Patent Publication Number: US-6993323-B2

Title: Wireless communication processing system, wireless communication processing device, and wireless communication processing method

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a wireless communication processing technique for performing wireless communication processing operation between a plurality of apparatuses. 
   In wireless communication such as wireless LAN or Bluetooth, since connection between apparatuses unlike wired communication cannot be seen to the user, it is difficult for the user to detect an unauthorized connection by a cracker. For the purpose of preventing such an unauthorized connection, authentication based on passkey is used. In Bluetooth, for example, authentication called pairing is used so that, upon connection, an identical passkey is input from two communicating apparatuses to form a mutually relied relationship. An input/output means for the user to enter and confirm the display of the passkey is not provided in the wireless communication apparatuses from the viewpoint of preventing increase of cost and mounting area, but the passkey is previously set in another external device, so that, upon connection, authentication using the passkey can be automatically carried out under control of a program. 
   In the above technique, when authentication is automatically carried out under control of the program of the wireless communication apparatuses and even when a cracker tries many times to obtain the authentication from an unauthorized apparatus, the user cannot notice it in most cases. To avoid this, it is an effective measure, for example, to automatically refuse the connection from the same apparatus when the apparatus ends in failure of the authentication by a preset number of times or more. Even in this case, however, since a communication range is limited in a network based on wireless LAN or Bluetooth, it is still possible for a cracker or unauthorized apparatus to try unauthorized connection to an apparatus other than the connection-rejected apparatus in the same network. For this reason, the above is also considered not to be a sufficiently effective measure of preventing the unauthorized access. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In view of the above technique situations, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless communication processing technique which can solve the above problems, that is, which can prevent a cracker or unauthorized apparatus from invading a wireless network and can offer high security. 
   In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above object can be attained, when a connection request is issued from an apparatus located outside of a network having a plurality of apparatuses connected therein to ask a connection permission but its authentication ends in a failure, basically by transmitting the unique ID of the apparatus outside of the network to some or all of the plurality of apparatuses in the network as the unique ID of the authentication-failure or unauthorized apparatus to be commonly recognized thereby. Further, when the connection request is issued from the apparatus outside the network, the presence of the connection request is displayed or informed on or to at least any of the plurality of apparatuses in the network. More specifically, (1) a wireless communication processing system for performing wireless communication processing operation between a plurality of apparatuses includes a first wireless communication processing device (e.g., reference numeral  15   a  in this embodiment) having a first unique ID and provided to first one (e.g., reference numeral  10  in the present embodiment) of the above plurality of apparatuses as well as second wireless communication processing devices (e.g., reference numerals  15   b ,  15   c  and  15   d  in this embodiment) having second unique ID&#39;s and provided to second ones (e.g., reference numerals  11 ,  12  and  13  in the present embodiment) of the above plurality of apparatuses. The system is arranged so that, when a connection request is issued from a third wireless communication processing device (reference numeral  15   e  in the embodiment) provided to an apparatus (reference numeral  14  in the present embodiment) other than the above plurality of apparatuses to the first wireless communication processing device (e.g., reference numeral  15   a ), and when the first wireless communication processing device once allows the connection but ends in a failure of its authentication; the first wireless communication wireless communication processing device transmits a third unique ID as the unique ID of the third wireless communication processing device to the second wireless communication processing devices (e.g., reference numerals  15   b ,  15   c  and  15   d  in the embodiment) as an authentication-failure unique ID or unauthorized apparatus unique ID. And when the second wireless communication processing device receives the third unique ID and receives a connection request from the third wireless communication processing device, the second device refuses the connection. (2) Similarly, a wireless communication processing system includes a first wireless communication processing device (e.g., reference numeral  70   a  in this embodiment) having a first unique ID and provided to first one (e.g., reference numeral  10  in the present embodiment) of the above plurality of apparatuses as well as second wireless communication processing devices (e.g., reference numerals  70   b ,  70   c  and  70   d  in this embodiment) having second unique ID&#39;s provided to second ones (e.g., reference numerals  11 ,  12  and  13  in the present embodiment) of the above plurality of apparatuses. The system is arranged so that, when a connection request is issued from a third wireless communication processing device (reference numeral  70   e  in the embodiment) provided to an apparatus (reference numeral  14  in the present embodiment) other than the above plurality of apparatuses to the first wireless communication processing device, the first wireless communication processing device (e.g.,  70   a  in the embodiment) transmits a third unique ID as the unique ID of the third wireless communication processing device (reference  70   e  in the embodiment) to the second wireless communication processing devices (e.g., reference numerals  70   b ,  70   c  and  70   d  in the embodiment) as a connection request unique ID. And the second wireless communication processing devices receive the third unique ID and display the presence of the connection request from the third wireless communication processing device or inform of the presence, and also transmit connection acknowledge/negative-acknowledge information to the first wireless communication processing device; meanwhile, the first wireless communication processing device receives the connection acknowledge/negative-acknowledge information and transmits it to the third wireless communication processing