JP2001298460A - Communication system and communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication system and a communication procedure, where a communication device finding out an object of a communication available communication device, before connection to a destination communication device can surely be connected to a connection opposite party desired by a user, without the need for complicated procedures. SOLUTION: A UI section 21 of a connection request source communication device displays communication available objects found out according to an object finding procedure onto a display section 32. A user selects a destination IF among the objects and uses a confirmation data transmission section 25 to transmit confirmation data. A confirmation data reception notice section 20 of the connection destination communication device, to which the confirmation data are sent lights a light-emitting element 31 and informs the user of the connection request source communication device that the communication device whose light-emitting element 31 is lighted is the communication device with the destination ID. The user of the connection request source communication device can confirm the desired connection opposite party through the lighting of the light emitting element 31 before the connection.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication apparatus that requires a procedure for finding a connectable terminal when connecting communication apparatuses, for example, a communication terminal in a short-range wireless communication system and a connection procedure of the communication terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At the start of a connection establishment procedure in a communication device, for example, a wireless terminal, a user making a connection request,
Rather than a system such as a pager call that recognizes the correspondence between the connection destination terminal and its destination ID (telephone number, etc.), there is a possibility of establishing a connection with an unspecified partner. In a wireless communication system in which the user does not know the destination ID of a connectable terminal when trying to perform the connection, a discovery procedure is required when the connection is performed.

In the discovery procedure, a connection request source terminal searches a connectable area and receives a response from a partner terminal to find a connectable terminal. And
This is a procedure for creating a list of destination IDs of terminals that can be connected inside the connection request source terminal (hereinafter, referred to as a destination ID list). The destination ID is an identifier associated with a destination address when transmitting data to a terminal, and can be classified into the following two types.

(1) When the destination ID is a value unique to each terminal. The ID at this time is called a device address. Since the device address must be unique for every terminal in the world,
It is a number of digits or more. Therefore, it is difficult to associate the device address with the terminal appearance, the owner, and the like, and the terminal user usually does not remember the device address. (2) When the destination ID is not a value unique to each terminal. At this time, this ID is called a device nickname. It is assumed that the ID is a simple character string assigned to each terminal. Since the ID is not unique to a terminal, the same device nickname can be assigned to a plurality of terminals.

[0005] A connection procedure in the communication system will be described. FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the operation of the communication system. In step ST701, a discovery procedure is performed between the connection request source terminal and the connectable terminal, and step ST70 is performed.
In 2, the connection request source terminal obtains the destination ID list. In step ST703, the user of the connection request source terminal selects the destination ID of the connection destination terminal from the destination ID list created by the discovery procedure. In step ST704, a one-to-one connection procedure is performed between the connection request source terminal and the terminal having the ID among the connectable terminals. The connection procedure between the one-to-one terminals is referred to as a connection procedure for specifying a destination ID.

[0006]

In the wireless communication,
If the destination ID is a device address, when establishing a connection, the user of the connection requesting terminal must know the device address corresponding to the terminal to be connected. However, it is rare that the connection request source terminal user remembers the device address of the connection destination terminal in an actual use situation. Therefore, it is necessary to perform the troublesome work of checking the device address of the connection destination terminal such that the user checks the telephone directory every time the connection is made.

On the other hand, when the destination ID is a device nickname, it is often possible to associate a certain terminal with which device nickname. In this case, it is not necessary for the connection request source terminal user to select a device nickname and to specify a desired terminal as a connection destination, which is troublesome. However, there is a possibility that the same device nickname is assigned to a plurality of terminals, and in that case, the user of the connection requesting terminal cannot specify which terminal among a plurality of terminals having the same device nickname to connect to. Therefore, if the connectable area is large,
There is a possibility of erroneous connection such as connecting to an unexpected terminal. For example, when it is assumed that a business card exchange is performed in a terminal of the wireless communication system, a problem may occur that personal information is passed to an unexpected partner.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a communication apparatus and a communication method which can be connected without troublesome work and without the possibility of erroneous connection when a communication terminal user specifies a terminal and performs connection in the wireless communication system. To provide.

[0009]

In a communication system comprising a first communication device according to the present invention and a second communication device which is at least one communication device connectable by the first communication device, A candidate discovery unit that discovers the one or more connectable communication devices and receives identification information for identifying the communication device from the discovered communication devices; A display unit that displays the received one or more pieces of identification information, and a communication device that selects one piece of the identification information from the one or more pieces of the identification information displayed by the display unit and determines the communication device based on the selected piece of the identification information. A confirmation unit that generates and transmits confirmation data for confirmation; and a transmission unit that transmits a connection request to the second communication device that has received the confirmation data transmitted by the confirmation unit. To.

