Wireless communication method, wireless communication device, electronic watch, and non-transitory recording medium

In a pairing establishment process, a controller (220) of a central (200) notifies a peripheral of the application identification information on the central (200). The controller (220) of the central (200) stores the device identification information on the peripheral received therefrom in a ROM (240). The application identification information is information to identify an application (that is, software) owned by the central (200). The application is to perform various communications with the peripheral.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication method, a wireless communication device, an electronic watch, and a non-transitory recording medium.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, wireless communication devices that perform wireless communication based on Bluetooth (Registered Trademark) which is a short-range wireless communication standard are becoming popular.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a terminal interlinking system provided with a terminal device and a portable terminal device which are connected together via a short-range wireless communication. According to this system, a pairing that shares a shared key between the terminal device and the portable terminal device is performed. When re-establishing a connection to the terminal device having already undergone the pairing, the portable terminal device logs in the Operating System (OS) of the terminal device using the shared key, and establishes the connection to the terminal device.

For example, the short-range wireless communication and pairing by the terminal interlinking system disclosed in Patent Literature 1 that is a Patent Literature in Japan are performed among a smartphone, an electronic watch, and a wireless communication device which are now widely utilized. Note that the term “pairing” means a process of mutual authentication between wireless communication devices which establish a communication first time, and of registration of the information on the communication partner wireless communication device. In addition, when re-establishing a connection to the wireless communication having already undergone the pairing before, the wireless communication device establishes the communication while omitting the process like the mutual authentication.

In this case, some wireless communication devices that perform a short-range wireless communication are capable of establishing a pairing to only a single wireless communication device. An example is an electronic watch that is capable of establishing a pairing to only a single smartphone.

When such a wireless communication device is to be connected to another wireless communication device not having undergone the pairing before, a user is not able to give an operation for a pairing to another wireless communication device unless the user has given an operation for canceling the already established pairing.

In the case of, for example, the terminal interlinking system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the operation for canceling the pairing is an operation for deleting the information on the shared key stored in the respective memories of the terminal device and the portable terminal device.

In addition, in the case of an electronic watch that is capable of establishing a pairing to only a single smartphone, when a start-over of pairing due to an error originating from the updating of the OS in the smartphone becomes necessary, the above deletion operation is necessary to cancel the already established pairing.

As explained above, according to the structures of conventional wireless communication devices that perform short-range wireless communication, in order to cancel the pairing, the operation for deleting the information on the shared key, and the like, from the memory of each wireless communication device is necessary. Hence, the operation still has a leeway for simplification. In addition, the operation for re-establishing the pairing once the pairing is canceled also has a leeway for simplification.

When, in particular, the shared key is shared as the pairing information like Patent Literature 1, and when the pairing information is deleted from the memory of only either wireless communication device, a future operation, such as whether to generate new pairing information to start over the pairing when re-establishing the connection or to delete the pairing information left in the memory of the other wireless communication device, is unclear. Such an unclear operation or control process may become an event that causes an error.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

According to the structure that involves the non-simplified operation relating to the pairing and the occurrence of an error originating therefrom, the user friendliness decreases. Even if the operating relating to the pairing is not a user operation but an automatic control process, such a control process is not still simple.

Hence, the present disclosure has been made in view of the foregoing circumstances, and an objective is to provide a wireless communication method, and the like, that simplify an operation relating to a pairing, thereby improving a user friendliness.

Solution to Problem

In order to accomplish the above objective, a wireless communication method according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes:a notification step for notifying a wireless communication device of application identification information on a local device; anda storing step for storing device identification information on the wireless communication device received therefrom in a memory of the local device.

In addition, in order to accomplish the above objective, a wireless communication device according to a second aspect of the present disclosure comprises a controller, a memory, and a wireless communicator,in which the controller:causes the wireless communicator to receive application identification information on a second wireless communication device therefrom;stores the application identification information in the memory; andcauses the wireless communicator to transmit the application identification information stored in the memory to the second wireless communication device when attempting a connection to the second wireless communication device.

