the case where the technology is applied to ENDC has been described as an example, but the application of the technology disclosed in this embodiment is not limited to ENDC. The technology disclosed in this embodiment can also be applied to, for example, New Radio E-UTRAN - Dual Connectivity (NEDC) and Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MRDC).

The embodiments and variations disclosed above can be combined with each other.

<<Computer-readable recording medium>>
An information processing program that causes a computer or other machine or device (hereinafter, computer, etc.) to realize any of the above functions can be recorded on a recording medium that can be read by the computer, etc. Then, the computer, etc. can provide the function by reading and executing the program from the recording medium.

Here, a computer-readable recording medium refers to a recording medium that stores information such as data and programs electrically, magnetically, optically, mechanically, or chemically and can be read by a computer. Examples of such recording media that can be removed from a computer include flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disc-Recordable (CD-R), Compact Disc-ReWritable (CD-RW), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), Blu-ray Disc (BD), Digital Audio Tape (DAT), 8mm tape, and memory cards such as flash memory. Additionally, examples of recording media that are fixed to a computer include hard disks and ROMs.

1... Smartphone 11... Application CPU
12: Memory 13: Modem CPU
Reference Signs List 14: Radio section 15: Antenna 16: Microphone 17: Display 18: Speaker 19: Input section 101: SAR control section 102: Call control section 103: Call processing section 104: Voice data control section 105: VoIP processing section 106: Radio control section 51, 52: Base station

Claims (6)

a wireless communication unit that executes a first wireless communication process for performing communication control and data transmission with a first base station using radio waves of a first frequency, and a second wireless communication process for performing data transmission with a second base station using radio waves of a second frequency that allows faster data transmission than the radio waves of the first frequency, and for performing communication control with the first base station using the radio waves of the first frequency ;
a call processing unit that executes a voice call with another wireless communication terminal via the wireless communication unit;
a control unit that, when detecting a change in the state of the voice call, acquires a communication state by the call processing unit after performing a wait process for a time for a signaling process with the first base station, and suppresses execution of the second wireless communication process when the communication state indicates that the voice call is being performed .
Wireless communication terminal. Suppressing the execution of the second wireless communication process includes suppressing a cell search for the second base station.
2. The wireless communication terminal according to claim 1. When the control unit detects the end of the voice call, the control unit permits execution of the second wireless communication process.
3. The wireless communication terminal according to claim 1 or 2. The voice call includes a call by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP),
The wireless communication terminal according to claim 1 . A wireless communication terminal ,
a first wireless communication process for performing communication control and data transmission with a first base station using radio waves of a first frequency;
a second wireless communication process for performing data transmission with a second base station using radio waves of a second frequency capable of transmitting data faster than the radio waves of the first frequency, and for performing communication control with the first base station using the radio waves of the first frequency;
A call process for executing a voice call with another wireless communication terminal;
when detecting a change in the state of the voice call, performing a wait process for a time period for a signaling process with the first base station, and then acquiring a communication state in the call process, and when the communication state indicates that the voice call is being performed , executing a process of suppressing execution of the second wireless communication process.
A wireless communication method. A wireless communication terminal ,
a first wireless communication process for performing communication control and data transmission with a first base station using radio waves of a first frequency;
a second wireless communication process for performing data transmission with a second base station using radio waves of a second frequency capable of transmitting data faster than the radio waves of the first frequency, and for performing communication control with the first base station using the radio waves of the first frequency;
A call process for executing a voice call with another wireless communication terminal;
when detecting a change in the state of the voice call, performing a wait process for a time period for a signaling process with the first base station, and then acquiring a communication state in the call process, and when the communication state indicates that the voice call is being performed , executing a process of suppressing execution of the second wireless communication process.
Wireless communication program.

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