Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/JP4710477B2/en
Timestamp: 2020-01-25 23:43:23
Document Index: 160080051

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 3', 'art 5', 'art 5', 'art 5', 'art 7', 'art 9']

JP4710477B2 - Terminal device - Google Patents
JP4710477B2
JP4710477B2 JP2005233075A JP2005233075A JP4710477B2 JP 4710477 B2 JP4710477 B2 JP 4710477B2 JP 2005233075 A JP2005233075 A JP 2005233075A JP 2005233075 A JP2005233075 A JP 2005233075A JP 4710477 B2 JP4710477 B2 JP 4710477B2
JP2005233075A
JP2007049522A (en
規生 小保田
2005-08-11 Application filed by ソニー株式会社 filed Critical ソニー株式会社
2005-08-11 Priority to JP2005233075A priority Critical patent/JP4710477B2/en
2007-02-22 Publication of JP2007049522A publication Critical patent/JP2007049522A/en
2011-06-29 Publication of JP4710477B2 publication Critical patent/JP4710477B2/en
The present invention relates to the collection function of the connection information in a terminal device that has multiple types of wireless communication unit having different communication methods.
Currently, wireless LAN technology is used in various fields. Accordingly, various communication technologies exist in the wireless LAN. For example, there are various communication technologies such as a wireless LAN technology for high-speed communication and a wireless LAN technology for short-range communication.
JP 2002-94528 A JP 2005-57551 A
By the way, in order to connect a wireless communication device to a wireless LAN, it is necessary to set connection setting information in advance. For example, it is necessary to set in advance the communication channel, service ID, encryption method, etc. used for communication with the access point.
However, in this setting work, for example, it is necessary for the user of the wireless communication device to manually set connection setting information, and there is a problem that it takes time to start use.
In order to solve the above problems, a terminal device of the present invention includes an information processing unit that inputs and outputs arbitrary information, a first wireless communication unit that transmits and receives arbitrary information through an access point, and a first wireless communication unit that is an access point. A setting exchange for requesting connection setting information from the first terminal, a second information communication device for transmitting and receiving connection setting information necessary for connecting to the terminal, a setting information storage device for storing the connection setting information, and the first terminal When connection setting information is not stored in the setting information storage device when the signal is received, a setting exchange signal is transmitted to the second terminal holding the connection setting information, and the connection setting information is received from the second terminal. A setting information exchanging unit for receiving and storing the setting information in the setting information storage device and transferring the setting information to the first terminal;
By installing a setting information exchange unit in a terminal device, even if it does not have connection setting information necessary for connection to a certain network, the connection that the other terminal device has through direct communication with another terminal device Setting information can be obtained.
For this reason, if the other terminal device has necessary connection setting information, it can be copied to its own device and attempted to connect to an unconnected network. If authentication is required for using the network, a separate authentication procedure is performed. For this reason, the security of the network is ensured.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments to which the technology according to the invention is applied will be described.
(A) Terminal Device Example FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a terminal device.
The terminal device 1 includes a sensor network communication unit 3A, a high-speed wireless communication unit 3B, a connection information collection unit 5 (setting information exchange unit 5A, setting information storage unit 5B), an information processing unit 7, and a power supply control unit 9. The terminal device 1 is also equipped with a sensor and a power source (not shown).
The sensor network communication unit 3A is a communication unit used for communication with the sensor network. A sensor network is one of wireless networks characterized by short distance, low speed, and low power consumption used to collect status and other information in real time. As a communication method, for example, weak wireless, Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), or the like is used. Sensor network communication is realized through direct communication with other terminal devices located at a short distance.
This communication is also called ad hoc communication. It also supports multi-hop communication that repeats ad hoc communication. Through this multi-hop communication function, the terminal device having the sensor network communication unit 3A can autonomously construct a sensor network.
The high-speed wireless communication unit 3B is a communication unit used for communication with a high-speed wireless LAN. The communication distance of the high-speed wireless LAN is generally long, and the power consumption is large compared to the sensor network. High-speed wireless LAN communication is executed via an access point.
Note that connection setting information needs to be set in advance for communication with the access point. The connection setting information refers to, for example, a communication channel, a service ID, an encryption method, and the like. Incidentally, the service ID, which is one of the connection setting information, can also be acquired through reception of a beacon packet that is always issued from the access point. However, in order to acquire the service ID, it is necessary to control the power supply of the high-speed wireless communication unit 3B to be on.