Further, in the communication system according to the present invention, when the second communication device receives confirmation data from the confirmation unit of the first communication device, a notification notifying that the confirmation data has been received is provided. It is characterized by having a part.

Further, the communication system according to the present invention is characterized in that the notifying section of the second communication device has a light emitting element and notifies that the confirmation data has been received by light emission.

Also, a first communication device according to the present invention,
In a communication method in a communication system including at least one communication device connectable by the first communication device and a second communication device, the first communication device detects the connectable communication device. A candidate discovery step of receiving identification information for identifying the found communication device, a display step of displaying the identification information received in the candidate discovery step, and one piece of identification information from the identification information displayed in the display step. A confirmation step of generating and transmitting confirmation data for confirming the communication apparatus determined by the selected identification information, and the second communication apparatus receiving the confirmation data transmitted in the confirmation step And transmitting a connection request to the server.

Further, in the communication method according to the present invention, the confirmation data transmitted in the confirmation step from the first communication device is received by the second communication device, and the confirmation data is received. Is provided.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless communication system using a communication device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a wireless communication terminal as an example of a communication device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG.
1 is an external view of a wireless communication terminal which is an example of a communication device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a wireless communication terminal as a connection request source terminal, and connects to a terminal in a connectable area of the terminal. Reference numerals 2 to 4 denote wireless communication terminals in a connectable area of the connection request source terminal 1.

In the wireless communication terminal shown in FIG.
Is a user interface unit (UI unit) that presents information to the user and executes processing of an input operation by the user. The UI unit 21 has a function of a candidate finding unit that finds a connectable terminal of the other party. And Reference numeral 22 denotes a data transmission unit that performs data transmission processing in communication between the connection request source terminal 1 and the connectable terminals 2 to 4, and reference numeral 23 denotes a destination address creation unit that creates a destination address of transmission data. , 24 is a transmission data creation unit, and 25 is a confirmation data which is inside the transmission data creation unit and controls transmission of confirmation data for the user to confirm the correspondence between the destination ID and the connection destination terminal. A data receiving unit 26 performs a data receiving process in communication between the connection request source terminal 1 and the connectable terminals 2 to 4.
Reference numeral 7 denotes a destination address comparison unit that compares the destination address of the received data with the address of the own terminal to determine whether to receive or discard the data, 28 denotes a received data processing unit that analyzes the received data, and 29 denotes a received data processing unit. A confirmation data comparison unit that is provided inside the reception data processing unit and determines whether the reception data is confirmation data, and a notification unit 20 notifies the user of the connection request source terminal 1 that the confirmation data has been received. This is a confirmation data reception notifying unit.

In the wireless communication terminal shown in FIG.
Is a light emitting element that notifies the confirmation data transmission terminal user of the receipt of confirmation data by light emission, and is one of the methods of realizing the confirmation data reception notifying unit 20. Reference numeral 32 denotes a display unit for presenting a destination ID list to the user. The destination ID list in the figure shows a case where the destination ID is a terminal holder name. 33 is a confirmation data procedure button for the user to instruct the start of transmission of confirmation data,
34 is a connection start button for instructing transmission of a connection request, 35 is a selection button for the user to select a specific destination ID from the destination ID list presented on the display unit 32, and 36 Is a discovery start button for the user to instruct the start of the discovery procedure.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the connection operation of the connection request source terminal 1 in the wireless communication system of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a connection operation of the connectable terminals 2 to 4 of the connection request source terminal 1 in the wireless communication system of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining about. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the connection operation of the user of the connection request source terminal 1 in the wireless communication system of FIG.

First, in step ST401 of FIG.
When the user presses the discovery start button 36, the UI 21
When the start of the discovery procedure is detected in step ST402, a series of discovery procedures is performed in step ST402. The discovery procedure uses a procedure performed in a conventional wireless communication system. In step ST403, the destination ID list of the connectable terminals created inside the connection request source terminal by the discovery procedure is displayed on the display unit 32. The destination ID of the connection destination terminal can be obtained by a discovery procedure whether it is a device address or a device nickname.
Regarding how to perform the discovery procedure, both cases where the destination ID is a device address and a case where the destination ID is a device nickname will be described. When the destination ID is a device address, the discovery procedure is as follows. The connection request source sends its own device address information to the request source discovery data and sends (broadcasts) it to the connectable terminal. The terminal that has received the discovery data sends its own device address information to the receiver-side discovery data and sends it to the connection request source. FIG. 7 shows a diagram in which the connection request source sends request source discovery data to the connectable terminal, and the connectable terminal returns reception side discovery data as a response to the request source discovery data. When the destination ID is a device nickname, it is assumed that each terminal has both its own device address and device nickname. In this case, for example, the following two procedures can be considered. (1) A method in which, in the discovery procedure, both the device address and the device nickname of the own device are exchanged in the request source discovery data and the receiver discovery data. (2) Connectable terminals (for example, A, A) in the same procedure as when the destination ID is a device address
(B, C), the connection is automatically established with one of the connectable terminals (for example, A), and the device address is obtained as user data. A method is conceivable in which this is performed (all automatically) on the remaining connectable terminals (B, C). In ST403, the destination list is displayed on the display unit 32 for the terminal that has returned the receiving side discovery data to the request source discovery data as a response. Step ST
After one destination ID is selected by the user in 404, a confirmation data transmission start instruction from the user is waited. If transmission start is instructed, a confirmation data transmission procedure is performed in step ST405. FIG. 8 shows an example of the format of the confirmation data transmitted by the confirmation data sending procedure. 8, the confirmation data includes a wireless communication protocol header 40 and user data 42. The wireless communication protocol header 40 includes a destination address 41. The procedure of ST405 is the following two steps. (1) Convert the destination ID selected in ST404 into a device address. -When destination ID = device address: No conversion is required. When the destination ID is a device nickname: Since a correspondence table between a device address and a device nickname has already been created in the terminal in the discovery procedure, conversion is performed based on the table. (2) Send confirmation data in the format shown in FIG. 8 using the device address obtained above as the destination address. After that, in step ST406, the user waits for a connection request transmission instruction by pressing the connection start button, and
At T407, it waits again for a confirmation data transmission start instruction. If there is a confirmation data transmission start instruction, the process returns to ST405. If there is a connection request transmission instruction, step ST
At 408, a connection procedure for specifying a destination ID is performed using the selected destination ID.

The operation of the connection request destination terminal at this time will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, step ST5
In step 01, the presence / absence of confirmation data is checked by the confirmation data comparison unit 29 of the reception data processing unit 28. If there is no confirmation data, it is checked in step ST503 whether a connection request has been received.
Return to 1. When the reception of the confirmation data is detected in step ST501 (the confirmation data detected in ST501 is the confirmation data transmitted in ST405 in FIG. 4).
Turns on the light emitting element in step ST502. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step ST503 to check for a connection request. If connection request reception is detected in step ST503, a connection procedure for specifying a destination ID is performed in step ST504.

The operation of the connection requesting terminal user at this time will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step ST601, the user presses the discovery start button 36 to instruct the start of the discovery procedure. Step ST602
In step ST603, the user selects the destination ID list displayed on the display unit 32, and in step ST603, operates the selection button 35 to select one destination ID from the destination ID list. In step ST604, pressing the confirmation data procedure button 33 instructs transmission of confirmation data to the selected destination ID. Then, in step ST605,
It is confirmed that the light emitting element of the terminal desired to be connected is turned on, and if not turned on, the process returns to step ST603.
If it is turned on, in step ST606, pressing the connection start button 34 instructs transmission of the connection request to the selected destination ID terminal.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the user of the connection requesting terminal checks the destination ID list obtained by the discovery procedure on the display unit 32, and selects the selection button 35 and the confirmation data procedure button. 33 by operating a specific destination ID
Confirmation data can be transmitted to the terminal, and the terminal receiving the confirmation data is configured to be distinguishable from the user of the connection request source terminal.
There is an effect that it is possible to determine which terminal D belongs to without any trouble and trouble.

According to the first embodiment, since the user of the connection request source terminal can visually determine which terminal the destination ID belongs to, it is possible to make an erroneous connection with a terminal that desires connection without troublesome trouble. There is an effect that connection can be made without sex.

As described above, according to the present invention, the user of the connection request source terminal can select the destination ID from the destination ID list and transmit the confirmation data to all terminals in the connectable area. Since the terminal receiving the confirmation data is configured to notify the reception of the data directly to the connection requesting terminal user, the connection requesting terminal user has each destination ID in the destination ID list in the connectable area. There is an effect that it is possible to determine which terminal is to be indicated without troublesome work.

Further, the connection request source terminal user can establish a connection with a desired terminal without complicated work and without the possibility of erroneous connection.

In the first embodiment, in a communication system that requires a procedure for finding a connectable terminal when connecting a terminal in short-range wireless communication, the terminal includes means for displaying all the found connectable terminals, Means for instructing connection to the terminal; means for transmitting confirmation data to the terminal; and means for notifying the user of the origin that the confirmation data has been received. The connection procedure includes a procedure for sending confirmation data between the connection request source terminal and the connectable terminal.

The wireless communication terminal includes means for the user to specify a specific destination ID from the destination ID list obtained in the discovery procedure, means for transmitting confirmation data to the specified destination ID terminal, Means for notifying the user of the confirmation data transmission source terminal of the reception.