Still further, in order to accomplish the above objective, a wireless communication method according to a third aspect of the present disclosure includes:a storing step for receiving application identification information on a wireless communication device therefrom, and storing the received information in a memory of a local device; anda notification step for notifying the wireless communication device of the stored application identification information when a connection to the wireless communication device is attempted.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

With the present disclosure, it is possible to simplify an operation relating to a pairing, thereby improving a user friendliness.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiment

Embodiments according to the present disclosure will be explained below with reference to the figures. As illustrated inFIG. 1, a wireless communication system1according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a peripheral100that is a wireless communication device, and a central200that is the other wireless communication device different from the peripheral100.

The peripheral100and the central200perform wireless communications with each other based on Bluetooth (Registered Trademark) Low Energy (hereinafter, referred to as “BLE”). The term BLE is a standard (mode) defined for the purpose of low energy consumption in a short-range wireless communication standard called Bluetooth (Registered Trademark).

In this case, the peripheral100provides a service to the central200. The central200utilizes the provided service from the peripheral100.

The peripheral100and the central200are each a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet type personal computer, a laptop type personal computer, or a watch which is portable and which has a wireless communication function based on the BLE.

In this embodiment, as an example, the peripheral100is an electronic watch, while the central200is a wireless communication terminal which receives various pieces of data from the peripheral100, and which displays the received data on a display260.

A structure of the peripheral100according to this embodiment will be explained below. As illustrated inFIG. 2, the peripheral100includes a wireless communicator110, a controller120, a Random Access Memory (RAM)130, a Read Only Memory (ROM)140, an operator150, a display160, a counter170, and a clock signal generator180, all connected together via a bus line BL.

The wireless communicator110includes, for example, a Radio Frequency (RF) circuit, a Base Band (BB) circuit, and a Large Scale Integration (LSI) circuit. The wireless communicator110transmits and receives signals via an antenna111, and performs a wireless communication to the central200that is the other wireless communication device based on the BLE.

The controller120includes, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU). The controller120executes various programs (for example, programs to accomplish a pairing establishment process and a re-connection process both to be explained later) stored in the ROM140, thereby controlling the entire action of the peripheral100.

The RAM130includes a volatile memory, and is utilized as a work area to temporarily store data in order to enable the controller120to execute various processes.

The ROM140includes a non-volatile memory like a flash memory, and stores the various programs and data for enabling the controller120to control various functions.

The operator150is an interface which includes operation buttons, a touch panel, and the like, and allows a user to enter an instruction.

The display160includes, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or an Electro Luminescence (EL) display, and displays an image in accordance with image data input from the controller120.

The counter170includes a counter circuit that counts the number of pulses of the clock signal from the local device (peripheral device100). The counter170checks the clock time based on the counted number of pulses. In addition, the controller120executes various controls at a timing based on the counted number of pulses by the counter170.

The clock signal generator180includes a crystal oscillator that generates a reference clock, and a variable Phase Locked Loop (PLL) circuit that generates a clock signal at a desired frequency from the reference clock, and the like, and generates the clock signal of the local device (peripheral100). The frequency of the clock signal is to be controlled by changing the frequency dividing ratio by the variable PLL circuit.

Next, a functional structure of the controller120in the peripheral100will be explained.

The controller120functions as an advertisement transmission controller121, a connection establisher122, a connection disconnector123, an application identification information obtainer124, an OS identification information obtainer125, an identification information notification controller126, and a connection type notification controller127.

The advertisement transmission controller121transmits an advertisement to the central200via the wireless communicator110and the antenna111. The advertisement is to be transmitted at a constant timing in accordance with a program process, or at a timing at which a user operation occurs.

In this case, the term advertisement means announcement information for the presence of the local device, and contains device identification information. The device identification information is the device address of the peripheral100or a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) thereof.

The connection establisher122establishes a connection to the central200upon reception of the connection request therefrom via the antenna111and the wireless communicator110. This connection establishment enables a data communication with the central200.

The connection disconnector123disconnects the connection to the central200upon reception of the disconnection request for a disconnection from the central200via the antenna111and the wireless communicator110.

The application identification information obtainer124obtains application identification information from the central200via the antenna111and the wireless communicator110.

