JP2004013718A - Method for setting electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for setting electronic equipment, which uses an external storage medium (storage media) such as a memory card to easily perform setting, performs setting even without an inputting means and/or a display means such as a keyboard and a liquid crystal display, and further sets electronic equipment that does not have a setting means for simplifying setting and suppressing an occurrence of a setting error in various electronic equipment. <P>SOLUTION: Prescribed setting information for first electronic equipment having a loading part for a storage medium is stored in a storage medium that is loaded on the loading part and is attachable and detachable, the storage medium with the setting information for the first electronic equipment stored therein is mounted on a loading part of second electronic equipment, and a setting control means which is provided in the second electronic equipment, determines the existence/absence of needed setting information and performs prescribed setting processing sets the second electronic equipment from the setting information stored in the storage medium. In such a case, setting can be carried out to even the second electronic equipment that does not have an inputting means and/or a displaying means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention enables various settings to be easily performed in various electronic devices. For example, the present invention is suitably applied to a setting operation of an electronic device that does not have a setting unit such as an input unit and / or a display unit. Related to the setting method of various electronic devices.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In various electronic devices, when these electronic devices are used, it is often necessary to make various settings for the electronic devices depending on the application. For example, in order to connect a personal computer (PC) as an electronic device to the Internet of a global network and use a network communication function such as an e-mail function or a WWW (World Wide Web) browser function, a network connection must be made in advance. ISP (Internet Service Provider) information, mail account information, and the like need to be set in the PC.
[0003]
The ISP information includes a DNS (Domain Name System) of the ISP to be connected, a password, a telephone number of an access point, and the like. In the case of the electronic mail function, the mail account information includes mail user account information, POP (Post Office Protocol) 3 server, and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server information.
[0004]
These pieces of information are input and set one by one using a display device such as a liquid crystal display connected to a PC and an input device such as a keyboard. Furthermore, in order to newly set another PC to be able to use the network communication function such as the e-mail function and the WWW browser function, it is necessary to use a display device and an input device which are similarly connected to the PC. Enter and set one.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, it is difficult to make settings in an electronic device that does not have an input device (input means) such as a keyboard or a display device (display means) such as a liquid crystal display as described above. As described above, a device that does not have a setting unit such as an input unit and / or a display unit for setting the electronic device itself cannot be set as it is.
[0006]
For example, an electronic device having a built-in or externally connected wireless communication function compliant with IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11b or the like is connected to a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) system that transmits and receives data by wireless communication. An example will be described.
[0007]
In this case, for an electronic device to be newly connected, an SSID (Service Set Identifier) indicating a name for identifying a specific wireless LAN or a WEP (Wired Equivalent) which is an encryption key for increasing confidentiality of information in the LAN. (Privacy) Key information must be obtained and set.
[0008]
This SSID is set by giving a desired arbitrary name. The WEPKey is composed of an ASCII character string of 5 bytes or 13 bytes.
[0009]
When newly connecting an electronic device to a wireless LAN, an electronic device having an input device (input means) and a display device (display means) uses a user interface for input while confirming set values with the display device. Settings can be made. It is also possible to connect a wireless connection device without input and display means and an electronic device with input and display means by wire to set the wireless connection device.
However, such setting is very difficult in an electronic device that does not have an input device and a display device such as an input device and a display device and is wirelessly connected.
[0010]
In addition, setting information such as SSID and WEPKey is a sequence of numbers and alphabets, and when directly input by an operator, there is a problem in that it is very troublesome and an input error easily occurs.
[0011]
Furthermore, when a plurality of electronic devices are used in the same wireless LAN environment as described above, it is necessary to input an SSID, a WEPKey, and the like in all the devices of the access point and the client, and input errors may occur. There was a problem that was higher.
[0012]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and enables an electronic device to easily perform a setting operation using an external storage medium (storage medium) such as a memory card. It is an object of the present invention to provide a setting method of an electronic device in which setting can be performed without means and / or display means, further simplifying the setting and suppressing occurrence of setting errors.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a method of setting an electronic device of the present invention, predetermined setting information of a first electronic device having a storage medium loading section is stored in a removable storage medium which is loaded in the loading section and is attached to the first electronic device. This storage medium in which the setting information is stored is mounted on the loading section of the second electronic device, and the setting control for determining whether or not necessary setting information is provided in the second electronic device and performing a predetermined setting process is performed. By means, the setting of the second electronic device is performed based on the setting information stored in the storage medium.
[0014]
According to the present invention, the setting information of the first electronic device is stored in a storage medium detachable from the electronic device, the setting information stored in the storage medium is read, and the second setting information is read from the read setting information. Since the electronic device is set, various settings can be easily made.
[0015]
Further, according to the present invention, when the first electronic device has a wireless communication function and the setting information of the first electronic device includes the setting information for connecting to the wireless communication network, the first electronic device has The second electronic device having a wireless communication function is set by the setting control means based on the setting information, and the second electronic device is connected to the wireless communication network by wireless communication.
[0016]
According to the present invention, the setting information of the wireless communication network of the first electronic device is stored in the storage medium, the setting information stored in the storage medium is read, and the second electronic device is read from the read setting information. Since the setting of the device is performed, the connection setting of the wireless communication network can be easily performed.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of a method for setting an electronic device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0018]
FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless LAN system (wireless LAN) called an infrastructure mode. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an access point (AP), which indicates a state in which an electronic device 2 having a wireless communication function is connected to the access point 1 by wireless communication (hereinafter referred to as wireless connection). Further, in this example, an Internet provider connects to the Internet via the access point 1.
[0019]
For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a tuner for receiving a television (television) broadcast is built in or connected to the wireless LAN constructed in a limited area such as a house. The base device 1 is a server that functions as an information source, such as a telephone line connected via a modem, and that functions as an access point. A command is issued to the terminal to receive a television image from the base device 1, receive information on the Internet via the base device 1, display an image or information on a display, and display the image or information via the base device 1. And a display terminal device 2 having a function of sending and receiving e-mails.
[0020]
The wireless communication between the base apparatus 1 and the display terminal apparatus 2 uses, for example, a frequency of 2.4 GHz, and a wireless communication function compliant with the IEEE 802.11b standard is built in or externally connected. -It is performed by an SS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) method or the like. In this example, the compliant standard may be IEEE802.11a, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like, and a wireless communication function may be built in or externally connected to the device so long as wireless communication can be performed with a desired device. The method is not limited to this.
[0021]
In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, the display terminal device 2 may have a wireless communication function and the base device 1 may have a function as a wireless LAN access point and perform wireless connection. As a communication method between electronic devices when the electronic device does not have a wireless communication function as in this example, a wireless LAN PC card is inserted into a PC card slot of the electronic device, and the wireless LAN Wireless connection to an access point via a PC card, or installation of a wireless LAN adapter using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal mounted on an electronic device for wireless connection may be considered.
[0022]
In this example, the communication setting between the base device 1 and the display terminal device 2 is assumed to have completed the setting of the SSID for identifying the wireless LAN and the WEPKey of the encryption key before shipping from the factory. .
[0023]
FIG. 2 shows a front view and a side view of an example of the display terminal device. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the display terminal device 2 is self-standing by a stand 23, and FIG. 4 shows a side view of the base device 1.
[0024]
At predetermined positions on the front and rear sides of the display terminal device 2, patch antennas for wireless communication (not shown) are provided, each of which forms a radiation pattern on a hemispherical surface. By selecting a patch antenna that actually performs transmission and reception based on the level information, an antenna having a totally spherical radiation pattern is formed as the whole patch antenna.
[0025]
A similar patch antenna is also provided in a base device 1 to be described later and forms an antenna having a totally spherical radiation pattern. Therefore, regardless of the positional relationship between the display terminal device 2 and the base device 1, Wireless communication between the display terminal device 2 and the base device 1 is performed favorably. Therefore, the display terminal device 2 can be used away from the base device 1 within a predetermined distance range. For example, each service provided by the base device 1 can be provided by bringing the display terminal device 2 to an arbitrary place such as a house or a garden. Available.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 2, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 21 as a display unit is provided on the front of the display terminal device 2, and a transparent touch panel 22 as a coordinate input unit is laminated on the display screen. I have. The display terminal device 2 alone can execute so-called drawing or browsing of stored images using an attached touch pen (not shown). Further, speakers 227 and 228 are provided on the upper left and right sides of the LCD 21.
[0027]
Although the display terminal device 2 can be used by holding it in a hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a stand 23 can be set up and the display terminal device 2 can be supported on a suitable surface at a desired angle to be self-standing. .
[0028]
Further, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 4, the display terminal device 2 can be used by leaning on a predetermined portion of the base device 1. At this time, the display terminal device 2 has a function of charging a battery built in the display terminal device 2 by contacting a charging terminal (not shown) provided on each of the base device 1 and the base device 1.