device. (3) Further, a wireless communication processing device for performing wireless communication processing operation between a plurality of apparatuses includes a wireless communication unit (reference numerals  200 ,  200   a ,  200   b ,  200   c  and  200   d ) provided respectively to the plurality of apparatuses (reference numerals  10 ,  11 ,  12  and  13  in the present embodiment) and capable of transmitting and receiving their unique ID&#39;s; a memory unit (reference numerals  202 ,  202   a ,  202   b ,  202   c  and  202   d ) in the embodiment) capable of storing therein the received unique ID and authenticating passkey; and a control unit (reference numerals  203 ,  203   a ,  203   b ,  203   c  and  203   d  in the embodiment), when issuing a connection acknowledge on the basis of the connection request information received at the wireless a communication unit from the apparatus (reference numeral  14  in this embodiment) other than the above plurality of apparatuses and then ending in a failure of its authentication, for controllably transmitting the unique ID of the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses to other ones of the plurality of apparatuses in the network as an authentication-failure unique ID or unauthorized-apparatus unique ID. (4) Further, a wireless communication processing device includes the wireless communication unit (reference numerals  200 ,  200   a ,  200   b ,  200   c  and  200   d ) provided respectively to the plurality of apparatuses (reference numerals  10 ,  11 ,  12  and  13  in the present embodiment) and capable of transmitting and receiving their unique ID&#39;s; the memory unit (reference numerals  202 ,  202   a ,  202   b ,  202   c  and  202   d ) in the embodiment) capable of storing therein the received unique ID and authenticating passkey; and the control unit (reference numerals  203 ,  203   a ,  203   b ,  203   c  and  203   d  in the embodiment), when issuing a connection acknowledge on the basis of the connection request information received at the wireless communication unit from the apparatus other than the above plurality of apparatuses and then ending in a failure of its authentication, for controllably transmitting the unique ID of the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses to the other ones of the plurality of apparatuses in the network as an authentication-failure unique ID or unauthorized-apparatus unique ID and, when receiving the transmitted unique ID, for controllably rejecting the connection with the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses of the network. (5) Further, a wireless communication processing device includes the wireless communication unit (reference numerals  200 ,  200   a ,  200   b ,  200   c  and  200   d ) provided respectively to the plurality of apparatuses (reference numerals  10 ,  11 ,  12  and  13  in the present embodiment) and capable of transmitting and receiving their unique ID&#39;s; the memory unit (reference numerals  202 ,  202   a ,  202   b ,  202   c  and  202   d ) in the embodiment) capable of storing therein the received unique ID and authenticating passkey; and the control unit (reference numerals  203 ,  203   a ,  203   b ,  203   c  and  203   d  in the embodiment), when the above wireless communication unit receives the connection request information from the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses, for controllably transmitting the unique ID of the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses to other ones of the plurality of apparatuses in the network as a connection request unique ID. (6) In the above wireless communication processing device as set forth in the above Item (3) or (4), the above control unit is arranged so as to store the frequency of the above authentication failure in the memory unit and when the authentication failure frequency reached a predetermined value, to transmit the unique ID of the apparatus (reference numeral  14  in this embodiment) other than the plurality of apparatuses to other ones of the plurality of apparatuses of the network as an authentication failure unique ID or unauthorized apparatus unique ID. (7) A wireless communication processing device for performing wireless communication processing operation between a plurality of apparatuses includes the wireless communication unit (reference numerals  200 ,  200   a ,  200   b ,  200   c  and  200   d ) provided respectively to the plurality of apparatuses (reference numerals  10 ,  11 ,  12  and  13  in the present embodiment) and capable of transmitting and receiving their unique ID&#39;s; the memory unit (reference numerals  202 ,  202   a ,  202   b ,  202   c  and  202   d ) in the embodiment) capable of storing therein the received unique ID and authenticating passkey; and the control unit (reference numerals  203 ,  203   a ,  203   b ,  203   c  and  203   d  in the embodiment), when issuing a connection acknowledge on the basis of the connection request information received at the wireless communication unit from the apparatus other than the above plurality of apparatuses and then ending in a success of its authentication, for controllably storing the unique ID of the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses in the memory unit as a connection acknowledge unique ID. (8) Each apparatus is provided with such a wireless communication processing device as mentioned in the above Items (3) to (7). (9) A wireless communication processing method for performing wireless communication processing operation between a plurality of apparatuses includes the steps of storing a received unique ID and an authenticating passkey; issuing a connection acknowledge on the basis of connection request information from an apparatus other than a plurality of apparatuses in a network; transmitting, when issuing the connection acknowledge and then ending in a failure of its authentication, the unique ID of the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses to other ones of the plurality of apparatuses in the network as an authentication-failure unique ID or unauthorized-apparatus unique ID; and receiving the transmitted unique ID to reject the connection with the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses of the network. (10) Similarly, a wireless communication processing method includes the steps of storing a received unique ID and an authenticating passkey; receiving connection request information from an apparatus other than a plurality of apparatuses in a network and transmitting the unique ID of the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses in the network to other ones of the plurality of apparatuses of the network as a connection request unique ID; receiving the transmitted connection request unique ID to display the presence of the connection request or inform of it and also transmitting connection acknowledge information or connection rejection information to the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses of the network. 
   Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a configuration of a wireless communication processing system in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a structure of the wireless communication processing device in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  shows an example of information stored in a memory of the wireless communication processing device of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a flow chart showing an exemplary procedure when wireless connection is established with the configuration of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  shows flows of exemplary procedure when a connection to an out-of-home apparatus which failed in authentication with the configuration of  FIG. 1  was rejected; 
       FIG. 6  is a diagram for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 7  shows an exemplary internal structure of a wireless communication processing device as a third embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 8  is a flow chart for explaining an exemplary procedure when a wireless connection is established with use of the wireless communication processing device of  FIG. 7 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
   The present invention will be explained in connection with embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. 
     FIGS. 1 to 5  show a first embodiment of the present invention. 
   The present embodiment shows an example of a wireless communication processing system when domestic appliances in a home make up a wireless home network and when an unauthorized apparatus located outside of the home tries to invade the wireless home network.  FIG. 1  is an exemplary configuration of a wireless communication processing system in which domestic appliances are connected in a wireless network,  FIG. 2  is an exemplary structure of a wireless communication processing device,  FIG. 3  shows an example of information stored in a memory unit of the wireless communication processing device,  FIG. 4  shows a flow chart for explaining an exemplary procedure when wireless connection is established in a home, and  FIG. 5  shows flows of an exemplary procedure when a connection to an apparatus located outside of the home is rejected. 
   In  FIG. 1 , reference numeral  10  denotes an access point for the domestic appliances to be connected through the wireless network, numeral  11  denotes a home controller for controlling the domestic appliances in the home through the wireless network within the home,  12  denotes an air conditioner as one of the domestic appliances in the home,  13  denotes a microwave oven,  15   a  denotes a wireless communication processing device provided to the access point  10 ,  15   b  denotes a wireless communication processing device provided to the home controller  11 ,  15   c  denotes a wireless communication processing device provided to the air conditioner  12 , and  15   d  denotes a wireless communication processing device provided to the microwave oven  13 . The access point  10 , home controller  11 , air conditioner  12  and microwave oven  13  are connected by means of the wireless communication processing devices  15   a ,  15   b ,  15   c  and  15   d  provided thereto in the form of a wireless network. More specifically, the home controller  11 , air conditioner  12  and microwave oven  13  are connected by means of the access point  10  in the form of the wireless network, so that the air conditioner  12  and microwave oven  13  are controlled by operating the home controller  11 . In the present embodiment, the home controller  11 , air conditioner  12  and microwave oven  13  form in-home appliances. Reference numeral  14  denotes an out-of-home apparatus which tries to invade the wireless network in the home, and numeral  15   e  denotes a wireless communication processing device provided to the out-of-home apparatus  14 . 
     FIG. 2  shows an exemplary internal structure of each of the wireless communication processing devices  15   a  to  15   e.    
   In  FIG. 2 , reference numeral  200  denotes a wireless communication unit as a wireless communication unit for wirelessly communicating with an external apparatus, numeral  201  denotes an unique ID for identifying the wireless communication unit  200 , and  202  denotes a memory as a memory unit for storing therein a passkey when authentication of the external apparatus is carried out and authentication information of the apparatus which tried to be connected with the wireless communication processing device. Numeral  203  denotes a controller as a control unit for controlling the wireless communication unit  200  and memory  202  for control of information to be stored and for control of access to the stored information. With respect to the wireless communication unit  200 , it is assumed in the following explanation that reference numeral  200   a  refers to a wireless communication unit of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  provided to the access point  10 , numeral  200   b  refers to a wireless communication unit of the wireless communication processing device  15   b  provided to the home controller  11 ,  200   c  refers to a wireless communication unit of the wireless communication processing device  15   c  provided to the air conditioner  12 ,  200   d  refers to a wireless communication unit of the wireless communication processing device  15   d  provided to the microwave oven  13 , and  200   e  refers to a wireless communication unit of the wireless communication processing device  15   e , respectively. With regard to the unique ID  201 , reference numeral  201   a  refers to a unique ID for the wireless communication processing device  15   a , numeral  201   b  refers to a unique ID for the wireless communication processing device  15   b ,  201   c  refers to a unique ID for the wireless communication processing device  15   c ,  201   d  refers to a unique ID for the wireless communication processing device  15   d , and  201   e  refers to a unique ID for the wireless communication processing device  15   e . With respect to the memory  202 , reference numeral  202   a  refers to a memory in the wireless communication processing device  15   a , numeral  202   b  refers to a memory in the wireless communication processing device  15   b ,  202   c  refers to a memory in the wireless communication processing device  15   c ,  202   d  refers to a memory in the wireless communication processing device  15   d , and  202   e  refers to a memory in the wireless communication processing device  15   e . With regard to the controller  203 , reference numeral  203   a  refers to a controller of the wireless communication processing device  15   a , numeral  203   b  refers to a controller of the wireless communication processing device  15   b ,  203   c  refers to a controller of the wireless communication processing device  15   c ,  203   d  refers to a controller of the wireless communication processing device  15   d , and  203   e  refers to a controller of the wireless communication processing device  15   e.    
