Abstract:
The invention provides a wireless connection establishment method enabling determination of a transmission format while giving consideration to security when conducting a connection establishment needed to send and receive multimedia information between radio devices having a radio communication function. In the invention, a radio device control terminal requests an authentication server to conduct authentication with respect to radio devices requesting a connection and then an authentication process is performed by the authentication server. When the radio devices are authenticated properly, the radio device control terminal acquires each transmission format of the radio devices from an information management server to determine a radio transmission format common to these radio devices. The radio transmission format thus determined is sent to the radio devices, so that the radio devices establish a wireless connection with each other by use of the radio transmission format.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a wireless connection establishment method, its system, a radio device control terminal used therein and a program for controlling the operation of the control terminal, and more particularly to a wireless connection establishment system needed for audio and video devices, each having radio communication function, to exchange multimedia information, such as audio and video information, with each other.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Conventionally, a wireless connection must be established (set up) for audio and video devices, each having radio communication function, to exchange multi media information, such as audio and video information, with each other. As an example of such a wireless connection establishment, there has been known a method that establishes via a radio device control terminal a connection between radio devices which are audio and video devices (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-345817, for example).  
         [0005]     In this wireless connection establishment method, there exist a plurality of radio devices requesting a wireless connection establishment, a radio device control terminal reads an identifier set for each radio device and sends the identifier thus read to the radio devices so that the radio devices exchange information needed for establishing a connection with each other. Accordingly, a connection establishment can be conducted between the plurality of radio devices.  
         [0006]     According to the prior art described above, an identifier set for each radio device is exchanged via a radio device control terminal between a plurality of radio devices requesting a wireless connection establishment, and therefore the identifier set for each radio device, which can be read by the radio device control terminal, can also be read by another radio device control terminal, so that a wireless connection can be established with an unintended radio device by exchanging the identifier. This causes a security problem. Furthermore, in some cases, when establishing a wireless connection, a user is required to perform a complex operation, such as inputting a PIN (Personal Identifier Number) code, etc.  
         [0007]     In addition, there are cases where there exist multiple transmission formats with which the radio devices are compatible. In those cases, when establishing a connection between the radio devices, a transmission format must be determined in which multimedia information including video and audio information is transmitted between the radio devices. The prior art described above, however, makes no reference to a transmission format determination function.  
         [0008]     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless connection establishment method and its system enabling determination of a transmission format while giving consideration to security when conducting a connection establishment needed to send and receive multimedia information between radio devices having a radio communication function and also to provide a radio device control terminal used in the system and a program for controlling the operation of the control terminal.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The wireless connection establishment method according to the present invention, which controls a wireless connection establishment to send and receive information between a plurality of radio devices by use of radio communication, comprising: a step of acquiring each ID number of the radio devices and sending the ID number to an authentication server via a communication network, in a radio device control terminal; a step of performing an authentication process with respect to each radio device based on each of the ID numbers and sending an authentication result to the radio device control terminal, in the authentication server; a step of sending the ID number via the communication network to an information management server based on the authentication result, in the radio device control terminal; a step of reading, based on each of the ID numbers, each radio transmission format of the radio devices from a storage unit for preliminarily storing each radio transmission format of the radio devices and sending each radio transmission format to the radio device control terminal, in the information management server; and a step of determining a radio transmission method employed between the radio devices based on each of the radio transmission formats, in the radio device control terminal.  
         [0010]     The wireless connection establishment system according to the present invention, which controls a wireless connection establishment to send and receive information between a plurality of radio devices by use of radio communication, comprises: an authentication server having receiving means for receiving each ID number acquired by a radio device control terminal from the radio devices via a communication network and means for performing an authentication process with respect to each of the radio devices based on each of the ID numbers and sending an authentication result to the radio device control terminal; and an information management server having receiving means for receiving via the communication network the ID number sent by the radio device control terminal based on the authentication result acquired from the authentication server and means for reading, based on each of the ID numbers, each radio transmission format of the radio devices from a storage unit for preliminarily storing each radio transmission format of the radio devices and sending each radio transmission format thus read to the radio device control terminal, wherein the radio device control terminal comprises means for determining a radio transmission method employed between the radio devices based on each of the radio transmission formats.  
         [0011]     The radio device control terminal according to the present invention, which controls a wireless connection establishment to send and receive information between a plurality of radio devices by use of radio communication, comprises: means for acquiring each ID number from the radio devices to send it to an authentication server via a communication network and at the same time sending the ID number to an information management server via the communication network based on the authentication result received from the authentication server; and means for determining a radio transmission method employed between the radio devices based on each radio transmission format of the radio devices received from the information management server.  