In this case, the term application identification information is information to identify an application (that is, software) owned by the central200. The application identification information is unique identification information generated using a random value generating Application Programming Interface (API) of the OS in the central200when the application is installed therein. The application identification information is represented by, for example, the hex number of 10 octet. Note that the application is to perform various communications with the peripheral100(that is, electronic watch).

The OS identification information obtainer125obtains OS identification information from the central200via the antenna111and the wireless communicator110.

In this case, the term OS identification information is information to identify the OS owned by the central200, and contains information indicating, for example, android or iOS. The data to be transmitted and received between the peripheral100and the central200varies depending on the OS identification information. For example, depending on the OS identification information, the device identification information may be a device address, or may be an UUID. Hence, the peripheral100communicates with the central200under a communication condition based on the obtained OS identification information.

Note that the application identification information obtained by the application identification information obtainer124, and the OS identification information obtained by the OS identification obtainer125are associated with each other, and stored in the ROM140.

The identification information notification controller126reads the application identification information and the OS identification information stored in the ROM140. Next, the identification information notification controller126causes the wireless communicator110to transmit those pieces of application identification information and OS identification information, thereby giving a notification to the central200.

The connection type notification controller127causes the wireless communicator110to transmit a connection type, thereby giving a notification to the central200.

In this case, the term connection type is information indicating the purpose of a connection to the central200from the peripheral100. The connection type indicates various purposes, such as to execute the pairing establishment process, to execute the data communication via a normal connection, to automatically synchronize the clock, to synchronize the clock in accordance with the user operation, and to search the central200from the peripheral100. The connection type is determined in accordance with the details of the user operation given from the peripheral100. When, for example, the user depresses the operation button of the peripheral100for a long time, the controller120thereof determines the connection type that is to execute the pairing establishment process, and when the user depresses the operation button for a short time, the controller120determines the connection type to establish a normal connection for the data communication.

The structure of the peripheral100according to this embodiment has been explained above. Next, an explanation will be given of a structure of the central200according to this embodiment.

As illustrated inFIG. 3, the central200includes a wireless communicator210, a controller220, a RAM230, a ROM240, an operator250, a display260, a counter270, and a clock signal generator280, all connected together via a bus line BL.

The wireless communicator210includes, for example, an RF circuit, a BB circuit, and an LSI circuit. The wireless communicator210performs a wireless communication to the peripheral100that is the other wireless communication device based on the BLE via an antenna211.

The controller220includes, for example, a CPU. The controller220executes various programs stored in the ROM240, thereby controlling the entire action of the central200.

The RAM230includes a volatile memory, and is utilized as a work area to temporarily store data in order to enable the controller220to execute various processes.

The ROM240includes a non-volatile memory like a flash memory, and stores the various programs and data for enabling the controller220to control various functions.

The operator250is an interface which includes a touch panel, and the like, and allows a user to enter an instruction.

The display260includes, for example, an LCD or an EL display, and displays an image in accordance with image data input from the controller220.

The counter270includes a counter circuit that counts the number of pulses of the clock signal from the local device (central200). The counter270checks the clock time based on the counted number of pulses. In addition, the controller220executes various controls at a timing based on the counted number of pulses by the counter270.

The clock signal generator280includes a crystal oscillator that generates a reference clock, and a variable PLL circuit that generates a clock signal at a desired frequency from the reference clock, and the like, and generates the clock signal of the local device (central200). The frequency of the clock signal is to be controlled by changing the frequency dividing ratio by the variable PLL circuit.

Next, an explanation will be given of a functional structure of the controller220in the central200. The controller220functions as an advertisement reception controller221, a connection request transmission controller222, a disconnection request transmission controller223, an identification information checker224, an application identification information notification controller225, an OS identification information notification controller226, a device identification information manager227, and a connection type determiner228.

The advertisement reception controller221causes the wireless communicator210to receive the transmitted advertisement from the peripheral100based on a scanning instruction. Hence, the central200recognizes the presence of the peripheral100. An example user operation for the scanning instruction is an activation of an application to utilize the service available from the peripheral100. In addition, the scanning instruction may be given not only based on the user operation but also at a constant cycle after the activation of the application.