     FIG. 3  shows an example of information stored in the memory  202   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  provided to the access point  10 . Stored in the memory  202   a  as authentication information are information about the unique ID of the wireless communication processing device of an apparatus which tried to be connected to the wireless communication processing device  15   a , e.g., the unique ID  201   e  of the wireless communication processing device  15   e  of the out-of-home apparatus  14 , information indicative of finished/unfinished authentication using a passkey  31   a , an authentication-failure frequency with respect to the unique ID  201   e , and information indicative of acknowledge (permission) or negative-acknowledge (rejection) of the connection to the wireless communication processing devices. In the present embodiment, for the apparatus which failed 5 times in its authentication, the wireless communication processing device refuses the connection to such an apparatus. For example, when the value of the unique ID is “0-0-0-5”, the apparatus ended in failure of the authentication 5 times. Thus the connection rejection is “YES”, that is, the connection is rejected. As a connection request unique ID, next, the unique ID of a party subjected to a connection request by the access point  10  is stored. In this example, the unique ID  201   b  of “0-0-0-1” and the unique ID  201   c  of “0-0-0-2” are stored. It is assumed in this case that the unique ID  201   a  of the access point  10  is previously stored in the memories  202   b ,  202   c  and  202   d . In order to start wireless communication, the passkey  31   a  to be used upon authentication of the connection party is also stored. 
     FIG. 4  shows a diagram for explaining a procedure when a wireless connection is established in the wireless network of the home, and shows an exemplary flow for explaining an exemplary procedure when a wireless connection is established between the access point  10  and air conditioner  12 . The access point  10  and air conditioner  12  exchange the identical passkeys with each other for authentication and establish a reliable connection therebetween. 
   In  FIG. 4 : 
   (1) When the air conditioner  12  is operated by a user, first of all, the controller  203   c  of the wireless communication processing device  15   c  transmits connection request information  420  to the unique ID unit  201   a  of the access point  10  stored in the memory  202   c  (step ST 400 ). The connection request information  420  indicates that the transmission originator asks a transmission destination to connect. 
   (2) Next, the controller  203   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a , when receiving the above connection request information  420 , returns connection acknowledge/negative-acknowledge information to the air conditioner  12  (step ST 401 ). When the controller  203   a  returns connection acknowledge information  421  indicative of connection acceptance, authentication is carried out between the wireless communication processing devices  15   a  and  15   c . Whereas, when the controller  203   a  returns connection negative-acknowledge information  422  indicative of connection rejection in response to the connection request information  420  received from the air conditioner  12 , the connection ends in a failure (step ST 406 ). However, in order that a new domestic appliance can be added in the home at any time, it is assumed that, when authentication ended in failure 5 times and the connection is rejected and when the access point receives the connection request information  420  from another apparatus not having the unique ID  201  stored in the memory  202   a , the controller  203   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  returns the connection acknowledge information  421 . 
   (3) When the controller  203   a  returns the connection acknowledge information  421  indicative of connection permission and authentication is carried out between the wireless communication processing devices  15   a  and  15   c , the controller  203   c  of the air conditioner  12  extracts a passkey  31   c  from the memory  202   c  (step ST 402 ). 
   (4) In the wireless communication processing device  15   a  of the access point  10 , subsequently, the controller  203   a  extracts the passkey  31   a  from the memory  202   a  (step ST 403 ) and exchanges the passkey  31   c  with the passkey  31   a  (step ST 404 ). 
   (5) In the wireless communication unit  200   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  and in the wireless communication unit  200   c  of the wireless communication processing device  15   c ; it is judged whether or not the passkey  31   c  coincides with the passkey  31   a  (step ST 405 ). 
   (6) When a coincidence between the passkeys  31   c  and  31   a  is determined, authentication is regarded as correctly done and the connection is established successfully (step ST 407 ). 
   (7) The controller  203   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  of the access point  10  registers the successful authentication to the unique ID unit  201   c  of the wireless communication processing device of the air conditioner  12  in the memory  202   a  (step ST 408 ). 
   (8) Meanwhile, when a non-coincidence between the passkeys  31   c  and  31   d  is judged in the step ST 405  in the above Item (5), the authentication is regarded as a failure and the connection is cut off (step ST 409 ). In the case of the authentication failure, this means that unauthorized connection was tried and thus the controller  203   a  of the access point  10  increments the authentication-failure frequency to the unique ID unit  201   c  by “1” (step ST 410 ). 
   In this connection, with respect to how to set the unique ID  201   a  and passkey  31   c  of the access point  10  stored in the memory  202   c  of the wireless communication processing device  15   c  of the air conditioner  12  and how to set the passkey  31   a  stored in the memory  202   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  of the access point  10 , it is considered, as an example, for the home controller  11  to set the passkey through another interface. Further, the above explanation has been made in connection with the case where the connection request is issued to the access point  10  when the air conditioner  12  is operated by the user, but the connection request may be issued when the power of the air conditioner  12  is turned ON or may be issued by another method, for example, immediately after the passkey  31   c  is set. Furthermore, with the above arrangement, authentication has been carried out by exchanging the passkeys  31   c  and  31   a  with each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this authentication method. It is assumed that, even when the home controller  11  or microwave oven  13  is connected to the access point  10 , the same holds true similarly to the above. 