         [0012]     The program according to the present invention, which enables a computer to execute an operation of a radio device control terminal controlling a wireless connection establishment to send and receive information between a plurality of radio devices by use of radio communication, comprises: a process of acquiring each ID number from the radio devices to send it to an authentication server via a communication network and at the same time sending the ID number to an information management server via the communication network based on the authentication result received from the authentication server; and a process of determining a radio transmission method employed between the radio devices based on each radio transmission format of the radio devices received from the information management server.  
         [0013]     The operation of the invention will be described below. The radio device control terminal requests the authentication server to conduct authentication with respect to radio devices requesting a connection and then the authentication process is performed by the authentication server. When the radio devices are authenticated properly, the radio device control terminal acquires each transmission format of the radio devices from the information management server to determine a radio transmission format common to these radio devices. The radio transmission format thus determined is sent to the radio devices, so that the radio devices establish a wireless connection with each other by use of the radio transmission format. Accordingly, it is possible to construct a system having high security and also to automatically determine an optimum radio transmission method. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a diagram showing the system configuration according to an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of a radio device;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a functional block diagram of a radio device control terminal;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a functional block diagram of a radio device information management server;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a functional block diagram of a radio device authentication server;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a diagram showing the operational sequence according to the embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is a diagram showing an exemplary authentication result of a radio device  1   a  displayed on a display unit of the radio device control terminal;  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is a diagram showing an exemplary authentication result of the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  displayed on a display unit of the radio device control terminal;  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is a diagram showing an exemplary radio transmission format of the radio device;  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  is a diagram showing an exemplary display screen of a wireless connection determination obtained by use of device information of the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  displayed on the display unit of the radio device control terminal; and  
         [0024]      FIG. 11  is another functional block diagram of the radio device control terminal. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0025]     Detailed descriptions will be given below of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings.  FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram showing the system configuration according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a plurality of radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  are devices capable of sending and receiving multimedia information, such as audio and video information, with each another through a radio communication function. An example of the radio device is an audio information apparatus or video information apparatus: more specifically, a so-called audio/video apparatus having a radio communication function and used in households, etc.  
         [0026]     A radio device control terminal  2  serves to control radio devices lying within a service area  100  as a range where a wireless connection can be conducted; the terminal  2  can communicate with the radio devices and at the same time can connect to a communication network (“network” for short)  200 . As a server to manage information for establishing a connection to the radio devices, an information management server  3   a  for a radio device  1   a  and an information management server  3   b  for a radio device  1   b  are connected to the network  200 . As an authentication server, an authentication server  4   a  for the radio device  1   a  and an authentication server  4   b  for the radio device  1   b  are connected to the network  200 .  
         [0027]     Regarding a part related to the embodiment of the invention, the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  have the same configuration; its exemplary configuration is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , the radio device includes a storage unit  10  for holding an ID number assigned to the radio device itself and a radio transmission format. As the radio device ID number, a RFID tag (radio identification tag) can be employed in the present embodiment; in this case, its ID 11  is listed. The radio device further includes a radio communication unit  13  which can connect to the radio device control terminal  2 . When the RFIC tag is used, the unit  13  includes a RF unit and a loop antenna. The radio device still further includes: a radio communication unit  14  which can connect to other radio devices through a transmission format sent from the radio device control terminal  2 ; and a control unit  12  which controls these units  10 ,  13 ,  14 , etc.  
         [0028]     The radio device control terminal  2  has the service area  100  as a range where a wireless connection to the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  can be conducted. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the terminal  2  includes a radio communication unit  25  which can connect to these radio devices. When the RFIC tag is used for the radio devices, the radio communication unit  25  serves as a reader/writer of the RFID tag. The radio device control terminal  2  further includes a radio communication unit  24  which connects via the network  200  to the radio device information management servers  3   a ,  3   b  and the radio device authentication servers  4   a ,  4   b.    
         [0029]     Furthermore, the radio device control terminal  2  includes a storage unit  20  for storing information, a display unit  21  for displaying information for a user and a transmission format determination unit  23  for determining a transmission format needed for establishing a wireless connection between the radio devices. The radio device control terminal  2  still further includes a control unit  22  which decides, based on radio device ID 11 , which of the radio device information management servers  3   a ,  3   b  is to be connected and which of the radio device authentication servers  4   a ,  4   b  is to be connected. The control unit  22  also controls each unit of the terminal  2 .  
         [0030]     As the radio device control terminal  2 , a cellular phone can be employed, for example. In this case, the radio communication unit  24  may be an ordinary mobile communication function unit; and therefore the network  200  may be a public telecommunication network including a mobile communication network. The radio communication unit  25  includes a RFID tag reader/writer function; the reader/writer function can easily be mounted into the cellular phone.  