The connection information collection unit 5 is a processing unit that collects connection setting information from other terminal devices through the sensor network. The connection information collection unit 5 includes a setting information exchange unit 5A and a setting information storage unit 5B.
The setting information exchanging unit 5A exchanges connection setting information necessary for connection setting with other networks through direct communication with other terminal devices located in the vicinity of the own device (through a currently available sensor network). It is a processing unit.
By installing the setting information exchanging unit 5A, it is possible to significantly reduce the frequency of manually inputting connection setting information for connecting to the high-speed wireless network where the own apparatus is currently located, or dynamically generating the connection setting information. .
The setting information storage unit 5B is a storage area for storing the exchanged connection setting information. For example, a semiconductor memory device is used. However, the setting information storage unit 5B may be a magnetic storage device (for example, a hard disk device), an optical storage device, or the like.
The information processing unit 7 is a processing unit that executes information processing based on an operation system and application software installed in the terminal device. For example, it is composed of a CPU.
The power supply control unit 9 is a control unit that controls the supply of power to each communication unit. In this embodiment, the supply and cut-off of power to the high-speed wireless communication unit 3B with high power consumption are controlled. As shown in FIG. 2, when the high-speed wireless communication unit 3B is not used, the power supply can be actively controlled to be cut off, thereby reducing the power consumption and extending the continuous use time.
(B) Operation example (B-1) Operation example 1
An operation example will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, two terminal devices are located within the communication range of the access point (AP) 11, one of them (terminal device B) is connected to the access point 11, and the other one (terminal device A). Represents a state in which the access point 11 is not connected. It is assumed that the terminal device A does not have connection setting information necessary for connection with the access point 11.
In this case, a process in which the connection information collection unit 5 mounted on the terminal device A collects connection setting information via the sensor network will be described.
FIG. 4 shows a progress example of the processing operation. FIG. 4A shows the internal states of the terminal device A and the terminal device B at the start of operation. At this time, there is no connection setting information for the access point 11 in the setting information storage unit 5B of the terminal device A. On the other hand, connection setting information for the access point 11 exists in the setting information storage unit 5B of the terminal device B.
At this time, the connection information collection unit 5 of the terminal device A searches for another terminal device located in the vicinity using the sensor network communication unit 3A. Specifically, a response request signal is transmitted on the sensor network. In FIG. 4A, since the terminal device B exists in the vicinity of the terminal device A, a presence notification is transmitted from the terminal device B as a response signal.
When another terminal device that can directly communicate with the sensor network is confirmed, the setting information exchanging unit 5A of the terminal device A transmits a setting exchange signal for requesting exchange of connection setting information to the sensor network.
FIG. 4B shows a state where connection setting information for the access point 11 is exchanged. Of course, when the terminal device B has a plurality of types of connection setting information, the connection setting information is also transmitted to the terminal device A. Further, the connection setting information possessed by the terminal device A is also transmitted to the terminal device B. By this exchange operation, the terminal device A and the terminal device B have the same connection setting information. The exchanged connection setting information is stored in the setting information storage unit 5B.
Thereafter, when the terminal device A connects to the access point 11 using the high-speed wireless communication unit 3B, the connection setting information for the access point 11 is set to the setting information storage unit 5B as shown in FIG. Read from and use.
As a result, the terminal device A completes the handover from the sensor network to the high-speed wireless LAN.
(B-2) Operation example 2
Another operation example will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, three terminal devices are located within the communication range of the access point (AP) 11, one of them (terminal device C) is connected to the access point 11, and the other two devices (terminal device A, B) shows a state in which the access point 11 is not connected. Note that the terminal device A and the terminal device B do not have connection setting information necessary for connection with the access point 11.
In this example, it is assumed that the terminal device A and the terminal device C cannot communicate directly.
FIG. 6 shows a progress example of the processing operation. FIG. 6A shows the internal state of the terminal apparatuses A to C at the start of operation. At this time, the connection information for the access point 11 does not exist in the setting information storage unit 5B of the terminal device A and the terminal device B. On the other hand, connection setting information for the access point 11 exists in the setting information storage unit 5B of the terminal device C.
At this time, the connection information collection unit 5 of the terminal device A searches for another terminal device located in the vicinity using the sensor network communication unit 3A. Specifically, a response request signal is transmitted on the sensor network.
In FIG. 6A, since the terminal device B exists in the vicinity of the terminal device A, the presence notification is transmitted from the terminal device B as a response signal.
