JP4845411B2 - COMMUNICATION DEVICE, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, communication device for performing data communication with an external device, to communicate a method and a program.

  In recent years, battery-powered devices such as digital cameras, mobile phones, and PDAs (personal digital assistants) have become widespread. Due to the extended operating time of these batteries, the power consumption of these devices is required to be small.

  Further, in recent years, when performing automatic ticket gate processing using a commuter pass composed of an IC card or the like, or performing entry / exit processing using an ID card, wireless communication is performed between the card and the gate using a non-contact short-range wireless method. A system has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In the wireless system, power is supplied to a device (target) called a device (initiator) that starts communication by electromagnetic induction of a power carrier wave. That is, in the above example, power is supplied from the gate side to the card having no power source by electromagnetic induction. When the card is held over the gate, power is excited in the card and the card becomes operational.
Japanese Patent No. 3457225

  However, in the above technology, since the communication activation request side needs to supply power to the communication partner, the battery-powered device has a small amount of its own battery and communication is not possible when there is no room to supply power to the partner. It becomes impossible.

  In addition, communication is possible if it always waits for activation and power supply from the other party, but there is a problem that communication that requires urgent communication or communication that requires real-time performance cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, and enables communication method corresponding to the battery remaining amount, for example, even when the battery level is low, in the Turkey to allow data communication with an external device .

To achieve the above object, the communication apparatus according to claim 1, one side acts as a first device that communicates I by the electromotive force generated by electromagnetic induction power carrier wave to be transmitted the communication partner device and the other the power carrier wave In the communication device that communicates data with the external device, the detection unit that detects the first battery remaining amount of the communication device, and the second battery remaining amount of the external device Obtaining means for obtaining quantity information, comparing means for comparing the first battery remaining amount and the second battery remaining amount, a comparison result by the comparing means, and the second battery remaining amount The communication device operates as the first device when the remaining battery level is higher than the first battery level, and the communication device moves forward when the first battery level is higher than the second battery level. By operating as the second device, characterized in that it comprises a switching means for switching so as to communicate with the external device.

Communication method according to claim 6, one side acts as a first device that communicates I by the electromotive force generated by electromagnetic induction power carrier wave transmitting the communication partner apparatus, the second apparatus other to transmit the power carrier wave In the communication method of the communication device that communicates data with the external device, the detection step of detecting the first battery remaining amount of the communication device and the information of the second battery remaining amount of the external device are provided. An obtaining step for obtaining, a comparing step for comparing the first battery remaining amount and the second battery remaining amount, and a comparison result by the comparing step, wherein the second battery remaining amount is the first battery remaining amount. The communication device operates as the first device when the amount is larger than the amount, and the communication device is operated when the first battery remaining amount is larger than the second battery remaining amount. By operating as serial second device, characterized in that it and a switching step of switching to communicate with the external device.

Program of claim 7, one side acts as a first device that communicates I by the electromotive force generated by electromagnetic induction power carrier wave transmitting the communication partner apparatus, as the other second device for transmitting the power carrier wave In a program for causing a computer to execute a communication method of a communication device that communicates data with an external device by operating, the communication method includes a detection step of detecting a first remaining battery level of the communication device; An acquisition step of acquiring information on the second battery remaining amount of the external device, a comparison step of comparing the first battery remaining amount and the second battery remaining amount, a comparison result by the comparing step, the first 2 is larger than the first battery level, the communication device operates as the first device, and the first battery level remains. There By the second of the communication device when more than the battery is operating as the second device, characterized in that it and a switching step of switching to communicate with the external device.

According to the present invention, when a communication device and an external device communicate with each other, communication between two devices can be performed using a battery with a larger remaining battery level .

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera to which a wireless communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

  As shown in the figure, the digital camera 1 according to the present embodiment includes an NFC (Near Field Communication) unit and an imaging unit, and includes an antenna circuit 101, a rectifier circuit 102, a power supply switching circuit 103, A modulation / demodulation circuit 104, an NFC_CPU 105, a nonvolatile memory 106, a RAM (Randam Access Memory) 107, an operation unit 108, a battery 109, a main CPU 110, an image memory 111, a control bus 112, and a communication bus 113 are provided.