Therefore, according to the wireless communication terminal which is an example of the communication device, the user of the connection request source terminal (A) performs a discovery procedure and refers to the destination ID list of the connectable terminal created in A by the procedure. Then, one destination ID is selected from the list, and confirmation data is transmitted to the ID. The terminal that has received the confirmation data informs the user of A that the confirmation data has been received by using a method that can be directly sensed by the user of A. If the terminal that has received the confirmation data is not the desired connection destination terminal, from the destination ID list,
A destination ID other than the ID is selected, and the same procedure as above is performed. If the terminal receiving the confirmation data is the desired connection destination terminal, the user of A can establish a connection with the desired connection destination terminal using the ID.

Therefore, according to the connection procedure of the present invention, the connection request source user can establish a connection with a desired terminal without troublesome work and without erroneously connecting to an undesired partner.

[0030]

As described above, according to the communication system of the present invention, one communication device is selected by the confirmation unit from the identification information of one or more connectable communication devices found by the candidate discovery unit. The confirmation data is transmitted to the selected communication device. For this reason, by receiving the transmitted confirmation data by the selected communication device, it is possible to confirm before the connection that the selected communication device is the desired communication device. For example, if there are a large number of communication devices having the identification information “Suzuki” in the communication area, it has not been possible to confirm which identification information is the communication device of “Suzuki” that the user really wants to connect to. However, since the communication device of the present invention can transmit confirmation data and confirm the communication device that receives the transmitted confirmation data before connection, the communication device can be surely connected to a desired “Suzuki”. is there.

Further, the communication system of the present invention emits light to notify that the notifying section for notifying that the confirmation data has been received has the light emitting element. Therefore, the first communication device that has transmitted the confirmation data can visually confirm the second communication device, and has an effect that the first communication device can surely confirm that it is a partner to be connected.

According to the communication method of the present invention, one communication device is selected in the confirmation step from the identification information of one or more connectable communication devices found in the candidate finding step,
The confirmation data is transmitted to the selected communication device.
For this reason, by receiving the transmitted confirmation data by the selected communication device, it is possible to confirm before the connection that the selected communication device is the desired communication device.

Further, the communication method of the present invention has a notification step of notifying that the confirmation data has been received. For example,
If the second communication device has a light-emitting element and emits light to notify the first communication device that the confirmation data has been received, the user of the first communication device can perform the second communication before the connection. This is effective in that the communication device can be visually confirmed, and the communication device to be connected can be surely confirmed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless communication terminal according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an external view of a wireless communication terminal according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a connection operation of a connection request source terminal in the wireless communication system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a connection operation of connectable terminals 2 to 4 of a connection request source terminal in the wireless communication system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a connection operation of a user of a connection request source terminal in the wireless communication system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a flow of transmission and reception of discovery data.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of confirmation data.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a connection procedure in the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 connection request source wireless communication terminal, 2 to 4 connection request source wireless communication terminals in connectable area, 20 confirmation data reception notifying section, 21 user interface section (UI section), 22 data transmission section, 23 destination address creation section , 24 transmission data creation section, 25 confirmation data transmission section, 26 data reception section, 27 destination address comparison section, 28 reception data processing section, 29 confirmation data comparison section, 31 light emitting element, 32 display section, 33 confirmation data procedure button , 34 connection start button, 35 selection button, 36 discovery start button.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A first communication device, and a second communication device which is at least one communication device connectable by the first communication device.
A communication system comprising:
A communication device that discovers one or more connectable communication devices and receives identification information for identifying the communication device from the discovered communication devices; A display for displaying one or more pieces of identification information, and one or more pieces of identification information displayed by the display
A confirmation unit that selects and identifies two pieces of identification information and generates and transmits confirmation data for confirming the communication device determined by the selected identification information; and the second unit that receives the confirmation data transmitted by the confirmation unit. A transmission unit for transmitting a connection request to the communication device. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the second communication device includes a notification unit that, when the confirmation data is transmitted from the confirmation unit of the first communication device, notifies that the confirmation data has been received. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein 3. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit of the second communication device has a light emitting element and notifies that the confirmation data has been received by light emission. 4. A first communication device and a second communication device which is at least one communication device connectable by the first communication device.
A communication method in a communication system comprising: a candidate discovery step of finding the connectable communication device by the first communication device and receiving identification information for identifying the found communication device; A display step of displaying the identification information received in the candidate finding step; and selecting one identification information from the identification information displayed in the display step to confirm a communication device determined by the selected identification information. A communication comprising: a confirmation step of generating and transmitting confirmation data; and a transmission step of transmitting a connection request to the second communication device that has received the confirmation data transmitted in the confirmation step. Method. 5. A notification step of receiving the confirmation data transmitted from the first communication device in the confirmation step by the second communication device and notifying that the confirmation data has been received. The communication method according to claim 4, wherein: