Patent Publication Number: US-2012033655-A1

Title: Digital camera device and geography tag obtaining method

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to digital camera devices, and more particularly to a geography tag obtaining method of a digital camera device. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Newer digital camera devices, such as digital cameras, digital videos, or cell phones, may provide a function that allows addition of a geography tag for each picture or video that is taken. A geography tag shows where the pictures or videos were taken such that the pictures or videos can be shared on the Internet according to the geography tag. Generally, addition of the geography tag is implemented by a wireless network accessing module of the digital camera device, such as by a WIFI module. For example, the digital camera device can communicate with an access point in a wireless local area network where the digital camera device is in by the WIFI module, and obtains the geography tag from the access point. 
     However, in some conditions, the digital camera device can not detect the access point because of long distance between the digital camera device and the access point, and subsequently the digital camera device can not obtain the geography tag from the access point. Currently, in this condition, the digital camera device abandons to add the geography tag at where the digital camera device can not obtain the geography tag from the access point. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The details of the disclosure, both as to its structure and operation, can best be understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers and designations refer to like elements. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of environment of one embodiment of a digital camera device of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of functional modules of one embodiment of a digital camera device of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a disassociation or deauthentication frame transmitted by the digital camera device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a probe request transmitted by a wireless station of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a geography tag obtaining method of one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     All of the processes described may be embodied in, and fully automated via, software code modules executed by one or more general purpose computers or processors. The code modules may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or other storage device. Some or all of the methods may alternatively be embodied in specialized computer hardware or communication apparatus. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of environment of a digital camera device  10  of one embodiment of the present disclosure. The digital camera device  10  is located within a wireless local area network (WLAN). The WLAN includes a plurality of wireless stations and access points. It is noted that  FIG. 1  only shows the wireless station  20  and the access point (AP)  30  for simplicity, and the following description takes the wireless station  20  and the AP  30  for example. The digital camera device  10 , the wireless station  20 , and the AP  30  all comply with the IEEE 802.11 standard. 
     In one embodiment, the digital camera device  10  can obtain a service set identification (SSID) of the AP  30  even when the digital camera device  10  can not detect the AP  30 . In one embodiment, the digital camera device  10  may be a digital camera, a digital video (DV), a cell phone. The wireless station  20  may be a computer or a cell phone which connects to the WLAN by the AP  30 . 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of functional modules of one embodiment of a digital camera device  10  of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the digital camera device  10  includes a processor  12 , a storage system  14 , a detecting module  100 , a transmitting module  102 , a receiving module  104 , and an obtaining module  106 . The modules  100 - 106  may comprise computerized code in the form of one or more programs that are stored in the storage system  14 . The computerized code includes instructions that are executed by the processor  12  to provide functions for modules  100 - 106 . 
     The detecting module  100  attempts to detect at least one AP in the WLAN and if no AP can be detected, the detecting module  100  attempts to detect at least one wireless station. For example, the detecting module  100  can detect the wireless station  20 , and the wireless station  20  can access to the Internet via the AP  30 . 
     The transmitting module  102  transmits a disconnection management frame to the wireless station  20  by way of pretending to be the AP  30  to notify the wireless station  20  that the AP  30  disconnects to the wireless station  20 . In one embodiment, the disconnection management frame may be a deauthentication or a disassociation (DE/DIS) frame.  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of the DE/DIS frame. The DE/DIS frame mainly includes a reason code field which is configured to notify the wireless station  20  disconnection reasons. 
     As such, the wireless station  20  receives the DE/DIS frame and considers itself disconnects from the AP  30 . Then, the wireless station  20  transmits a reconnection management frame to connect to the AP  30 . 
     In one embodiment, the reconnection management frame may be a probe request.  FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of the probe request. The probe request mainly includes a SSID field and a supported rate field. Generally, the SSID field stores the SSID of the AP  30 . In other embodiments, if the SSID field of the probe request does not stores the SSID of the AP  30 , then the reconnection management frame may also be an association frame which includes the SSID of the AP  30 . 
     Then, the receiving module  104  also receives the reconnection management frame transmitted by the wireless station  20  to the AP  30 . The obtaining module  106  retrieves the SSID of the AP  30  from the SSID field of the reconnection management frame, and then obtains a geography tag according to the retrieved SSID. 
     It is noted the DE/DIS frame, the probe request, the association frame are defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard, thus the detail description of them are omitted. 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a geography tag obtaining method of one embodiment of the present disclosure. The flowchart is executed by the modules of  FIG. 2 . Depending on the embodiment, additional blocks may be added, others deleted, and the ordering of blocks may be changed while remaining well within the scope of the disclosure. 
     In block S 500 , the detecting module  100  attempts to detect at least one AP, and if no AP can be detected, then in block S 502 , the detecting module  100  attempts to detect at least one wireless station. For example, the detecting module  100  can detect the wireless station  20 , and the wireless station  20  can access to the Internet via the AP  30 . 
     In block S 504 , the transmitting module  102  transmits a disconnection management frame to the wireless station  20  by way of pretending to be the AP  30  to notify the wireless station  20  that the AP  30  disconnects to the wireless station  20 . In one embodiment, the disconnection management frame may be a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame. 
     Then the wireless station  20  transmits a reconnection management frame to connect to the AP  30 . The wireless station  20  stores a SSID of the AP  30  in the reconnection management frame. In one embodiment, the reconnection management frame may be a probe request or an association frame. 
     In block S 506 , the receiving module  104  receives the probe request transmitted by the wireless station  20  to the AP  30 . In block S 508 , the receiving module  104  determines if the probe request includes the SSID of the AP  30 . 
     If the probe request includes the SSID of the AP  30 , then in block S 510 , the obtaining module  106  retrieves the SSID of the AP  30  from the probe request, and in block S 512 , obtains a geography tag according to the retrieved SSID of the AP  30 . 
     If the probe request does not include the SSID of the AP  30 , then in block S 514 , the receiving module  104  waits to receive the association frame transmitted by the wireless station  20  to the AP  30 . In block S 516 , the obtaining module  106  retrieves the SSID of the AP  30  from the association frame, and in block S 512 , obtains a geography tag according to the retrieved SSID of the AP  30 . 
     The digital camera device  10  and the geography tag obtaining method of the present disclosure transmit the DE/DIS frame to the wireless station  20  by way of pretending to be the AP  30  and retrieve the SSID of the AP  30  according to the probe request or the association frame from the wireless station  20  when the digital camera device  10  can not detect the AP  30 . Therefore, even when the digital camera device  10  can not detect the AP  30 , the digital camera device  10  can also add a geography tag when the digital camera device  10  takes a picture or a video, which highly improves customer satisfaction. 
     While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only and not by way of limitation. Thus the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by the above-described embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.