[0029]
Reference numeral 41 denotes a slot into which a storage medium (storage medium) such as a memory card 40 made of a semiconductor memory or the like is inserted. Information to be stored such as files, images, and setting information can be stored in the memory card 40 inserted into the slot 41. This slot may be provided in the base device 1 as an access point.
[0030]
FIG. 6 shows an example of a functional block configuration of the base device 1. It has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 171 as control means for performing various controls, and functions as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 172 in which programs to be executed by the CPU 171 and fixed data are written, and a work area of the CPU 171. RAMs (Random Access Memory) 173 are connected to the bus 170.
[0031]
A VHF / UHF antenna 113 is connected to the terminal 143, and the received terrestrial television broadcast signal is tuned and demodulated by a VHF / UHF tuner 153 in the base device 1, and furthermore, video data, audio data, etc. After that, it is connected to the bus 170.
[0032]
A telephone line is connected to the terminal 141, and the terminal 141 is connected to the bus 170 via the line interface 151 and the modem 152.
[0033]
An external device, such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) player, is connected to the terminal 144, and video data and audio data are transmitted to the bus 170 via the external input interface 154 in the base device 1. . Alternatively, the number of input terminals from other external devices is increased, for example, a digital CS tuner or a digital BS tuner is connected. From this, video data and audio data are supplied to an external input interface provided separately and supplied to the bus 170. It may be transmitted.
[0034]
A wireless communication unit 110 is connected to the bus 170, and various data and commands to be transmitted from the base device 1 to the display terminal device 2 are modulated by a predetermined modulation method such as DS-SS in the wireless communication unit 110. The signal is transmitted to the display terminal device 2 from an antenna 111 such as a patch antenna. Further, commands and various data transmitted from the display terminal device 2 are received by the antenna 111, demodulated by the wireless communication unit 110, and transmitted to the bus 170.
[0035]
FIG. 7 shows an example of a functional block configuration of the display terminal device 2. A CPU 271 or the like is provided as control means for performing various controls. A ROM 272 in which programs to be executed by the CPU 271 and fixed data are written, and a RAM 273 functioning as a work area of the CPU 271 are connected to the bus 270. .
[0036]
A user memory in which an image file or the like (not shown) is written is connected to the bus 270, and an external storage medium such as the memory card 40 is mounted in the slot 41 shown in FIG. 270.
[0037]
Further, the bus 270 is connected to the LCD 21 via the display control unit 221, and the speakers 227 and 228 via the D / A converter 225 and the audio amplifier circuit 226.
[0038]
Also, the coordinates and icons of the part selected by the touch pen or the finger on the touch panel 22 are detected by the coordinate detecting unit 222 and sent to the bus 270, and the index button is switched to the index screen with one touch shown in FIG. 2A. Commands from the operation unit 203 including 230 and the like are sent to the bus 170 via the interface 223.
[0039]
The display terminal device 2 can display a keyboard called a soft keyboard on the LCD 21 as necessary. For example, FIG. 5A shows a screen for creating an e-mail using the e-mail function. When the screen is touched with a touch pen or the like, the soft keyboard 30 shown in FIG. 5B is multi-window displayed on the e-mail creation screen. . The displayed soft keyboard 30 can be appropriately moved to a position where it does not interfere with operations such as text creation. Alternatively, a keyboard may be externally connected as a hardware device to the display terminal device 2 instead of the soft keyboard.
[0040]
It should be noted that the display terminal device 2 of this example has only to have a wireless communication function and can be wirelessly connected to an access point, and various electronic devices such as a personal computer and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) can be applied.
[0041]
In such a configuration of the present example, as shown in FIG. 1, a video camera having a wireless communication function as an electronic device is newly added to a wireless LAN configured by a base device 1 as a current access point and a display terminal device 2. Consider a case where a wireless connection is made to a wireless camera 3 (hereinafter referred to as a network camera).
[0042]
In order to wirelessly connect the network camera 3 and the base apparatus 1 and allow the respective apparatuses to perform wireless communication with each other, all information of the SSID and the WEPKey of each electronic apparatus wirelessly connected to the base apparatus 1 must be used. It is necessary to set information common to this wireless LAN. When connecting to a global network such as the Internet, the network communication function of each electronic device is set. Furthermore, a different local IP address must be set for each unique information of the electronic device.
[0043]
First, a setting file is created in the memory card. The operator inserts the memory card 40 into the slot 41 of the display terminal device 2. Next, the setting button arranged at the lower right of the LCD 21 shown in FIG. Displays the setting screen for setting.
[0044]
Then, in the user interface displayed on the LCD 21 as shown in FIG. 8, by selecting and touching the setting copy button 24 for copying setting information for performing wireless communication to the memory card 40, the display terminal device 2 is displayed. Is copied and stored in the memory card.
[0045]
When the copy is performed, a setting file in a text format in which the SSID 27 and the WEPKey 28 are described as shown in FIG. 9 is created in the memory card 40, for example. When the local IP address of the electronic device to be set, such as the network camera 3, is obtained from the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server, the creation of the setting file ends here.
[0046]
On the other hand, when manually determining the local IP address of the electronic device to be set, the user inputs the IP address of the electronic device to be set in the IP address input field 25 shown in FIG. Thereby, the input IP address is written in the setting file in the memory card. At this time, the setting file created in the memory card contains not only the SSID 27 and the WEPKey 28 but also the IP address 29 as shown in FIG.
[0047]
Here, if there is no dedicated user interface for setting the wireless connection shown in FIG. 8, the operator creates a setting file as shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10 in the memory card. This file describes the SSID 27 and the WEPKey 28 in a text format. When setting the IP address manually, the user also inputs the IP address 29 on the setting screen. The setting file is stored in the memory card 40 with a predetermined file name, and is the same as the setting file created when the file is copied using the user interface shown in FIG.
[0048]
Next, the operator inserts the memory card 40 storing the setting file created by the above-described procedure into a memory card slot (not shown) of the network camera 3 and turns on the power. The network camera 3 reads necessary setting information from the memory card 40 at startup.
[0049]
In the network camera 3, a program executed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is recorded in a built-in ROM, and according to this flowchart, setting information of setting information is set by setting control means such as a CPU (not shown) mounted on the network camera 3. The reading is performed, the presence or absence of necessary information is determined, and a predetermined setting is performed.
[0050]
First, after turning on the power of the network camera 3 (step S1), it is determined whether or not a memory card is inserted into a slot of the network camera 3 (step S2). If the memory card is not inserted, the setting fails.
[0051]
If the memory card 40 is inserted in the slot, it is determined whether a setting file exists in the memory card (step S3). If no setting file exists, the setting fails. The determination of the existence of the setting file is performed by confirming whether a predetermined file name exists.
[0052]
If a setting file exists in the memory card, it is determined whether the SSID and WEPKey (encryption key) are described in the setting file (step S4). The setting of the wireless connection fails.
[0053]
If the SSID and the WEPKey are described in the memory card, they are read into the network camera 3 and set (step S5).
[0054]
Next, it is determined whether or not the IP address 29 is described (step S6). If the IP address 29 is described, the IP address 29 is read and set (step S7) to connect to the wireless LAN. The necessary setting work is completed.
[0055]
In addition, if the IP address 29 is not described in the setting file in step S6, the IP address is obtained from the DHCP server (step S8). If the IP address can be normally obtained from the DHCP server (step S9), the obtained IP address is set in the network camera 3 (step S10), and the setting is completed. However, if the IP address cannot be obtained from the DHCP server, the setting fails.
[0056]
When the setting is completed, the display terminal device 2 and the network camera 3 are wirelessly connected via the base device 1 as an access point, and the network communication function is also set in this example. Then, for example, an image taken by the network camera 3 is selected from the thumbnail album of the display terminal device 2 shown in FIG. 1, and the image is taken in from the network camera 3, and edited and managed using the album editing function. Or the image data and the like can be distributed from the network camera 3 to the Internet.
[0057]
By the same setting method as that of the network camera 3 described above, any number of electronic devices with a wireless communication function such as the printer 4 can be wirelessly connected within the range of connectable points of the base device 1 as an access point. The setting of the wireless connection in the LAN becomes possible.
[0058]
In the case where the IP address is changed from the current IPv4 (Internet Protocol version.4) to the IPv6 (Internet Protocol version.6) system in the future, the electronic device is connected to the Internet only and connected to the Internet. It is possible to obtain a usable global IP address for each electronic device (stateless address automatic setting).
[0059]
Therefore, in the case of IPv6, in the flowchart of FIG. 11, the IP address indicates the global IP address, and in step S8, whether to acquire by the stateless address automatic setting in addition to the assignment of the global IP address by the HPCP server is selected. You can do it.
[0060]
The electronic device wirelessly connected in the example of FIG. 1 has a wireless communication function and a slot and an interface for a memory card, and a setting program suitable for the application is installed in the electronic device, and a predetermined control is performed by a setting control unit such as a CPU. Since various settings can be made, various electronic devices can be applied without being limited to network cameras and printers.
[0061]
Also, the present embodiment may be applied to setting of a wireless LAN in an ad-hot mode instead of the infrastructure mode, and setting of a wireless LAN, a network communication function such as the Internet, or the like may be performed.
[0062]
According to this example, the setting information of the display terminal device 2 is stored in the memory card 40, the setting information stored in the memory card 40 is read into the network camera 3, and the network camera 3 and the like are read based on the read setting information. Since the setting of the device is performed, necessary setting can be easily performed.
In particular, even in an electronic device that does not have input / output means such as a keyboard and a liquid crystal display for setting, various settings can be easily performed.For example, when making various existing devices wireless, Very effective.
[0063]
In addition, even for settings that are difficult for beginners, it is only necessary to insert a memory card into the device and activate it, so it is easy to set without obscure settings and reduce input errors. Can be. As a result, further spread of electronic devices and wireless connection devices can be expected.
[0064]
Further, the contents of the setting information can be confirmed and corrected by browsing the setting file in the memory card, so that the usability is improved even for advanced users.
[0065]
Furthermore, since the setting information is stored in the memory card and the electronic device is set via the memory card, the same device can be used with different settings. Since it is only necessary to prepare a card, the usage environment of the device is not restricted and the usage method is expected to be developed. For example, if each family member uses different settings, the setting information is stored in different memory cards according to each setting information, and when using an electronic device, the memory card is exchanged for each individual, so that each individual's preference can be changed. You can easily change the settings of the electronic device to suit.
[0066]
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various other configurations can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention.
[0067]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the setting information is stored in a storage medium that is detachable from the electronic device, and the setting information read from the storage medium is used by the setting control unit provided in the newly set electronic device to perform the predetermined setting. , Various settings of the electronic device can be easily performed. Further, even in the case of an electronic device having no setting means such as an input means and / or a display means, various necessary settings can be easily performed.
[0068]
Further, according to the present invention, when setting the wireless communication connection of the electronic device, the setting information of the wireless communication network is stored in the storage medium, and the setting of the electronic device to be connected by the wireless communication is performed based on the setting information read from the storage medium. Since the communication connection setting is performed, the connection setting of the wireless communication can be easily performed, which is very effective when making various existing devices wireless.
Also, at this time, since there is no manual input operation of the identification name of the wireless communication network, the encryption key, the unique information of the electronic device, and the like, input errors can be suppressed, and further spread of electronic devices such as wireless communication connection devices can be expected. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a wireless LAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows an example of a display terminal device, where A is a front view. B is a side view.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which a stand of the display terminal device is opened and made independent.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the base device.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for describing the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a base device.
FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of a display terminal device.
FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for describing the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an embodiment of a method for setting an electronic device according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 access point, 2, 3, 4 ... electronic equipment, 40 ... memory card, 41 ... slot, 171, 271 ... CPU

Claims (6)

Storing predetermined setting information of the first electronic device having a storage medium loading section in a removable storage medium loaded in the loading section;
Loading the storage medium in which the setting information of the first electronic device is stored into a loading unit of a second electronic device;
The setting control means, which is provided in the second electronic device and determines whether or not necessary setting information is present, performs a predetermined setting process, based on the setting information stored in the storage medium, A setting method for an electronic device, wherein the setting is performed. The electronic device setting method according to claim 1,
When the power of the second electronic device is turned on, the setting control unit senses that the storage medium is loaded in the loading unit of the second electronic device,
A method of setting an electronic device, wherein the setting of the second electronic device is started. The electronic device setting method according to claim 1,
A method for setting an electronic device, wherein the second electronic device has no input means and / or display means. The electronic device setting method according to claim 1,
When the first electronic device has a wireless communication function, and the setting information of the first electronic device includes setting information for connecting to a wireless communication network,
The setting control unit performs setting of the second electronic device having a wireless communication function from the setting information of the first electronic device, and connects the second electronic device to the wireless communication network by wireless communication. A method for setting an electronic device, characterized in that: In the electronic device setting method according to claim 4,
The setting method of an electronic device, wherein the setting information set in the second electronic device includes at least an identification name of the wireless communication network, an encryption key, and unique information of the second electronic device. The electronic device setting method according to claim 5,
The method for setting an electronic device, wherein the unique information is a global IP address or a local IP address.

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