JP2002247052A - Communication network system, constructing method of communication network and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily construct a temporary short distance communication network only by simple operations among members to constitute a group according to a place. SOLUTION: This communication network system is provided with an input step M01 to input a keyword of the group, a search step M02 to search other terminal to transmit the same keyword as the keyword inputted by the input step M01, a display step M03 to display of identification information of the terminal obtained by searching on a list, approval steps M04, M05 to approve that the identification information of the terminal displayed on the list is a member of the group to form the network and communication control steps M06 to M08 to perform communication of information on the network to be formed by the approved terminal and the present machine.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a short-distance communication network system for constructing a short-distance wireless communication network between a plurality of portable devices and exchanging information by using, for example, infrared communication or weak radio waves. The present invention relates to a network construction method and a program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a function of performing short-range wireless communication within a range of, for example, about 10 [m] using infrared communication or weak radio waves has been mounted on a notebook-type personal computer or a handheld terminal device. Attempts have been made to exchange business cards, distribute various materials, and the like with electronic information in such places.

In addition to the above-mentioned personal computers and hand-held terminal devices, products capable of exchanging image information such as business cards with an infrared communication function have already been put to practical use in portable telephones and wristwatch-type terminals.

[0004]

In the information exchange by the conventional short-range wireless communication technology, the connection between two terminals is facilitated by omitting an authentication procedure at the time of interconnection.
Therefore, a network of three or more devices cannot be constructed, and information can only be exchanged between two terminals connected at an early timing.

[0005] Techniques for connecting a large number of devices each capable of wireless communication connection to a network have conventionally existed. However, each of them has to identify the connection partner in advance, and therefore, ID information of the connection partner is required. And IP (Infor
It is necessary to register the information provided by the information provider. In addition, when performing an authentication procedure using a password in order to avoid an undesired connection, the password of the connection partner must be registered in advance. Must.

[0006] Therefore, it takes time to set up a connection, so there is no problem if the connection partner is fixed. However, each time a temporary member brings a terminal to construct a network and exchange information. In such a case, it is difficult to quickly construct a temporary network because the ID information of the other party is not known in advance.

[0007] In addition, if the password of the other party is not known in advance, it is impossible to construct a new temporary network without confusion when there is another group nearby.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object to provide temporary short-range communication easily by only a simple operation between members constituting a group according to the situation. An object of the present invention is to provide a short-range communication network system capable of building a network, a short-range communication network building method, and a program.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A communication network system formed by a plurality of terminals by short-range wireless communication, wherein first input means for inputting a keyword of the group, and the same keyword as the keyword input by the first input means is transmitted. Search means for searching for another terminal to come, display means for displaying a list of terminal identification information obtained by the search means, and a group forming a network with respect to the identification information of the terminals listed by the display means A group leader comprising: an approval unit for approving a member of the group; and first communication control unit for communicating information on a network formed by the terminal and the own device approved by the approval unit. Terminal (hereinafter referred to as a "leader machine"), a second input means for inputting a keyword of the group, and an input using the second input means. Transmitting means for transmitting the keyword and the identification information of the own device to the reader device; by the approval given from the reader device, communication of information on a network formed by a plurality of terminals including the own device and the reader device is performed. And a terminal that is a member of a group and includes a second communication control unit that performs the communication.

With such a system configuration, it is possible to easily construct an extraordinary short-distance communication network by only a simple operation between the leader and the members constituting the group according to the situation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of constructing a communication network formed by a plurality of terminals by short-range wireless communication, wherein an input step of inputting a keyword of the group, and an input step for inputting a keyword of the group. A search step of searching for another terminal that transmits the same keyword as the keyword, a display step of displaying a list of the identification information of the terminal obtained in the search step, and a display step of the terminal displayed in this display step. An approval step of approving the identification information as being a member of a group forming a network; and a communication control step of performing information communication on a network formed by the terminal and the own apparatus approved in the approval step. It is characterized by having.

According to such a method, a temporary short-range communication network can be easily constructed by a simple operation by a terminal device which is a group leader according to the situation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for constructing a communication network formed by a plurality of terminals by short-range wireless communication, wherein an input step of inputting a keyword of a group, and a keyword input in the input step Transmitting the information and the identification information of the own device, and, by an approval given from another terminal corresponding to the transmitting means, communication of information on a network formed by a plurality of terminals including the own device is performed. And a communication control step to perform.

According to such a method, it becomes possible to easily join the temporary short-range communication network by a simple operation by a terminal which is a member of the group according to the situation.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program executed by a computer having a terminal having a short-distance wireless communication function, wherein the inputting step includes inputting a keyword of the group, and A search step of searching for another terminal that transmits the same keyword as the keyword, a display step of displaying a list of identification information of the terminal obtained in the search step, and a display step of the terminal list displayed in the display step. An approval step of approving the identification information as being a member of a group forming a network, and a communication control step of communicating information over a network formed by the terminal and the own apparatus approved in the approval step. Is executed by a computer.