     FIG. 5  shows flows of an exemplary procedure when a connection to an out-of-home apparatus which ended in failure of authentication a plurality of times is rejected in order to prevent the out-of-home apparatus from making an illegal access to the wireless network in the home. The illustrated example is arranged so that domestic appliances including the access point  10  in the home will not issue a connection acknowledge to such an apparatus that ended in failure of authentication 5 times. 
   In  FIG. 5 : 
   (1) First of all, the wireless communication unit  200   e  of the out-of-home apparatus  14  transmits connection request information  420  to the access point  10  (step ST 500 ). 
   (2) Next, the controller  203   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  of the access point  10 , when receiving the connection request information  420 , returns the connection acknowledge information  421  (step ST 501 ) and performs authenticating operation (step ST 502 ), because the memory  202   a  has no such unique ID as to reject the authentication with regard to the unique ID  201   e  of the wireless communication processing device  15   e  of the out-of-home apparatus  14 . However, since the out-of-home apparatus  14  does not acknowledge by the passkey  31   a  stored in the memory  202   a , the passkey  31   e  of the out-of-home apparatus  14  does not coincide with the passkey  31   a  and thus the authentication ends in failure. 
   (3) When the authentication ends in failure, the controller  203   a  causes the first-time authentication failure for the unique ID  201   e  to be stored in the memory  202   a  (step ST 503 ). 
   (4) Similarly, the operations of the connection request (step ST 504 ), connection acknowledge (step ST 505 ) and authentication-failure (step ST 506 ) are repeated. And the authentication ends in failure 5 times between the wireless communication processing device  15   a  of the access point  10  and the wireless communication processing device  15   e  of the out-of-home apparatus  14  (step ST 507 ), 
   (5) The memory  202   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  stores the unique ID  201   e  of the wireless communication processing device  15   e  as a connection negative-acknowledge unique ID therein, the controller  203   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  transmits a unauthorized-apparatus unique ID  520  indicative of the unique ID  201   e  of the wireless communication processing device  15   e  to the wireless communication processing devices of the in-home appliances connected in the wireless network, that is, to the wireless communication processing device  15   b  of the home controller  11 , the wireless communication processing device  15   c  of the air conditioner  12 , and the wireless communication processing device  15   d  of the microwave oven  13  (step ST 508 ). The unauthorized-apparatus unique ID  520  indicates the unique ID which ended in authentication failure 5 times. 
   (6) When the in-home appliance receives the unauthorized-apparatus unique ID  520 , the unique ID  201   e  of the connection rejection apparatus indicative of the unauthorized-apparatus unique ID  520  is stored the memories  202   b  to  202   d  of the respective wireless communication processing devices of the home controller  11 , air conditioner  12  and microwave oven  13  as the in-home appliances. 
   (7) The respective in-home appliances, in response to the connection request from the connection rejection unique ID unit  201   e , reject the connection. Thus, when the out-of-home apparatus  14  transmits the connection request information  420  to the access point  10  (step ST 509 ), the access point  10  returns the connection negative-acknowledge information  422  (step ST 510 ). Even when the out-of-home apparatus  14  transmits the connection request information  420  to one of the in-home appliances (such as the home controller  11 ) (step ST 511 ), the home controller  11  returns the connection negative-acknowledge information  422  (step ST 512 ). In this conjunction, although the out-of-home apparatus  14  tried to be connected to the access point  10  in this example, the same holds true even when the out-of-home apparatus tries to be connected to another appliance. 
   In accordance with the aforementioned first embodiment, since the unique ID  201   e  of authentication-failure out-of-home apparatus  14  is informed to the appliances in the network, the unique ID  201   e  of the out-of-home apparatus  14  which tried to illegally access but failed in its authentication can be commonly recognized not only by the illegally-accessed appliance but also by all the appliances in the network. For this reason, the overall security of the network against unauthorized access from a cracker or an unauthorized apparatus can be increased. 
     FIG. 6  is a diagram for explaining the operation of a second embodiment of the present invention. 
   Like the above first embodiment, the second embodiment is also arranged, as an example, to prevent a wireless network in a home from being unauthorizedly accessed from an apparatus outside of the home. Unlike the above first embodiment wherein the frequency of access failure only to the access point  10  is counted, however, the present second embodiment is arranged so that not only the frequency of access failure to the access point  10  but also the frequency of out-of-home apparatus  14  access failure to the home controller  11 , air conditioner  12  or microwave oven  13  can be grasped by the access point  10 . As a result, the total frequency in the entire network, by which the out-of-home apparatus  14  failed in its authentication, can be counted, whereby an apparatus which failed in authentication, e.g., 5 times can be prevented from being connected to all the appliances in the home. 