The connection request transmission controller222causes the wireless communicator210to transmit a signal indicating the connection request, thereby requesting the connection to the peripheral100. The connection request is transmitted when the connection is necessary after the transmitted advertisement from the peripheral100is received.

The disconnection request transmission controller223causes the wireless communicator210to transmit a signal indicating the disconnection request, and requests the disconnection to the connected peripheral100. When, for example, the data communication with the connected peripheral100has completed, or when the user gives the disconnection operation, the disconnection request is transmitted.

The identification information checker224obtains the application identification information and the OS identification information both notified by the peripheral100via the wireless communicator210and the antenna211. The identification information checker224checks whether the obtained application identification information and OS identification information match the application identification information of the local device (central200) and the OS identification information thereof stored in the ROM240.

The application identification information notification controller225reads the application identification information on the installed application in the local device from the ROM240. Next, the application identification information notification controller225causes the wireless communicator210to transmit the read application identification information from the ROM240, thereby giving a notification to the peripheral100.

The OS identification information notification controller226reads the OS identification information on the installed OS in the local device from the ROM240. Next, the OS identification information notification controller226causes the wireless communicator210to transmit the read OS identification information from the ROM240, thereby giving a notification to the peripheral100.

The device identification information manager227manages the device identification information on the other wireless communication device (peripheral100) stored in the ROM240.

More specifically, the device identification information manager227stores, in the ROM240, the device identification information contained in the received advertisement from the peripheral100. In addition, when the identification information checker224determines that the obtained application identification information and OS identification both from the peripheral100do not match the application identification information on the local device (central200) and the OS identification information thereof both stored in the ROM240, the device identification information manager227deletes the device identification information on the peripheral100stored in the ROM240.

The connection type determiner228determines the purpose of the received connection type from the peripheral100. The controller220executes the subsequent control process in accordance with this determination result.

Next, with reference toFIG. 4, the pairing establishment process between the peripheral100and the central200will be explained with reference toFIG. 4.

This process is executed upon a predetermined operation given by the user. An example predetermined operation is that the user activates the communication function of the peripheral100based on the Bluetooth through the operator150, activates the application in the central200through the operator250, and displays a new connection screen (operation screen for pairing establishment process) on the display260.

First, the controller120of the peripheral100transmits (step S101) the advertisement to the central200.

The controller220of the central200performs scanning (step S201), and receives (step S202) the transmitted advertisement from the peripheral100. The controller220of the central200stores, in the ROM240, the device identification information on the peripheral100contained in the advertisement.

Upon receiving the advertisement, the controller220of the central200displays, on the display260, an operation screen to enter the user operation as to whether or not to newly register. In this case, the controller220of the central200determines (step S203) whether or not the entered user operation is to newly register.

When the controller220of the central200determines (step S203: NO) that the entered user operation is not to newly register, the controller220of the central200skips the subsequent processes (steps S204-S208), and ends the pairing establishment process. In this case, since the controller220of the central200does not transmit the connection request to the peripheral100, the controller120of the peripheral100also skips the subsequent processes (steps S102-S105), and ends the pairing establishment process.

When the controller220of the central200determines (step S203: YES) that the entered user operation is to newly register, the controller220of the central200transmits (step S204) the connection request to the peripheral100.

The controller120of the peripheral100receives (step S102) the transmitted connection request from the central200, and establishes the connection.

Once the connection is established, the controller120of the peripheral100and the controller220of the central200perform service discovery (steps S103, S205). This enables the peripheral100and the central200to execute the subsequent processes.

Upon completion of the service discovery, the controller120of the peripheral100notifies (step S104) the central200of the connection type. Note that the connection type is a type determined based on the details of the above predetermined operation (for example, depression of operation button for long time or not) that is an event starting the pairing establishment process.

The controller220of the central200receives (step S206) the connection type notified by the peripheral100.

In this case, the controller220of the central200determines (step S207) whether or not the received connection type indicates an execution of the pairing establishment process.

When determining (step S207: NO) that the received connection type does not indicate an execution of the pairing establishment process, the controller220of the central200skips the next process (step S208), and ends the pairing establishment process. In this case, since the controller220of the central200does not transmit the application identification information and the OS identification information to the peripheral100, the controller120of the peripheral100also skips the next process (step S105), and ends the pairing establishment process.