With such a program configuration, it is possible to easily construct a temporary short-range communication network by a simple operation by a terminal as a group leader according to the situation.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program executed by a computer having a terminal having a short-range wireless communication function, wherein the input step includes inputting a keyword of a group, and the keyword input in the input step. Transmitting information and identification information of the own device, and, by an approval given from another terminal corresponding to the transmitting means, communication of information on a network formed by a plurality of terminals including the own device is performed. And performing a communication control step to be performed by a computer.

With such a program configuration, it becomes possible to easily participate in the temporary short-range communication network by a simple operation by a terminal which is a member of the group according to the situation.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION As one embodiment of the present invention, a short-range communication network system is constructed by applying Bluetooth (hereinafter referred to as "Bluetooth") technology in which IEEE 802.11 standard specifications are defined as basic specifications. The case will be described.

FIG. 1 shows the concept when constructing a network according to the present embodiment.

In this case, seven persons using terminals each equipped with a Bluetooth communication function,
We are trying to form two groups, each of which forms a short-distance communication network.

In the figure, four people standing on the left side declare that one of them is a leader, and that the keyword for network construction is "number 1".
This indicates that the terminal owned by the person who declared this is the master, and the terminal owned by the other three group members is to be used as a slave to establish a Bluetooth network.

On the other hand, in the figure, three persons seated on the right side declare that one of them is a leader and that the keyword of the network construction is the alphabet "A". This indicates that the terminal owned by the person is the master, and the terminal owned by the other two members of the group is the slave, and the terminal intends to construct a Bluetooth network.

FIG. 2 shows a basic circuit configuration common to the terminals owned by the seven persons shown in FIG. 1, respectively. The unit 12, the key input unit 13, the display unit 14, and the storage unit 15 are connected.

The Bluetooth communication unit 12 uses the antenna 16 to transmit 2.45 [GH] based on the Bluetooth technology.
z] ISM (Industrial Scienti
fic Medical) transmission / reception using a frequency band.

The key input unit 13 performs input of keywords, instructions of various commands, input of data, and the like.

The display unit 14 displays key operation contents of the key input unit 13, information acquired through communication, and the like.

The storage section 15 stores programs and data necessary for various operations, including an application program for constructing a temporary network using the Bluetooth technology described later, and stores the programs and data as shown in FIG. A storage unit 15a for storing determination information indicating whether the terminal functions as a master unit or a slave unit, and a storage unit 15b for storing keyword information of the network as shown in FIG. 3 (2). And, as shown in FIG. 3 (3), when the terminal functions as a master, it has a storage unit 15c for storing the ID of each slave participating in the network. .

That is, the terminal having the basic circuit configuration shown in FIG. 2 functions as both a master unit and a slave unit as necessary, and as shown in FIG. 1, a keyword is input first. In the above, the terminal owned by the person who declared it becomes the master machine, and the terminal owned by the person who inputs the keyword after receiving the declaration becomes the slave machine.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

FIG. 4 mainly shows the contents of processing at the time of constructing a network in a terminal used as a master machine.
(Step M01).

At this time, the content of the discrimination information storage unit 15a of the storage unit 15 of the master unit becomes "1" indicating that the unit is the master unit, and the keyword storage unit 15b stores the keyword "1" input by key. Is set.

The person who owns the master machine declares what the keyword is at the same time as shown in FIG. 1. As the keyword, a complicated character string may be used. As long as the network can be distinguished from other adjacent groups only while the network is constructed, a simple single character (digit) such as the numeral "1" or the alphabet "A" as shown in FIG. it is conceivable that.

After the key input as a keyword is completed in the master device, an SD (Service Discovery) function for identifying each Bluetooth service in accordance with a basic Bluetooth procedure to make the device function as the master device. 2.) Search for the corresponding application and obtain the ID by the protocol (step M02).

FIG. 6 shows that the master machine M indicated by a black circle is provided with ID information ID1 to ID from slave devices S1 to S5 indicated by white circles existing in a predetermined short-range communication area Am.
5 and the slave unit S6 that is out of the communication range Am
Exemplifies a state where ID information cannot be obtained.

When the master unit has obtained the ID information of the communicable slave units, the master unit obtains the next keyword from the slave units, and obtains the keyword that matches the keyword input in step M01. Only the slave units that can obtain the ID information are displayed as a list on the display unit 14 (step M03).

FIG. 7 shows that the keyword "1" is obtained from the slave units S1 to S3 in accordance with the declaration of the owner of the terminal unit serving as the master unit, while the slave units S4 and S5 receive the keyword "1". Is a keyword "A" different from the declaration
Indicates a state in which is obtained.

Therefore, in the master unit M, it is assumed that keywords matching the key-input keyword can be obtained only from the slave units S1 to S3, and the ID information thereof is displayed in a list on the display unit 14. Become.

The owner of the master unit can use the display unit 1
Looking at the contents displayed in the list in step 4, whether or not to construct a temporary network in a group of which the members are members, an approval operation of the group, specifically, whether the operation is “OK” or “NG” A selection operation is performed (step M04), and it is determined whether or not to end group approval and shift to actual network construction based on whether or not "OK" for approving a group is selected in accordance with the operation content. (Step M05).

If it is determined that "OK" to approve the group has not been selected and "NG" has been selected and operated, the procedure returns to step M01 again, and the operation is started from the keyword input and declaration. Start over.

When it is determined in step M05 that "OK" for approving the group has been selected, the slave ID storage unit 15c of the storage unit 15 immediately determines that a temporary network is formed by ID information from each slave unit.
(Step M06), and thereafter execute information exchange processing in the network (step M0).
7) It is determined whether or not an operation for terminating the temporary network has been performed (step M08).

FIG. 8 shows a state in which a temporary network is formed in this manner. All the slave units S1 to S3 are connected to the master unit M and the slave units S4 and S5 whose keywords do not match each other are connected to the slave units S4 and S5. Indicates a disconnected state.

In the information exchange process in the network, the master device M is executed by mediating all the operations. In the network, information is exchanged from one slave device to another slave device in the network. From one slave machine to the master machine M and all other slave machines, from all slave machines to the master machine M, and from the master machine M to all slave machines, etc., depending on the intention of the information sender. The master machine M controls transmission of information.

In the state where the temporary network is once formed and the information exchange process is being performed, since the master machine M grasps the ID information of each of the slave machines S1 to S3, it takes time to input keywords or the like. Is unnecessary, and a similar temporary network is formed in the adjacent area,
Even if the keywords used in the temporary network coincide with each other, no confusion occurs.

When it is determined in step M08 that an operation for terminating the temporary network has been performed,
The master machine M executes a network termination process (step M09), and terminates this process.

The network termination processing includes, for example, a method of executing a network release processing procedure from the master device M to the slave devices S1 to S3, a method of simply stopping the operation of an application program of the communication network,
In addition, a method of turning off the power of at least the Bluetooth communication unit 12 of the terminal may be considered.

As described above, in the master unit M, it is possible to easily construct an extraordinary short-distance communication network simply by performing simple operations to become a group leader according to the situation.

Next, the contents of processing on the slave device side when the temporary network is constructed will be described with reference to FIG.

At the beginning of the processing, the slave unit inputs a keyword declared by the owner of the master unit into the key input unit 13.
(Step S01). In this state, the entered keyword is stored and set in the keyword storage unit 15b. In this state, it is repeatedly determined whether or not there is an inquiry about ID information from the master machine (step S02) and whether or not to repeat the keyword input operation (step S03). By doing so, if it is determined that the processing is to be waited for and the processing is to be started over in step S03, that is, if the operation of inputting the keyword by the owner of this slave unit is erroneously performed and the correction is continuously performed, Step S01 again
Return to the processing from.

When it is determined in step S02 that there has been an inquiry for ID information from the master unit,
After storing “0” indicating that this unit will operate as a slave unit in the discrimination information storage unit 15a of the storage unit 15, the ID information of the own unit is transmitted and output as a response to the inquiry (step S04). .

Thereafter, it is determined whether there is an inquiry about the keyword from the master machine (step S05), and whether the input operation of the keyword is to be performed again (step S06).
Are repeated, and if these are determined to be redone at step S06, that is, if the owner of this slave unit still makes a mistake in inputting the keyword and corrects it, If the processing is continuously performed, the processing returns to the processing from step S01 again to deal with this.

When it is determined in step S05 that there has been an inquiry for a keyword from the master unit, the keyword stored in the keyword storage unit 15b of the storage unit 15 is read out and transmitted and output in order to respond to the inquiry ( Step S07).

Next, whether or not there is a notice of the formation of the network from the master machine (step S08) and whether or not to repeat the operation of inputting the keyword (step S09) are repeatedly determined. If it is determined in step S09 that it is necessary to start over,
In other words, if the owner of the slave unit continues to make an operation to correct the keyword by mistake while inputting the keyword, the process returns to step S01 again to deal with this.

When it is determined in step S08 that a notification of network formation has been received from the master machine,
A response is made to the master device to participate in the formed network (step S10), and thereafter, information exchange processing within the network is executed (step S1).
1), it is determined whether or not an operation for terminating the temporary network has been performed (step S12).

When it is determined in step S12 that an operation for terminating the temporary network has been performed, the slave unit executes network termination processing (step S12).
13) This ends the process.

As described above, even in the slave unit, it is possible to easily participate in the temporary short-range communication network simply by performing simple operations as a member of the group according to the situation.

As a result, the leader and the members constituting the group according to the situation can easily perform the temporary short-distance by simply performing their own terminals as the master unit and the slave unit. It is possible to construct a communication network.

FIGS. 6 to 8 show that one of the four persons on the left side in FIG.
This is an example in which the master machine M is the center, and all the other persons are seen as slave machines. However, actually, one of the three persons on the right side in FIG. In order to construct a network by another group with the keyword "A", the terminal is used as a master, and the operation is the same as described above.

Further, each terminal has been described as being operable as either a master or a slave in accordance with the timing of inputting a keyword first. It may be set so that it only operates.

Further, in the above embodiment, the Bluetooth technology is used to construct a network by short-range communication. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more terminals within a short distance may be used. Of course, any standardized technology that can wirelessly connect the devices can be applied.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments, at least one of the problems described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved and the effects described in the column of the effect of the invention can be solved. In a case where at least one of the effects described above is obtained, a configuration in which this component is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0063]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily construct a temporary short-range communication network by only a simple operation between a leader and a member constituting a group according to the situation. It becomes.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a temporary short-range communication network can be easily constructed by a simple operation using a terminal which is a group leader according to the situation.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily join a temporary short-range communication network by a simple operation by a terminal which is a member of a group according to the situation.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily construct a temporary short-range communication network by a simple operation using a terminal which is a group leader according to the situation.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily join a temporary short-range communication network by a simple operation using a terminal which is a member of a group according to the situation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a concept when a network is constructed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram showing a basic circuit configuration common to the terminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of each information storage unit provided in the storage unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart showing processing contents of the master device when a temporary network is constructed according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart showing the processing contents of a slave device when a temporary network is constructed according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary view showing a connection procedure at the time of constructing a temporary network according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary view showing a connection procedure at the time of constructing a temporary network according to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary view showing a connection procedure at the time of constructing a temporary network according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Control part 12 ... Bluetooth communication part 13 ... Key input part 14 ... Display part 15 ... Storage part 15a ... Discrimination information storage part 15b ... Keyword storage part 15c ... Slave ID storage part 16 ... Antenna Am ... Near field communication area M ... Master machine S1-S6 ... Slave machine

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A communication network system formed by a plurality of terminals by short-range wireless communication, wherein first input means for inputting a keyword of the group,
Search means for searching for another terminal transmitting the same keyword as the keyword input by the first input means, display means for displaying a list of terminal identification information obtained by the search means, and this display means Approval means for approving the identification information of the terminals displayed in the list as being a member of the group forming the network, and information on the network formed between the terminal approved by the approval means and the own apparatus. A terminal (hereinafter, referred to as a "leader") serving as a leader of a group, including first communication control means for performing communication, a second input means for inputting a keyword of the group, and a second input means. Transmitting means for transmitting the input keyword and the identification information of the own device to the reader device, and by the approval given by the reader device, the own device and the reader device A communication network system comprising: a terminal which is a member of a group, comprising: a second communication control means for performing information communication on a network formed by a plurality of terminals including: 2. A method of constructing a communication network formed by a plurality of terminals by short-range wireless communication, comprising: an input step of inputting a keyword of the group; and a keyword identical to the keyword input in the input step. A search step for searching for another terminal to be transmitted; a display step for displaying a list of terminal identification information obtained in the search step; and a network for the terminal identification information listed in the display step. And a communication control step of communicating information on a network formed by the terminal and the terminal itself that have been approved in this approval step. How to build a communication network. 3. A method for constructing a communication network formed by a plurality of terminals by short-range wireless communication, comprising: an input step of inputting a keyword of a group; and a keyword input in the input step and identification information of the own apparatus. And a communication control step of performing information communication on a network formed by a plurality of terminals including the own terminal by an approval given from another terminal corresponding to the transmitting means. A method for constructing a communication network, characterized by having 4. A program executed by a computer built in a terminal having a short-distance wireless communication function, comprising: an input step of inputting a keyword of the group; and a keyword identical to the keyword input in the input step. A search step of searching for another terminal to be transmitted; a display step of displaying a list of terminal identification information obtained in the search step; and a network for the terminal identification information listed in the display step. Causing a computer to execute an approval process of approving that the terminal device is a member of a group forming the communication device, and a communication control process of communicating information on a network formed between the terminal device approved in the approval process and the own device. Program characterized by the following. 5. A program executed by a computer having a terminal having a short-range wireless communication function built therein, comprising: an inputting step of inputting a keyword of a group; a keyword input in the inputting step and identification information of the terminal itself. And a communication control step of performing information communication on a network formed by a plurality of terminals including the own terminal by an approval given from another terminal corresponding to the transmitting means. A program that is executed by a computer.