   In  FIG. 6 : 
   (1) First of all, the wireless communication unit.  200   e  of the wireless communication processing device  15   e  of the out-of-home apparatus  14  transmits the connection request information  420  to the air conditioner  12  (step ST 600 ). 
   (2) The controller  203   c  of the wireless communication processing device  15   c  of the air conditioner  12 , when receiving the connection request information  420 , returns, in response to the connection request from the no-connection-rejection unique ID  201   e  stored in the memory  202   c , the connection acknowledge information  421  (step ST 601 ) and performs its authenticating operation (step ST 602 ). 
   (3) Since the out-of-home apparatus  14  is not acknowledged by the passkey  31   c  stored in the memory  202  of the wireless communication processing device  15   c  of the air conditioner  12 , the passkey  31   e  does not coincide with the passkey  31   c  and thus its authentication fails (step ST 603 ). 
   (4) When the authentication fails, the controller  203   c  of the wireless communication processing device  15   c  of the air conditioner  12  transmits a authentication-failure apparatus ID  620  from the wireless communication unit  200   c  of the wireless communication processing device  15   c  to the access point  10 , home controller  11  and microwave oven  13  (step ST 604 ). The authentication-failure apparatus ID  620  is the ID of the apparatus which tried to be connected but failed in authentication, and refers to the unique ID  201   e  in this example. 
   (5) The controllers of the wireless communication processing devices of the respective appliances, when receiving the authentication-failure apparatus ID  620 ; that is, the controller  203   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  of the access point  10 , the controller  203   b  of the wireless communication processing device  15   b  of the home controller  11 , and the controller  203   d  of the wireless communication processing device  15   d  of the microwave oven  13  increment their authentication-failure frequencies to the unique ID  201   e  by “1”, and the frequencies are stored in the memory  202   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  of the access point  10 , the memory  202   b  of the wireless communication processing device  15   b  of the home controller  11 , and the memory  202   d  of the wireless communication processing device  15   d  of the microwave oven  13  (step ST 605 ). 
   (6) The out-of-home apparatus  14  issues a connection request to another in-home appliance such as the home controller  11  (step ST 606 ), the home controller  11  issues a connection acknowledge signal (step ST 607 ) and performs its authenticating operation (step ST 608 ). When the home controller  11  ends in authentication failure and its authentication failure frequency reaches 5 (step ST 609 ), the controller  203   b  of the wireless communication processing device  15   b  of the home controller  11  transmits the unauthorized-apparatus unique ID  520  to another appliance connected in the wireless network (step ST 610 ). 
   (7) The controllers of the wireless communication processing devices of the appliances when receiving the unauthorized-apparatus unique ID  520 , that is, the controller  203   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a  of the access point  10 , the controller  203   c  of the wireless communication processing device  15   c  of the air conditioner  12 , and the controller  203   d  of the wireless communication processing device  15   d  of the microwave oven  13  store the unique ID  201   e  for connection rejection in the memory  202   a  of the wireless communication processing device  15   a , the memory  202   c  of the wireless communication processing device  15   c , and the memory  202   d  of the wireless communication processing device  15   d  respectively. With it, in response to the connection request from the out-of-home apparatus  14 , all the appliances in the home can act to reject the connection. 
   In accordance with the aforementioned second embodiment, since the authentication-failure unique ID  201   e  is commonly used by the appliances connected in the network, all the appliances in the network can recognize the unauthorized access from the out-of-home apparatus  14  which try to be connected thereto. For this reason, the system can reliably detect the access from the unauthorized apparatus, can reliably block invasion of the unauthorized apparatus into the network, and can obtain high security. The same holds true even for an unauthorized access from a cracker. 
     FIGS. 7 and 8  are diagrams for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention. 
   The third embodiment is also arranged, as an example, to have such a configuration as to prevent an unauthorized access from an out-of-home apparatus in a wireless network within a home. The above second embodiment has been arranged so that, even when the appliance receives the connection request information  420  from the unique ID not stored in the memory  202   a , the controller  203   a  automatically returns the connection acknowledge information  421 . However, the third embodiment is arranged so that, an appliance receives the connection request information  420  from a unique ID not stored in the memory  202   a , the appliance informs the user of the reception of the connection request from an apparatus not registered, and the user decides the acknowledge or negative acknowledge of the connection.  FIG. 7  is an exemplary internal structure of a wireless communication processing device, and  FIG. 8  is a flow chart for explaining an exemplary procedure when wireless connection is carried out in the wireless network. 