When determining (step S207: YES) that the received connection type indicates an execution of the pairing establishment process, the controller220of the central200notifies (step S208) the peripheral100of the application identification information and the OS identification information.

The controller120of the peripheral100obtains (step S105) the application identification information and the OS identification information both notified by the central200, and stores those pieces of information in the ROM140. The subsequent process is not illustrated due to the restriction of illustration, but the controller120of the peripheral100notifies the central200of the storing of the application identification information and the OS identification information, and the central200receives such a notification. Subsequently, the control process or the communication in accordance with the connection type is executed between the central200and the peripheral100. Hence, the pairing establishment process completes.

Next, with reference toFIG. 5, an explanation will be given of the re-connection process between the peripheral100and the central200as explained above. The re-connection process is a process of establishing a re-connection between the peripheral100and the central200after the execution of the pairing establishment process. This process is executed upon a user operation or an automatic control process at a constant cycle.

When the re-connection process starts, the controller220of the central200performs scanning (step S401) at a constant cycle. In this case, when the controller120of the peripheral100transmits (step S301) the advertisement, the controller220of the central200receives (step S402) this advertisement upon a constant scanning.

When receiving the advertisement, the controller220of the central200transmits (step S403) the connection request to the peripheral100. The controller120of the peripheral100receives (step S302) the transmitted connection request from the central200, and establishes the connection.

Subsequently, the controller120of the peripheral100reads the application identification information and the OS identification information both stored in the ROM140, and notifies (step S303) the central200of those pieces of information. The controller220of the central200receives (step S404) the application identification information and the OS identification information both notified by the peripheral100.

In this case, the controller220of the central200checks (step S405) whether the application identification information and the OS identification information both obtained from the peripheral100match the application identification and the OS identification information on the application and the OS both installed in the local device (central200).

When the controller220determines (step S405: Yes) that the application identification information and the OS identification information match, the connection between the peripheral100and the central200is maintained. Next, the controller220of the central200requests the connection type to the peripheral100. The controller120of the peripheral100that has received the request for the connection type notifies (step S304) the central200of the connection type. The controller220of the central200receives (step S407) the connection type notified by the peripheral100. Subsequently, the control process or the communication in accordance with the connection type is executed between the central100and the peripheral200(steps S305, S408).

When determining (step S405: NO) that the application identification information and the OS identification information do not match, the controller220of the central200transmits the disconnection request to the peripheral100to disconnect the connection thereto, and deletes (step S406) the device identification information on the peripheral100stored in the ROM240. Subsequently, the controller120of the peripheral100and the controller220of the central200return the process to the steps S301, S401, and repeat the above-explained re-connection process.

As explained above, the controller220of the central200notifies, in the step S208of the pairing establishment process, the peripheral100of the application identification information on the local device. In addition, the controller220of the central200stores, in the step S202of the pairing establishment process, the device identification information on the peripheral received therefrom in the ROM240.

Conversely, the controller120of the peripheral100receives, in the step S105of the pairing establishment process, the application identification information on the central200therefrom, and stores the received information in the ROM140.

According to this structure, as for the pairing establishment between the peripheral100and the central200, the pairing is simply established by the peripheral100that stores the application identification information on the central200and the OS identification information thereon, and the central200that stores the device identification information on the peripheral100. Hence, generation of information like a shared key, and information sharing between the peripheral100and the central200are unnecessary in establishing the pairing.

Next, the controller120of the peripheral100notifies, in the step S303of the re-connection process for the connection to the central200, the central200of the application identification information and the OS identification information both stored in the ROM140, and when those pieces of information do not match the application identification information on the central200and the OS identification information thereon, the connection between the peripheral100and the central200is disconnected, and the central200deletes the device identification information on the peripheral100stored in the ROM240.

According to this structure, when, for example, after the peripheral100has established the pairing to the central200, a pairing is established to another central (unillustrated), the application identification information on the central200and the OS identification information thereon both stored in the ROM140are updated to the application identification information on such another central (unillustrated) and the OS identification information thereon. Next, when the peripheral100attempts to establish a re-connection to the central200, the central200deletes the device identification information on the peripheral100stored in the ROM240.

Hence, the user does not need an operation of canceling the pairing between the peripheral100and the central200. In addition, although the operation of canceling the pairing between the peripheral100and the central200is not made, the peripheral100is capable of establishing the pairing to another central (unillustrated).

Still further, according to this structure, in two wireless communication devices that share a shared key as the pairing information, when a re-connection or an establishment of pairing is attempted with the pairing information being deleted from the memory of only either wireless communication device, an unclear operation or control process is not required. Hence, an occurrence of error originating from such an unclear operation or control process does not happen.

As explained above, according to the peripheral100and the central200both in this embodiment, the operation relating to the pairing is simplified, thereby improving the user friendliness.

The explanation for the embodiment ends up to the above paragraph, but the above embodiment is merely an example. Hence, the specific structure of the peripheral100and that of the central200, and the specific process details are not limited to the examples explained in the above embodiment. A modified example of the above embodiment will be explained below.

Modified Example

In the above embodiment, the pairing establishment process and the re-connection process are executed by the controller120of the peripheral100and the controller220of the central200. However, the peripheral100and the central200each may include multiple controllers, and those multiple controllers may cooperatively execute the pairing establishment process and the re-connection process. That is, the advertisement transmission controller121, the connection establisher122, the connection disconnector123, the application identification information obtainer124, the OS identification information obtainer125, the identification information notification controller126, and the connection type notification controller127may be a single controller, or multiple controllers may be provided for the respective components to perform respective actions. In addition, the advertisement reception controller221, the connection request transmission controller222, the disconnection request transmission controller223, the identification information checker224, the application identification information notification controller225, the OS identification information notification controller226, the device identification information manager227, and the connection type determiner228may be a single controller, or multiple controllers may be provided for the respective components to perform respective actions.

In the above embodiment, the controller120of the peripheral100stores, in the step S105of the pairing establishment process, the obtained OS identification information in the ROM140. In addition, the controller120of the peripheral100notifies, in the step S303of the re-connection process, the central200of the OS identification information, and the central200determines whether or not the obtained OS identification information also matches the OS identification information on the central200.

However, the present disclosure is not limited to such an embodiment. In the pairing establishment process, the peripheral100may store only the application identification information, and may store no OS identification information. In the re-connection process, the central200may simply determine whether or not the obtained application identification information matches the application identification information on the central200. In other words, the notification of the OS identification information from the central200to the peripheral100is necessary for the subsequent communication, but whether or not to give a notification of the OS identification information for other purposes is optional.

In the above embodiment, the peripheral100and the central200store the obtained data in the ROM140and the ROM240, respectively. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a structure. The peripheral100and the central200may store the obtained data in not the ROMs140,240, but the RAMs130,230, respectively. That is, where the obtained data is to be stored is any memories, such as the RAM and the ROM.

In the above embodiment, the peripheral100and the central200start executing the pairing establishment process upon the predetermined operation given by the user. However, the event to start the pairing establishment process is not limited to such a user operation. For example, when the central200receives an advertisement from the peripheral100, the central200may determine whether or not the device identification information on the peripheral100contained in the advertisement matches any device identification information stored in the ROM240, and when there is no matching information, the pairing establishment process may be executed.

In the above embodiment, the example wireless communication devices are the peripheral100and the central200that perform wireless communication based on the BLE. However, the present disclosure is not limited to wireless communication devices that perform wireless communication based on the BLE. For example, the present disclosure is also applicable to wireless communication devices that perform wireless communication based on Wi-Fi (Registered Trademark) or ZigBee (Registered Trademark), and the like.

In addition, the peripheral100and the central200according to the present disclosure are not limited to the above wireless communication devices, and the function of the peripheral100and that of the central200may be accomplished by a computer that executes a program. The program to accomplish the function of the peripheral100and that of the central200may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable recording medium, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory, a Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), or a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), and may be downloaded to a computer via a network.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-006284 filed on Jan. 15, 2016, the entire contents of the specification, claims, and drawings of which are herein incorporated in this specification by reference.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST