JP2004178187A - Radio communication authentication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio communication authentication device capable of safely and easily recognizing an opposite apparatus at the time of constructing and using a peer-to-peer simple network without needing any access point. <P>SOLUTION: The opposite apparatus 1 displays information for obtaining the permission of communication by a digital camera 10 to the opposite apparatus 1 at an image display part 2. The digital camera 10 acquires bar code information displayed at the image display part 2 of the opposite apparatus 1 of the other party by an image pickup element 20. The acquired bar code information is analyzed by an information recognizing part 60, and finally recognized as numerics or character information. The recognized information is transmitted from a communicating part 40 to a communicating part 4 of the oppsite apparatus 1 as an authentication password for acquiring the permission of the transmission/reception of data to the opposite apparatus 1. An authenticating part 3 of the opposite apparatus 1 carries out authentication by using information transmitted from the communicating part 40 of the digital camera 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an authentication processing technique for communicating with a counterpart device in a digital camera.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, various electronic devices have been requested to connect to a network. Connecting to a network provides many advantages such as remote operation of equipment and transmission of information to remote locations. However, the physical connection between devices using cables or fibers, which is the most common connection form, has a drawback of a configuration restriction due to the restriction of the cable length. Therefore, a wireless connection method is desired particularly for portable small electronic devices.
[0003]
Currently, there are IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth as a standard for general wireless connection methods. IEEE802.11 is defined based on the network hierarchy model of IEEE802.3, which is the standard of Ethernet (registered trademark), which is a standard for networks. Therefore, it has high compatibility with Ethernet (registered trademark). It is. Further, the IEEE802.11b standard that is generally used has a high communication speed of 11 Mbps, which is equivalent to 10Base-T Ethernet (registered trademark). Also, unlike IEEE 802.11, which aims to wirelessly connect to existing LANs, Bluetooth is a standard that aims to wirelessly connect between devices around us. The communication speed is asymmetric communication with downlink 723 kbps / uplink 57.6 kbps and symmetric communication with 432.6 kbps.
[0004]
As a form of wireless connection, there is an ad hoc network which is a simple and temporary network form that is not a connection to an existing LAN. Ad hoc networks do not require an access point and are characterized by enabling peer-to-peer communication. The ad hoc mode and the infrastructure mode are also defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard. The infrastructure mode assumes connection to an existing LAN. Also, it can be said that the Bluetooth itself is intended for the ad hoc mode. The communication distance assumed when using the ad hoc mode varies depending on the environment, but is about 100 m.
[0005]
When performing communication in the ad hoc mode, if the partner device is a device that communicates for the first time, it is necessary to set a network according to the standard for communicating with the partner device. However, in this case, an IP address or an SSID (Service Set ID) used for identification for each network in IEEE 802.11 must be set, which is complicated. In addition, communication using a digital camera, which is a portable device that does not have a keyboard or the like, which is a general means for inputting identification information, becomes a larger problem.
[0006]
Also, when sending and receiving data in a wireless connection method, it is necessary to recognize the partner device safely and reliably from the security aspect, and in communication with a device that communicates for the first time without obtaining any information in advance Special attention is required.
[0007]
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-312472, a private password, which is a unique password for a device, and a temporary password that is temporarily used are selected and used according to the situation, thereby balancing the security level and usability when configuring a wireless network. ing.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-312472, the robustness of the password itself is considered, but the password is vulnerable to being seen from the outside. IEEE802.11 and Bluetooth have a communicable distance of about 100 m when conditions are good, and it is difficult to secure confidentiality in exchange for convenience.
[0009]
An object of the present invention is to make it possible to recognize a partner device safely and easily when a simple peer-to-peer network that does not require an access point is constructed and used.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is capable of wireless communication with a counterpart device that is mounted on a digital camera and that has an information output means for outputting information for permitting communication and an authentication means for authenticating information. A wireless communication authentication apparatus, comprising: an information acquisition unit that acquires information output from an information output unit of the counterpart device; and a recognition unit that recognizes information acquired by the information acquisition unit. .
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0012]
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera and a counterpart device equipped with a wireless communication authentication apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 10 includes an image sensor 20, a memory 30, a communication unit 40 that performs wireless communication, a finder 50, and an information recognition unit 60. The digital camera 10 can communicate with the counterpart device 1. The counterpart device 1 includes an image display unit 2, an authentication unit 3, and a communication unit 4 that performs wireless communication.
[0014]
Specifically, the counterpart device 1 is a counterpart when the digital camera 10 performs communication, and displays information for obtaining permission for the digital camera 10 to communicate with the counterpart device 1 on the image display unit 2. . Here, examples of the counterpart device 1 include a digital camera, a mobile phone, a notebook PC (personal computer), and a PDA. Further, the image display unit 2 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display, and information displayed on the image display unit 2 takes the form of a barcode. The communication unit 4 performs wireless communication with the communication unit 40 of the digital camera 10, and the authentication unit 3 performs authentication using information transmitted from the communication unit 40 of the digital camera 10.
[0015]
The digital camera 10 acquires the barcode information displayed on the image display unit 2 of the counterpart device 1 by the image sensor 20. The image pickup device 20 is an image pickup device mounted on the digital camera 10 for photographing, and as this image pickup device, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensor, or the like is used. When acquiring image information displayed on the counterpart device 1, that is, barcode information, the user of the digital camera 10 selects an area to be photographed by looking at an image displayed on the finder 50 in the same manner as photographing a photograph, and an image sensor. The bar code information displayed on the counterpart device 1 is acquired via 20. Since the barcode photographed by the image sensor 20 is obtained as information converted from optical information to electrical information, information that uniquely identifies the counterpart device 1 does not flow as radio waves on the network.
[0016]
The acquired barcode information is stored in the memory 30. The information recognition unit 60 analyzes the information of the counterpart device 1 stored in the memory 30 and finally recognizes the information as numerical value or character information. The recognized information is sent back from the information recognition unit 60 to the memory 30 as an authentication password for obtaining permission to transmit / receive data to / from the counterpart device 1, and then sent from the memory 30 to the communication unit 40. The communication unit 40 transmits the password sent from the information recognition unit 60 to the communication unit 4 of the counterpart device 1.
[0017]
The information indicated by the barcode described above is a random pattern, an IP address, a MAC address, a serial number, an SSID, a PIN code, and the like. Since the random pattern itself has no meaning, it is effective as a temporary temporary password. An IP (Internet Protocol) address is an address that uniquely determines a communication device in the network that flows on the network when configuring an Ethernet (registered trademark) network. The MAC (Media Access Control) address is defined in the hardware connected to the network. The first 24 bits are vendor-specific IDs managed by IEEE, and the last 24 bits are serial numbers of each device. There is only one unique number in the world. The serial number refers to a unique number such as a manufacturing number of the counterpart device. In addition, SSID (Service Set ID) is an ID for identifying a network when using IEEE 802.11, and can be used as a simple password. A PIN (Personal Identification Number) code is a unique authentication ID set in a device adopted by Bluetooth.
[0018]
Next, processing during communication between the digital camera 10 and the counterpart device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure of each processing during communication between the digital camera 10 and the counterpart device 1 of FIG.
[0019]
An ad hoc network in which peer-to-peer communication is possible between the digital camera 10 and the counterpart device 1 when the digital camera 10 wants to communicate for the purpose of image transmission in a situation where there is no access point in the travel destination environment. (Step S1, step S8) is desired.
[0020]
At that time, if there are at least two counterpart devices 1 within the distance that the digital camera 10 can communicate wirelessly, the number of devices existing in the network and information transmitted by the counterpart device as broadcast can be obtained. It is difficult to uniquely recognize the counterpart device when no information is obtained in advance. When information such as a serial number that can be uniquely recognized by the partner device is broadcast, all devices existing in the ad hoc network can recognize the partner device. The situation is drowning.
[0021]
For example, in a normal LAN, an IP address is associated with a host name using a DNS (Domain Name System) in order to transmit only one's information to a communication partner. However, in such a method, a DNS server having a table relating IP addresses and host names is required. If an IP address is only assigned to each device, a mechanism such as DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) can be used without bothering the user. In this case, however, the IP address and the host name need to be related. In some cases, it is necessary to refer to the DNS server.
[0022]
In an ad hoc network that temporarily constitutes a simple local network, it is difficult to recognize the counterpart device 1 by such a method. However, a device such as the digital camera 10 often has a situation where it is desired to transmit data safely only to a device that communicates for the first time in practical use. This is because the digital camera 10 is a device that has many opportunities to be used outdoors and has many opportunities to transmit data to devices other than the main body.
[0023]
In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the ad hoc network formation is a state in which all devices within a communicable distance are wirelessly communicable in consideration of such a situation, but the partner device cannot be individually recognized. Will be referred to.
[0024]
Next, the digital camera 10 side selects the counterpart device 1 to which image data is to be transmitted. At this time, the partner device 1 is identified by the image information without passing through the already configured ad hoc network. Specifically, information that enables the partner device 1 that is requesting reception of image data to uniquely recognize the partner device on the image display unit 2 is displayed in the form of a barcode that is one-dimensional data. (Step S9). The user of the digital camera 10 confirms that the counterpart device 1 has displayed the barcode with the finder 50 in the same manner as in normal photography (step S2), and is displayed on the image display unit 2 of the counterpart device 1 in the manner of taking an image. The obtained barcode is acquired by the image sensor 20 as image information (step S3). At this time, it is not necessary to consider the influence of the recognition rate on ambient brightness or the like as an environment for acquiring an image. This is because the barcode is binary of white and black, does not need to handle color information, and is a one-dimensional data, so the probability of erroneous recognition is low. Even when erroneous recognition occurs, unauthorized access to the counterpart device 1 is not permitted. If the recognition fails, the process may be repeated from the acquisition of the image.
[0025]
The digital camera 10 stores the obtained barcode information in the memory 30, recognizes the image by the information recognition unit 60, and sends it back to the memory 30 (step S4). Thereafter, this information is sent from the memory 30 to the communication unit 40 as information for recognizing the counterpart device 1. The communication unit 40 sends a communication request to the counterpart device 1 together with information obtained from the counterpart device 1 (step S5).
[0026]
The counterpart device 1 receives the information sent from the communication unit 40 of the digital camera 10 (step S10), and determines whether or not it matches the information displayed on the image display unit 2 (step S11). The counterpart device 1 performs authentication based on whether or not the information matches in the authentication unit 3, and if they match, transmits a communication permission to the digital camera 10 (step S12). If they do not match, the counterpart device 1 waits until the information matches.
[0027]
When the digital camera 10 confirms that the communication permission has been received (step S6), the digital camera 10 starts communication with the counterpart device 1 (step S7, step S13), and transmits an image.
[0028]
As described above, according to this embodiment, when a simple peer-to-peer network that does not require an access point is constructed and used, the counterpart device can be recognized safely and easily.
[0029]
In this embodiment, it is assumed that the access point for which the ad hoc network is configured is not in the vicinity, such as outdoors or overseas. However, even when the access point is in the vicinity, This is a useful technique as a simple means of communication and backup to a PC. At this time, it is not necessary for the digital camera 10 side to know the information of the counterpart device 1 in advance and to transmit the information of the digital camera 10 side to the counterpart device 1.
[0030]
Moreover, although it seems that the other apparatus 1 provided with the liquid crystal display as the image display part 2 can change the information displayed every time, it is effective. However, it can be handled by means such as sticking a barcode as a seal.
[0031]
Further, in the present embodiment, the information output to the image display unit 2 of the counterpart device 1 is a barcode that is one-dimensional image information. However, the same authentication means can be used when a two-dimensional barcode is used. is there. Since the two-dimensional barcode is a barcode developed in the two-dimensional direction, it is possible to increase the amount of data for authentication and improve the security capability. In addition, since the amount of information per area can be increased, the display area for barcode information can be narrowed.
[0032]
Further, when the information output to the image display unit 2 of the counterpart device 1 is character information, the same authentication means can be used, and the counterpart device 1 cannot output information as a barcode. It is effective for. Normally, a device having some display function can generally display numbers and alphabets, and thus it is not necessary to prepare a special display means.
[0033]
Regarding the configuration of the information recognition unit 60 inside the digital camera 10, both software implementation and hardware implementation are conceivable. Since recent digital cameras are equipped with a high-speed CPU, implementation by software is sufficiently possible. The selection of the mounting form is determined by the balance between the speed required for processing used for authentication and the hardware scale.
[0034]
(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera and a counterpart device equipped with the wireless communication authentication apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0035]
In the first embodiment, the counterpart device 1 displays on the image display unit 2 information for obtaining permission for the digital camera 10 to communicate with the counterpart device 1, that is, a barcode. The device 1 is configured to output audio data as information for obtaining permission for the digital camera 10 to communicate with the counterpart device 1.
[0036]
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, data used for authentication is output as audio data from a speaker or the like which is the audio output unit 2 of the counterpart device 1, and the digital camera 10 transmits the audio data via the microphone 70. get. Therefore, the point in which the audio | voice output part 5 and the microphone 70 are provided, and the structure inside the information recognition part 60 differ from 1st Embodiment. Here, many current digital cameras are equipped with a moving picture recording function, and these models are often equipped with a microphone as standard. Therefore, the microphone 70 of the digital camera 10 can be used as a standard microphone.
[0037]
Since other configurations and communication procedures are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted here.
[0038]
In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, since the digital camera 10 acquires information on the counterpart device 1 without performing wireless communication with the counterpart device 1, the security effect is high. In addition, information can be acquired without forcing the user to perform complicated input operations.
[0039]
Further, in the first embodiment, the counterpart device 1 needs to be equipped with a liquid crystal display or the like as the image display unit 2, but in this embodiment, a function for outputting audio is provided as the audio output unit 5. In this case, authentication can be realized.
[0040]
Examples of embodiments of the present invention are listed below.
[0041]
[Embodiment 1] A wireless communication authentication apparatus mounted on a digital camera and capable of wireless communication with a counterpart device having an information output means for outputting information for permitting communication and an authentication means for authenticating information. A wireless communication authentication apparatus comprising: information acquisition means for acquiring information output from the information output means of the counterpart device; and recognition means for recognizing information acquired by the information acquisition means.
[0042]
[Embodiment 2] The wireless communication authentication apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the information acquisition unit acquires, as image information, information output from the information output unit of the counterpart device via the image sensor of the digital camera.
[0043]
[Embodiment 3] The wireless communication authentication device according to embodiment 1, wherein the information acquisition unit acquires, as voice information, information output from the information output unit of the counterpart device via a microphone of the digital camera.
[0044]
[Embodiment 4] The wireless communication authentication apparatus according to Embodiment 2, wherein the information output from the information output means of the counterpart device is an image showing a barcode.
[0045]
[Embodiment 5] The wireless communication authentication device according to Embodiment 2, wherein the information output from the information output means of the counterpart device is a random pattern image.
[0046]
[Embodiment 6] The wireless communication authentication apparatus according to Embodiment 5, wherein the image of the random pattern changes at every communication.
[0047]
[Embodiment 7] The wireless communication authentication apparatus according to Embodiment 2, wherein the information output from the information output means of the counterpart device is image information that can uniquely identify the counterpart device.
[0048]
[Embodiment 8] A wireless communication authentication method for a digital camera capable of wireless communication with a counterpart device having an information output means for outputting information for granting communication and an authentication means for authenticating the information, wherein the counterpart device A wireless communication authentication method comprising: an information acquisition step of acquiring information output from the information output means; and a recognition step of recognizing information acquired by the information acquisition step.
[0049]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the information output from the information output unit of the counterpart device is acquired and the acquired information is recognized, a simple peer-to-peer network that does not require an access point is provided. When building and using, it is possible to recognize the counterpart device safely and easily.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera and a counterpart device equipped with a wireless communication authentication apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure of each processing during communication between the digital camera 10 of FIG. 1 and the counterpart device 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera and a counterpart device equipped with a wireless communication authentication apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Counterpart apparatus 2 Image display part 3 Authentication part 4 Communication part 10 Digital camera 20 Image sensor 30 Memory 40 Communication part 50 Finder 60 Information recognition part 70 Microphone

Claims (1)

A wireless communication authentication device that is mounted on a digital camera and capable of wireless communication with a counterpart device having an information output means for outputting information for granting communication and an authentication means for authenticating information,
Information acquisition means for acquiring information output from the information output means of the counterpart device;
Recognizing means for recognizing information acquired by the information acquiring means.

Images