   In  FIG. 7 , reference numeral  70  denotes a wireless communication processing device and numeral  71  denotes a notification unit. When the notification unit  71  receives the connection request information  420  from the unique ID unit other than “authenticated” in the memory  202  and from the unique ID unit (which will be referred to as the unauthenticated unique ID (unit), hereinafter) not stored in the memory  202 , the controller  203  controls the notification unit to produce a sound. Reference numeral  72  denotes a display unit. When receiving the connection request information  420  from the unauthenticated unique ID unit, the controller  203  displays the unauthenticated unique ID demanding the connection request on the display unit  72 . Reference numeral  73  denotes a connection acknowledge button. When the wireless communication processing device receives the connection request information  420  from the unauthenticated unique ID unit and the connection acknowledge button is pushed, the controller  203  transmits the connection acknowledge information  421 . Reference numeral  74  denotes a connection negative-acknowledge button. When the wireless communication processing device receives the connection request information  420  from the unauthenticated unique ID unit and the connection negative-acknowledge button is pushed, the controller  203  returns the connection negative-acknowledge information  422 . A wireless communication processing device  70   a  is provided to the access point  10 , a wireless communication processing device  70   b  is provided to the home controller  11 , a wireless communication processing device  70   c  is provided to the air conditioner  12 , a wireless communication processing device  70   d  is provided to the microwave oven  13 , and a wireless communication processing device  70   e  is provided to the out-of-home apparatus  14 . In the following explanation, as in the above embodiment, with regard to the wireless communication unit  200 , reference numeral  200   a  refers to the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication processing device  70   a  of the access point  10 , numeral  200   b  refers to the refers to the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication processing device  70   b  of the home controller  11 ,  200   c  refers to the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication processing device  70   c  of the air conditioner  12 ,  200   d  refers to the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication processing device  70   d  of the microwave oven  13 , and  200   e  refers to the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication processing device  70   e  of the out-of-home apparatus  14 , respectively. With regard to the unique ID unit  201 , reference numeral  201   a  refers to the unique ID unit of the wireless communication processing device  70   a , numeral  201   b  refers to the unique ID unit of the wireless communication processing device  70   b ,  201   c  refers to the unique ID unit of the wireless communication processing device  70   c ,  201   d  refers to the unique ID unit of the wireless communication processing device  70   d , and  201   e  refers to the unique ID unit of the wireless communication processing device  70   e . With regard to the memory  202 , reference numeral  202   a  refers to the memory of the wireless communication processing device  70   a , numeral  202   b  refers to the memory of the wireless communication processing device  70   b ,  202   c  refers to the memory of the wireless communication processing device  70   c ,  202   d  refers to the memory of the wireless communication processing device  70   d , and  202   e  refers to the memory of the wireless communication processing device  70   e . With regard to the controller  203 , reference numeral  203   a  refers to the controller of the wireless communication processing device  70   a , numeral  203   b  refers to the controller of the wireless communication processing device  70   b ,  203   c  refers to the controller of the wireless communication processing device  70   c ,  203   d  refers to the controller of the wireless communication processing device  70   d , and  203   e  refers to the controller of the wireless communication processing device  70   e.    
     FIG. 8  is a flow chart for explaining an exemplary procedure in a case where, when the out-of-home apparatus  14  issues a connection request to the access point  10 , the wireless communication processing device  70   a , which does not establish authentication with the out-of-home apparatus  14 , informs the user of the connection request from the unique ID unit  201   e  of the wireless communication processing device  70   e  of the out-of-home apparatus  14 , and the user selectively judges the connection acknowledge or negative acknowledge. 
   In  FIG. 8 : 
   (1) First of all, the wireless communication unit  200   e  of the wireless communication processing device  70   e  of the out-of-home apparatus  14  transmits the connection request information  420  to the wireless communication unit  200   a  of the wireless communication processing device  70   a  of the access point  10  (step ST 800 ). 
   (2) In response to the connection request from the unique ID unit  201   e  of the wireless communication processing device  70   e  as a unauthenticated unique ID not stored in the memory  202   a  of the wireless communication processing device  70   a  as “authenticated”, the controller  203   a  of the wireless communication processing device  70   a  causes the q 7 l a  to produce a sound and causes a display unit  72   a  to display the unique ID  201   e  on the display unit  72   a  (step ST 801 ). 
   (3) The controller  203   a  transmits a connection request unique ID  820  to the wireless communication processing devices  70   b  to  70   d  in the home via the wireless communication unit  200   a  (step ST 802 ). The connection request unique ID  820  is the unauthenticated unique ID unit which transmitted the connection request information  420 , and in this example, refers to the unique ID unit  201   e.    
   (4) Even in the controllers  203   b  to  203   d  of the in-home wireless communication processing devices  70   b  to  70   d  which received the connection request unique ID  820 , the notification units  71   b  to  71   d  are used to produce a sound and the display units  72   b  to  72   d  are used to display the memory  202   e  thereon, like the controller  203   a  of the access point  10 . 
   (5) Input operation is carried out from the access point  10  or wireless communication processing device  70   a  to  70   d  (step ST 804 ). 
   (6) The wireless communication processing device  70   a  of the access point  10  is first used to input a connection permission or rejection (step ST 805 ). 
   (7) When the user pushes a connection acknowledge button  73   a , the controller  203   a  returns the connection acknowledge information  421  to the out-of-home apparatus  14  (step ST 806 ), establishing a successful connection (step ST 807 ). 
   (8) When the user pushes a connection negative-acknowledge button  74   a  in the step ST 805  in the above Item (6), the controller  203   a  returns the connection negative-acknowledge information  422  to the out-of-home apparatus  14  (step ST 808 ), ending in a connection failure (step ST 809 ). 