         [0031]     The radio device information management servers  3   a  and  3   b  have the same configuration.  FIG. 4  shows a functional block diagram of the radio device information management server. The radio device information management server includes a storage unit  30  for storing a radio device transmission format and a communication unit  31  which connects to the radio device control terminal  2 . The radio device authentication servers  4   a  and  4   b  have the same configuration.  FIG. 5  shows a functional block diagram of the radio device authentication server. The radio device authentication server includes an authentication unit  40  which authenticates the radio devices, and a communication unit  41  which connects to the radio device control terminal  2 .  
         [0032]     Next, an exemplary operational sequence of establishing a connection between the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  shown in  FIG. 1  is illustrated in  FIG. 6 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , the radio device control terminal  2  scans the service area  100  (Step  600 ). The radio device  1   a  existing in the service area  100  reads out ID 11  (ID number) stored in the storage unit  10  (Step  601 ). ID 11  (ID number) read out from the radio device  1   a  is sent to the radio device control terminal  2  (Step  602 ). Based on the ID number of the radio device  1   a , the radio device control terminal  2  determines the radio device authentication server  4   a  (for the radio device  1   a ) to which a connection is to be conducted (Step  603 ). The radio device control terminal  2  sends the ID number of the radio device  1   a  to the authentication server  4   a  via the network  200  to request the server  4   a  to perform an authentication process with respect to the radio device  1   a  (Step  604 ).  
         [0033]     The radio device authentication server  4   a  performs the authentication process with respect to the radio device  1   a  based on the ID number of the radio device  1   a  sent from the radio device control terminal  2  (Step  605 ). The authentication process result from the radio device authentication server  4   a  is sent back to the radio device control terminal  2  (Step  606 ). The radio device control terminal  2  displays the sent authentication result of the radio device  1   a  on the display unit  21  (Step  607 ). An exemplary display of the authentication result is shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0034]     Subsequently, the radio device control terminal  2  scans the service area  100  (Step  608 ). The radio device  1   b  existing in the service area  100  reads out the ID number stored in the storage unit  10  (Step  609 ). The ID number read out from the radio device  1   b  is sent to the radio device control terminal  2  (Step  610 ). Based on the ID number of the radio device  1   b , the radio device control terminal  2  determines the radio device authentication server  4   b  to which a connection is to be conducted (Step  611 ). The radio device control terminal  2  sends the ID number of the radio device  1   b  to the authentication server  4   b  via the network  200  to request the server  4   b  to perform an authentication process with respect to the radio device  1   b  (Step  612 ).  
         [0035]     The radio device authentication server  4   b  performs the authentication process with respect to the radio device  1   b  based on the ID number of the radio device  1   b  sent from the radio device control terminal  2  (Step  613 ). The authentication process result from the radio device authentication server  4   b  is sent back to the radio device control terminal  2  (Step  614 ). The radio device control terminal  2  displays the sent authentication result of the radio device  1   b  on the display unit  21  (Step  615 ). An exemplary display of the authentication result is shown in  FIG. 8 . In the above description, the process steps  600  to  607  for the radio device  1   a  are performed independently of the process steps  608  to  615  for the radio device  1   b . It will easily be appreciated, however, that these process steps can be performed in parallel with each other.  
         [0036]     Based on the ID number of the radio device  1   a , the radio device control terminal  2  specifies, by use of the control unit  22 , the information management server  3   a  used for the radio device  1   a , to which a connection is to be conducted. Then, the radio device control terminal  2  connects to the information management server  3   a  to request the transmission format of the radio device  1   a  (Step  616 ). The information management server  3   a  for the radio device  1   a  reads out the transmission format of the radio device  1   a  from the storage unit  30  (Step  617 ). An exemplary radio transmission format of the radio device  1   a  stored in the storage unit  30  is illustrated in  FIG. 9 . The information management server  3   a  for the radio device  1   a  sends back the transmission format of the radio device  1   a  to the radio device control terminal  2  (Step  618 ).  
         [0037]     Subsequently, based on the ID number of the radio device  1   b , the radio device control terminal  2  specifies, by use of the control unit  22 , the information management server  3   b  used for the radio device  1   b , to which a connection is to be conducted. Then, the radio device control terminal  2  connects to the information management server  3   b  to request the transmission format of the radio device  1   b  (Step  619 ). The information management server  3   b  for the radio device  1   b  reads out the transmission format of the radio device  1   b  from the storage unit  30  (Step  620 ). The information management server  3   b  for the radio device  1   b  sends back the transmission format of the radio device  1   b  to the radio device control terminal  2  (Step  621 ).  
         [0038]     The radio device control terminal  2  acquires the transmission formats of all the radio devices between which a wireless connection is to be conducted, and by use of the transmission format determination unit  23  determines a radio transmission format with the highest data transfer rate, which is implementable between the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  (Step  622 ). By use of the display unit  21 , the radio device control terminal  2  informs a user of the radio transmission format thus determined (Step  623 ). An exemplary display of the radio device control terminal  2  determining the radio transmission format is illustrated in  FIG. 10 .  
         [0039]     The radio device control terminal  2  sends the determined radio transmission format to the radio device  1   a  (Step  624 ). The radio device  1   a  stores the sent radio transmission format into the storage unit  10 . Using the radio transmission format, the control unit  12  controls the radio communication unit  14  (Step  625 ). The radio device control terminal  2  sends the determined radio transmission format to the radio device  1   b  (Step  626 ). The radio device  1   b  stores the sent radio transmission format into the storage unit  10 . Using the radio transmission format, the control unit  12  controls the radio communication unit  14  (Step  627 ).  
         [0040]     When both of the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  requesting a wireless connection establishment finish the setting of the radio transmission format, it becomes possible to establish the wireless connection between the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  (Step  628 ).  
         [0041]     As described above, according to the embodiment, the radio device control terminal  2  scans the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  in the service area  100  and reads out the radio device ID numbers. Then, based on the radio device ID numbers, the radio device authentication server  4   a  and  4   b  are automatically connected by the control unit  22  to obtain authentication. Consequently, a user can save an authentication operation for the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b . In addition, according to the present embodiment, the use of the radio device authentication server  4  enables the construction of a higher security authentication system such as client authentication, etc.  
         [0042]     In addition, according to the present embodiment, the radio device control terminal  2  has a transmission format determination unit which automatically connects to the radio device information management server  3  based on the ID numbers of the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  to acquire the transmission format, including compression scheme and transmission rate, which is needed for establishing the connection between the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b , and to determine the transmission format. Consequently, it is possible to select an optimum data transmission format for establishing a connection between the radio devices.  
         [0043]     According to the embodiment described above, the radio device information management server  3  and radio device authentication server  4  are described as an independent server separate from each other. It is evident, however, that the two servers may be constructed as a single server which controls the radio device information in an integrated manner. It is also evident that all of the servers provided for each radio device may be integrated into a single server.  
         [0044]      FIG. 11  is a functional block diagram of the radio device control terminal  2  according to another embodiment of the invention. In  FIG. 11 , the same reference numerals are applied to parts corresponding to  FIG. 3 . In this embodiment, an input unit  26  is added to the configuration shown in  FIG. 3 , other units being the same as those of the above described embodiment. The input unit  26  is used for a user to conduct an input operation to determine a radio transmission format based on contents displayed on the display unit  21 . Accordingly, a user can select a data transmission format at his discretion when establishing a connection between radio devices.  
         [0045]     More specifically, referring to  FIG. 6  showing the operational sequence, Steps  600  to  621  are automatically performed and then, based on displayed contents shown in  FIG. 10 , a user can select a desired radio transmission format from the radio transmission formats common to the two radio devices by use of the input unit  26 .  
         [0046]     In this configuration, if a rule for determining a radio transmission format is set into the transmission format determination unit  23  in advance by use of the input unit  26 , when the transmission format determination unit  23  determines a radio transmission format, the determination may be automatically conducted according to the rule, thereby saving a user operation.  
         [0047]     When a mobile communication terminal such as a cellular phone is, as described above, employed as the radio device control terminal  2 , instead of placing the two radio devices simultaneously into the service area  100 , the radio devices  1   a  and  1   b  may be individually placed into the service area  100  to set a radio transmission format for each radio device.  
         [0048]     Regarding the operational sequence shown in  FIG. 6 , it will be apparent that the operational steps may be stored as a program into the storage medium of each unit in advance so that a computer (CPU: control unit) reads the program for execution.  
         [0049]     A first advantageous effect of the invention is that laborsaving can be realized for a connection establishment between radio devices exchanging multimedia information, such as audio and video information, with each other. The reason is that, based on an ID number of radio devices, the radio device control terminal automatically performs authentication with respect to the radio devices and the acquisition of radio device transmission formats to determine an optimum radio transmission format from the transmission formats of a plurality of radio devices requesting a connection establishment, thereby reducing a user burden.  
         [0050]     A second advantageous effect of the invention is that when a connection between radio devices exchanging multimedia information such as audio and video information is established, improved security can be realized. The reason is that the provision of a radio device authentication server enables the construction of a high security system implemented with respect to the radio devices, such as client authentication, etc.