The terminal device B transfers the received response request signal to other terminal devices located in the vicinity of the own device. In the case of this example, since the terminal device C exists in the vicinity of the terminal device B, the presence notification is transmitted from the terminal device C as a response signal. The presence notification of the terminal device C is notified to the terminal device A via the terminal device B. Thereby, the terminal device A confirms that there are two other terminal devices on the sensor network.
When other terminal devices that can communicate on the sensor network are confirmed, the setting information exchanging unit 5A of the terminal device A transmits a setting exchange signal for requesting exchange of connection setting information to the sensor network.
FIG. 6B shows a state where the connection setting information for the access point 11 is exchanged from the terminal device C to the terminal device B. Of course, when the terminal device C has a plurality of types of connection setting information, the connection setting information is also transmitted to the terminal device B.
At this time, the connection setting information possessed by the terminal device B is also transmitted to the terminal device C. By this exchange operation, the terminal apparatus B and the terminal apparatus C have the same connection setting information.
Of course, at the time of FIG. 6B, the exchange of the connection setting information is also executed between the terminal device A and the terminal device B. However, in this example, neither the terminal device A nor the terminal device B has connection setting information for the access point 11. For this reason, in FIG. 6B, the setting information storage unit 5B of the terminal device A is shown as blank.
This connection setting information exchange operation is continuously executed for a predetermined time.
FIG. 6C shows a state where the connection setting information for the access point 11 is exchanged from the terminal device B to the terminal device A. That is, an exchange operation of a plurality of types of connection setting information exchanged up to the previous time is executed.
At this time, a plurality of types of connection setting information are shared by all terminal devices connected to the sensor network. The exchanged connection setting information is stored in the setting information storage unit 5B.
(B-3) Operation example 3
Another operation example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows a state in which two terminal devices are located within the communication range of the access point (AP) 11, but neither of them is connected to the access point 11 (terminal devices A and B). Here, it is assumed that the terminal device A and the terminal device B do not have connection setting information necessary for connection with the access point 11.
FIG. 8 shows a progress example of the processing operation. FIG. 8A shows the internal state of the terminal device A and the terminal device B at the start of operation. At this time, the connection information for the access point 11 does not exist in the setting information storage unit 5B of the terminal device A and the terminal device B.
In FIG. 8A, since the terminal device B exists in the vicinity of the terminal device A, the presence notification is transmitted from the terminal device B as a response signal.
FIG. 8B shows a state in which connection setting information is exchanged between the terminal device A and the terminal device B. After this exchange operation, the terminal device A tries to connect to the access point 11.
However, in this example, connection setting information for the access point 11 is not held in either the terminal device A or the terminal device B.
Therefore, the terminal device A and the terminal device B determine through communication which one operates as a terminal device that dynamically generates connection setting information used for connection with the access point 11 (that is, a master-slave relationship).
FIG. 8C shows a case where the terminal apparatus B is determined as a terminal apparatus that dynamically sets connection setting information used for connection to the access point 11.
When the connection setting information is dynamically generated, the operation proceeds to the exchange operation shown in FIG. That is, connection setting information of each device is exchanged between the terminal device A and the terminal device B. Of course, the connection setting information for the access point 11 is copied from the terminal device B to the terminal device A.
(C) Effect of Embodiment As described above, if the terminal device having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is used, even if the connection setting information necessary for connection with the access point is not provided at a certain point in time, other information is obtained via the sensor network. Connection setting information possessed by the terminal device can be obtained.
By using this connection setting information, it is possible to connect to an unconnected network without dynamically generating connection setting information.
In order to dynamically generate connection setting information, it is necessary to activate the high-speed wireless communication unit 3B that consumes a large amount of power. On the other hand, in the case of an embodiment in which the sensor network communication unit 3A with low power consumption can be used, it is not necessary to start the sensor network communication unit 3A until communication is started. Thereby, the continuous use time of a terminal device can be extended.
In the case of a terminal device having a conventional configuration, usable communication channels are limited to communication channels set in advance. For this reason, in order to change the communication channel used for the wireless connection, it is necessary to execute change processing for all the set terminal devices or to perform batch management with a higher-level management server.
However, in the case of the terminal device according to this embodiment, even if the communication channel is changed, it can be exchanged through direct communication between the terminal devices. Therefore, the communication channel can be changed more easily than in the past. Of course, the collective management of the management server is also unnecessary.
In the case of a terminal device having a conventional configuration, it is necessary to always check whether or not wireless communication can be performed by supplying power to the high-speed wireless communication unit 3B even when the high-speed wireless LAN is not used. For this reason, the power consumption is increased, which is one cause of shortening the continuous use time of the terminal device.
However, in the case of the terminal device according to this embodiment, power supply to the high-speed wireless communication unit 3B can be cut off while the high-speed wireless LAN is not used. For this reason, power consumption can be reduced and the continuous use time of a terminal device can be lengthened.
Note that connection setting information necessary for connection to the high-speed wireless LAN can be obtained through the sensor network even when the high-speed wireless communication unit 3B is not operating. Therefore, only when necessary for connection to the high-speed wireless LAN, communication can be started immediately even if power is supplied to the high-speed wireless communication unit 3B.
(D) Other Embodiments (a) In the above embodiments, the case where the connection information collection unit 5 is built in the terminal device 1 has been described.
However, the connection information collecting unit 5 may be an independent device module that can be detachably attached to the terminal device 1. For example, a functional module including a terminal that can be connected to the external connection terminal of the terminal device 1 may be used.
The connection information collecting unit 5 may be externally connected to the terminal device 1 through an external cable.
(B) In the above-described embodiment, the terminal device equipped with the sensor network communication unit 3A has been described. That is, a terminal device equipped with temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, wind direction, water level, water temperature, video, RFID reader and other sensors (not shown) has been described.
However, like the so-called sensor network, the above-described operation and effect can be similarly realized if the terminal device is equipped with a low-power-consumption wireless communication unit that can directly communicate with other terminal devices.
For this type of wireless communication unit, for example, a short-range wireless communication unit equipped with a direct communication function can be applied. Since the short-distance communication wireless communication unit has a short communication distance, the power consumption is usually small, and the above-described operations and effects can be similarly realized.
Further, for example, a low power consumption type wireless communication unit equipped with a direct communication function can be applied to this type of wireless communication unit. Even if the communication distance is not short (relatively long distance), if the wireless communication unit consumes little power, it is not necessary to always operate the wireless communication unit with high power consumption in order to ensure connection with the network. The operations and effects described above can be similarly realized.
(C) Although the case where the connection setting information collection process is realized as the process of the connection information collection unit 5 has been described in the above-described embodiment, these processes can also be realized as a software process executed in the information processing unit.
In this case, the program may be distributed via a network, or stored in a storage medium and distributed. Distribution storage media include magnetic storage media, optical storage media, semiconductor storage media, and others.
(D) Various modifications can be considered for the above-described embodiments within the scope of the gist of the invention. Various modifications and applications created or combined based on the description of the present specification are also conceivable.
It is a figure which shows the internal structural example of a terminal device. It is a figure explaining the intermittent operation | movement of a high-speed radio | wireless communication part. It is a figure which shows the case where connection setting information is exchanged between two terminal devices. It is a figure which shows the progress example of the processing operation in the case of exchanging connection setting information between two terminal devices. It is a figure which shows the case where connection setting information is exchanged between three terminal devices. It is a figure which shows the progress example of the processing operation in the case of exchanging connection setting information between three terminal devices. It is a figure which shows the case where no terminal has connection setting information required for a connection with a network. It is a figure which shows the progress example of the dynamic production | generation of the connection setting information performed when neither terminal has connection setting information required for a connection with a network, and an exchange operation.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal device 3A Sensor network communication part 3B High-speed wireless communication part 5 Connection information collection part 5A Setting information exchange part 5B Setting information storage part 7 Information processing part 9 Power supply control part
An information processing unit for inputting / outputting arbitrary information;
A first wireless communication unit that transmits and receives the arbitrary information through an access point;
A second wireless communication unit for transmitting and receiving connection setting information necessary for the first wireless communication unit to connect to the access point;
A setting information storage device for storing the connection setting information;
When receiving the setting exchange signal for requesting the connection setting information from the first terminal, if the connection setting information is not stored in the setting information storage device, the second holding the connection setting information A setting information exchanging unit that transmits the setting exchange signal to the terminal, receives the connection setting information from the second terminal, stores the connection setting information in the setting information storage device, and forwards the connection setting information to the first terminal;
JP2005233075A 2005-08-11 2005-08-11 Terminal device Expired - Fee Related JP4710477B2 (en)
JP2005233075A JP4710477B2 (en) 2005-08-11 2005-08-11 Terminal device
JP2007049522A JP2007049522A (en) 2007-02-22
JP4710477B2 true JP4710477B2 (en) 2011-06-29
ID=37851977
JP2005233075A Expired - Fee Related JP4710477B2 (en) 2005-08-11 2005-08-11 Terminal device
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