   (9) Explanation will next be made as to user&#39;s input operation with use of the in-home appliance. For example, the user enters a connection permission or rejection with use of a connection acknowledge button  73   d  of the wireless communication processing device  70   d  provided to the microwave oven  13  (step ST 810 ). 
   (10) Pushing of the connection acknowledge button  73   d  causes the controller  203   d  of the wireless communication processing device  70   d  of the access point  10  to transmit remote connection acknowledge information  821  to the wireless communication processing device  70   a  via the wireless communication unit  200   d  (step ST 811 ). The remote connection acknowledge information  821  indicates the connection permission to the connection request from the connection request unique ID  820 . 
   (11) When the wireless communication unit  200   a  of the wireless communication processing device  70   a  of the access point  10  receives the remote connection acknowledge information  821 , the controller  203   a  returns the connection acknowledge information  421  to the out-of-home apparatus  14  (step ST 806 ), establishing a successful connection (step ST 807 ). 
   (12) When the user pushes a connection negative-acknowledge button  74   d  of the wireless communication processing device  70   d  provided to the microwave oven  13  in the step ST 810  in the above Item (9), the controller  203   d  transmits remote connection negative-acknowledge information  822  to the wireless communication unit  200   a  of the wireless communication processing device  70   a  of the access point  10  via the wireless communication unit  200   d  (step ST 812 ). The remote connection negative-acknowledge information  822  is information indicative of the connection rejection to the connection request from the connection request unique ID  820 . 
   (13) When the wireless communication unit  200   a  of the wireless communication processing device  70   a  of the access point  10  receives the remote connection negative-acknowledge information  822 , the controller  203   a  returns the connection negative-acknowledge information  422  to the out-of-home apparatus  14  (step ST 808 ), ending in connection failure (step ST 809 ). 
   Although notification of reception of the connection request from the unauthenticated unique ID has been done by producing a sound and by displaying the unique ID on the display unit in the aforementioned third embodiment, it is also possible, when the authentication with an external apparatus ended in failure, to inform the user of it to warm him of the presence of an access of the unauthorized apparatus to the access point  10 . Further, it is considered to display the presence of a connection request from the unauthenticated apparatus with use of an LDE or the like. 
   In accordance with the third embodiment, the connection request from the unauthenticated apparatus is informed to the user audibly and by displaying the unique ID on the display unit and the connection permission or rejection is determined by the user. Therefore, any access from an unauthorized-apparatus can be prevented, high security can be obtained, the connection permission or rejection can be arbitrarily selected, and a wide range of wireless communication processing operation with an apparatus can be realized. Even an unauthorized access from a cracker can be similarly avoided. 
   The inventions as the foregoing embodiments include (1) to (4) which follow.
     (1) A wireless communication processing system for performing wireless communication processing operation between a plurality of apparatuses, which includes a first wireless communication processing device provided to first one of the plurality of apparatuses and having a first unique ID as its own unique ID and a second wireless communication processing device provided to second one of the plurality of apparatuses and having a second unique ID as its own unique ID, wherein, in response to a connection request sent from a third wireless communication processing device provided to an apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses to the first wireless communication processing device, the first wireless communication processing device acknowledges the connection, and when ending in authentication failure, transmits a third unique ID as the unique ID of the third wireless communication processing device to the second wireless communication processing device as a authentication-failure unique ID or unauthorized-apparatus unique ID.   (2) A wireless communication processing system for performing wireless communication processing operation between a plurality of apparatuses, which includes a first wireless communication processing device provided to first one of the plurality of apparatuses and having a first unique ID as its own unique ID and a second wireless communication processing device provided to second one of the plurality of apparatuses and having a second unique ID as its own unique ID, wherein, when a connection request is issued from a third wireless communication processing device provided to an apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses to the first wireless communication processing device, the first wireless communication processing device transmits a third unique ID as the unique ID of the third wireless communication processing device to the second wireless communication processing device as a connection request unique ID.   (3) A wireless communication processing system for performing wireless communication processing operation between a plurality of apparatuses, which includes a wireless communication unit provided to the plurality of apparatuses and capable of transmitting and receiving unique ID&#39;s, a memory unit controllably for storing the received unique ID and an authenticating passkey therein, and a control unit, when the wireless communication unit receives connection request information from the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses, for transmitting the unique ID of the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses to other ones of the plurality of apparatuses as a connection request unique ID, and when receiving the transmitted connection request unique ID, for displaying the presence of the connection request or informing thereof, and transmitting connection permission or rejection information to the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses.   (4) A control unit in a wireless communication processing device is arranged so that, when receiving the unique ID of a connection request apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses from any of wireless communication processing devices of the plurality of apparatuses as an authentication-failure unique ID, a frequency of authentication failure larger by “1” than a frequency of authentication-failure of the first wireless communication processing device with the apparatus other than the plurality of apparatuses is stored in a memory unit.   

   In accordance with the present invention, high security can be obtained and unauthorized access can be prevented. 
   It should be further understood by those skilled in the art that although the foregoing description has been made on embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited thereto and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.