  The NFC unit includes an antenna circuit 101, a rectifier circuit 102, a modem circuit 104, an NFC_CPU 105, a nonvolatile memory 106, a RAM 107, a control bus 112, and a communication bus 113, and the imaging unit includes an operation unit 108, a main CPU 110, and an image memory 111. And a communication bus 113.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the antenna circuit 101 includes a resonance circuit in which a coil L and a capacitor C are connected in parallel. The antenna circuit 101 receives a radio wave transmitted from the printer 2 and transmits a radio wave to the printer 2 side. The coil L is generally constituted by a spiral print pattern.

  The AC voltage generated in the antenna circuit 101 by electromagnetic induction is converted into a DC voltage by the rectifier circuit 102 and stored in a super capacitor (not shown) or the like. Furthermore, stabilization is performed by the power supply switching circuit 103. The power supply switching circuit 103 switches the power supply source to be supplied to each part of the NFC unit between the inductive power stored in the super capacitor or the like (“A” in FIG. 1) and the output of the battery 109 (“B” in FIG. 1). It also has a function.

  The modem circuit 104 detects an envelope of the carrier (radio wave) excited by the antenna circuit 101 and outputs the data superimposed on the carrier envelope to the NFC_CPU 105. Further, the “0” “1” signal of the transmission data output from the NFC_CPU 105 is modulated with the data “1” as the maximum amplitude data, and the maximum amplitude of the reception signal is demodulated to the data “1”. “0” is modulated as minimum amplitude data, and the minimum amplitude of the received signal is demodulated to data “0”, and amplitude modulation is performed so that the ratio between the maximum amplitude and the minimum amplitude is 10: 9.

  The NFC_CPU 105 controls each part of the NFC unit. A program that defines the operation of the NFC unit is stored in the nonvolatile memory 106 as firmware. The RAM 107 provides a work area for the NFC_CPU 105. The operation unit 108 is used for a communication activation request. The battery 109 supplies power to each part of the digital camera 1. The output of the battery 109 is connected as a power source to each part of the imaging unit, and is also connected to the power source switching unit 103.

  The nonvolatile memory 106, the RAM 107, the operation unit 108, and the battery 109 are connected to the NFC_CPU 105 through the control bus 112.

  The main CPU 110 controls each part of the image pickup unit such as an optical system (not shown), a CCD, an image processing unit, and an LCD. It also controls the switching operation of the power supply switching circuit 103. The captured image is stored in the image memory 111. The main CPU 110 and NFC_CPU 105 are connected by a communication bus 113.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the printer of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 2 includes an NFC (Near Field Communication) unit and a printing unit, and includes an antenna circuit 201, a rectifier circuit 202, a power supply switching circuit 203, a modem circuit 204, an NFC_CPU 205, A nonvolatile memory 206, a RAM (Randam Access Memory) 207, an operation unit 208, a battery 209, a main CPU 210, a print head 211, a control bus 212, and a communication bus 213 are provided.

  The units 201 to 209 included in the printer 2 are the same as the units 101 to 109 included in the digital camera 1 described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The main CPU 210 controls each unit of the printing unit such as a print data generation unit and a paper feed control unit (not shown). It also controls the switching operation of the power supply switching circuit 203. The main CPU 210 and NFC_CPU 205 are connected by a communication bus 213, and data received by the main CPU 210 is converted into a print format and then printed by the print head 211.

  Next, operations of the digital camera 1 and the printer 2 when an image is transmitted from the digital camera 1 to the printer 2 for printing according to the sequence of FIG. 4 will be described.

  Here, regarding the operation mode of the NFC unit, a mode that operates with induced power from a carrier transmitted by a communication partner is defined as a passive mode, and a mode that operates with its own power source is defined as an active mode.

  In the sequence of FIG. 4, the default of the digital camera 1 is a standby state, and the operation mode is set to the passive mode in the digital camera 1 and the printer 2.

  When an image transmission request is input to the digital camera 1 from the operation unit 108, the process proceeds to a negotiation phase. In the negotiation phase, the operation mode of the digital camera 1 is set to the active mode. At this time, the operation mode of the printer 2 remains in the passive mode. In the active mode, the main CPU 110 performs control so that the power supply switching circuit 103 is on the “B” side, and the output B of the battery 109 is supplied as power for the NFC unit.

  When the digital camera 1 detects the remaining battery level “a” of the battery 109, the printer 2 notifies the printer 2 of a command for detecting the remaining battery level “b” of the battery 209 together with information on the remaining battery level “a”.

  The printer 2 receives this command, detects the remaining battery level b of the battery 209, and notifies the digital camera 1 of information on the detected remaining battery level b as a response.

  Thereafter, the digital camera 1 and the printer 2 respectively compare the remaining battery level a and the remaining battery level b, and the digital camera 1 and the printer 2 shift to the data communication phase.

  In the digital camera 1, as a result of comparing the remaining battery level a with the remaining battery level b, if the remaining battery level a is greater than the remaining battery level b, the operation mode is set to the active mode, and the remaining battery level b is the battery level. If it is greater than the remaining amount a, the operation mode is set to the passive mode.

  In the printer 2, as a result of the comparison between the remaining battery level a and the remaining battery level b, if the remaining battery level b is greater than the remaining battery level a, the operation mode is set to the active mode. When the amount is larger than the amount b, the operation mode is set to the passive mode.

  Thereafter, in the set mode, the image data is transmitted from the digital camera 1 to the printer 2, the digital camera 1 is notified to the printer 2 that the communication is completed, and the confirmation notification is transmitted from the printer 2 to the digital camera 1. The digital camera 1 and the printer 2 end the operations.

  Next, the operation procedure of the digital camera 1 and the printer 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 5, the default of the digital camera 1 is the passive mode (step S501), and the instruction input from the operation unit 108 is scanned and waited (step S502). Here, when an operation to start printing is performed, the main CPU 110 detects (step S503), and performs a transition process to the active mode (step S504).

  Next, in the NFC unit of the digital camera 1 in the power-on state, the NFC_CPU 105 detects and stores the remaining amount a of the battery 109 via the control bus 112 (step S505). Then, a battery remaining amount notification request command is transmitted to the printer 2, and the remaining battery amount a detected and stored in step S505 is transmitted (step S506). At this time, the command is transmitted together with a carrier that supplies power to the printer 2. After the command is transmitted, a response reception from the printer 2 is awaited (step S507), and retransmission is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed. When the predetermined number of retransmissions is reached, an error occurs and the initial state is returned (step S508).

  Next, when the response from the printer 2 is received and the remaining battery level b of the printer 2 is received, the NFC_CPU 105 compares the remaining battery level a detected and stored in step S505 with the remaining battery level b of the printer 2. (Step S509).

  If the comparison result of step S509 is battery remaining amount a <battery remaining amount b, the fact is notified to the main CPU 110 via the communication bus 113. Receiving the notification, the main CPU 110 performs a transition process to the passive mode (step S510). In the passive mode, the main CPU 110 performs control so that the power supply switching circuit 103 is on the “A” side, and the inductive power A is supplied as power for the NFC unit.

  Next, the main CPU 110 reads an image to be transmitted from the image memory 111 and stores it in an interface unit (not shown) with the communication bus 113.

  Thereafter, when a carrier (radio wave) is received when a command is received from the printer 2, the induced power is excited and the NFC unit of the digital camera 1 is turned on. The NFC_CPU 105 reads an image stored in the interface unit inside the main CPU 110 via the communication bus. Thereafter, each NFC unit is controlled, the modulation / demodulation circuit 104 performs predetermined modulation, and the image is transmitted to the printer 2 (step S512).

  If the comparison result in step S509 is battery remaining amount a> battery remaining amount b, the active mode is maintained (step S511). That is, its own battery 109 is a power source for the NFC unit. Subsequently, in the communication phase, image data is transmitted to the printer 2 as a command.

  Next, the operation of the printer 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The default of the printer 2 is the passive mode as with the digital camera 1 (step S501). The main CPU 210 scans and waits for an instruction input from the operation unit 208 and carrier detection (steps S502 and S513). The printer 2 normally does not input an operation instruction (No) (NO in step S503). While the carrier is not received, the power of the NFC unit is off, so the presence / absence of carrier is normally judged as “No carrier” (No) (NO in step S514).

  However, when the digital camera 1 transmits a battery remaining amount notification request command to the printer 2 in step S506 and the printer 2 receives the carrier, the carrier determination of the printer 2 is made (Yes) (Yes in step S514). The inductive power is excited and the NFC unit is turned on.

  Next, the NFC_CPU 205 receives a battery remaining amount notification request command in the NFC unit that has been turned on (step S515). Simultaneously with the reception of the command, the remaining battery charge a of the digital camera 1 is also received. As a command reception action, the remaining amount b of the battery 209 is detected and stored via the control bus 212 (step S516). Then, the remaining battery level b detected and stored in step S516 is transmitted to the digital camera 1 as a response to the remaining battery level notification request command (step S517).

  Next, the received battery remaining amount a of the digital camera 1 is compared with the own battery remaining amount b detected and stored in step S516 (step S518).

  If the comparison result of step S518 is battery remaining amount a <battery remaining amount b, the fact is notified to the main CPU 210 via the communication bus 213. Receiving the notification, the main CPU 210 performs a transition process to the active mode (step S519). In the active mode, the main CPU 210 performs control so that the power switching circuit 203 is on the “B” side, and the output B of the battery 209 is supplied as power for the NFC unit.

  Thereafter, an image acquisition command is transmitted from the printer 2, and in response, the digital camera 1 transmits an image to the printer 2 as a response. When the printer 2 receives the response, the NFC_CPU 205 controls each NFC unit, performs predetermined demodulation by the modem circuit 204, and extracts image data. The NFC_CPU 205 transfers the extracted image data to the main CPU 210 via the communication bus 213. The main CPU 210 controls each part of the printing unit, converts the image data into print format data, and prints the image via the print head (step S521).

  If the comparison result in step S518 is battery remaining amount a> battery remaining amount b, the printer 2 holds the passive mode (step S520). That is, the induced power from the carrier from the digital camera 1 becomes the power source of the NFC unit. Subsequently, image data transmitted as a command from the digital camera 1 is received. When a carrier is received when this command is received, the induced power is excited and the NFC unit of the printer 2 is turned on. The NFC_CPU 205 demodulates the received image data by the modem circuit 204 using the excited power, and transmits the demodulated image to the main CPU 210 via the communication bus 213. The main CPU 210 converts the received data into a print format and prints it with the print head 211.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the battery level of the own battery is lower than the battery level of the other party, the data is obtained by the induced power generated based on the radio wave from the other party in the passive mode. Since communication is performed, there is an effect that data communication with an external device is possible even when the remaining battery level is low.

  Further, even when the remaining battery level is low, the negotiation phase period needs to be in the active mode. However, since the period is shorter than the data communication phase, it is negligible considering the general battery capacity.

  In the above embodiment, in the data communication phase, when the operation mode of the digital camera 1 is the passive mode, the size of the image data is larger than a predetermined value (for example, 1 MB), and transmission of the image data takes time, the predetermined The transmission is performed after being divided into a size (for example, 500 Kb). That is, the digital camera 1 may store the induced power by newly receiving a command / carrier from the printer 2 after the transmission of the divided data by the digital camera 1 is completed. Further, the next divided data is transmitted as the response. In this way, it is possible to transmit large data by repeating the power storage.

  In the above embodiment, the image data transmitted from the digital camera 1 to the printer 2 is stored in the interface unit with the communication bus 113 inside the main CPU 110. In this case, since the main CPU 110 is powered by the battery 109, if the remaining amount of the battery 109 is exhausted during the transmission of the image data, the image data cannot be read and the image data cannot be transmitted.

  Therefore, by storing the image data transmitted from the digital camera 1 to the printer 2 in the nonvolatile memory 106 of the NFC unit, it is possible to perform image communication with the induced power by the carrier even when the remaining amount of the battery 109 is exhausted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the remaining battery level of the digital camera 1 and the printer 2 is detected during the negotiation period after the start of communication between the two. The detected result may be stored in the nonvolatile memories 106 and 206. In this case, the procedure for the negotiation period can be shortened.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the detection and comparison of the remaining battery power of the digital camera 1 and the printer 2 are performed only once during the negotiation period. However, the same effect can be obtained even if performed multiple times. In the communication phase, it may be performed periodically while transmitting image data. In this case, communication with the printer 2 can be continued by transitioning to the passive mode even when the remaining battery level decreases while the digital camera 1 is transmitting data in the active mode. Further, the number of remaining battery detections and comparisons may be specified according to the amount of image data to be communicated.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the device with a large amount of remaining battery is in the active mode, but the same effect can be obtained by performing control such that the device connected to the external power supply enters the active mode. In this case, in the battery remaining amount detection in step S505 and step S516 in FIG. 5, when an external power supply connection detection process is added and the external power supply connection is detected, the battery remaining amount a / b has a predetermined offset. The value is added.

  In addition, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the embodiments to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus as a storage medium. This can also be achieved by reading and executing the stored program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, and a DVD. -RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. This includes the case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the digital camera to which the radio | wireless communication apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention was applied. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the printer in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram of an antenna circuit. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a sequence of operations of the digital camera 1 and the printer 2 when an image is transmitted from the digital camera 1 to the printer 2 for printing. 3 is a flowchart showing operation procedures of the digital camera 1 and the printer 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 2 Printer 101, 201 Antenna circuit 102, 202 Rectifier circuit 103, 203 Power supply switching circuit 104, 204 Modulation / demodulation circuit 105, 205 NFC_CPU
106,206 Non-volatile memory 107,207 RAM
108, 208 Operation unit 109, 209 Battery 110, 210 Main CPU
111 Image memory 211 Print head

Claims (7)

By one side acts as a first device that communicates I by the electromotive force generated by electromagnetic induction power carrier wave to be transmitted the communication partner device and the other operates as the second device for transmitting the power carrier wave, an external device In a communication device for communicating data with
Detecting means for detecting a first battery remaining amount of the communication device;
Obtaining means for obtaining second battery remaining amount information of the external device;
Comparing means for comparing the first battery remaining amount and the second battery remaining amount;
As a result of comparison by the comparison means, when the second battery remaining amount is greater than the first battery remaining amount, the communication device operates as the first device, and the first battery remaining amount is Switching means for switching to communicate with the external device by operating the communication device as the second device when the remaining amount of the battery is greater than the second battery;
A communication apparatus comprising:   2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the second battery remaining amount information from the external apparatus during data communication with the external apparatus or before starting data communication. .   The acquisition unit acquires the information on the second battery remaining amount from the external device at predetermined intervals, and the comparing unit determines the first battery remaining amount and the second battery remaining amount predetermined. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the comparison is performed every period.   4. The switch according to claim 1, wherein the switching unit switches whether the communication device operates as the first device or the second device during data communication with the external device. 5. Item 1. The communication device according to item 1.   The switching means switches the communication device to operate as the second device when the communication device is connected to a commercial power source, and the communication device when the external device is connected to a commercial power source. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication apparatus is switched to operate as the first apparatus. By one side acts as a first device that communicates I by the electromotive force generated by electromagnetic induction power carrier wave to be transmitted the communication partner device and the other operates as the second device for transmitting the power carrier wave, an external device In the communication method of the communication device for communicating data with
A detecting step of detecting a first battery remaining amount of the communication device;
An acquisition step of acquiring information of a second battery remaining amount of the external device;
A comparison step of comparing the first remaining battery level and the second remaining battery level;
As a result of the comparison in the comparison step, when the second battery remaining amount is higher than the first battery remaining amount, the communication device operates as the first device, and the first battery remaining amount is A switching step of switching to communicate with the external device by operating the communication device as the second device when the remaining amount of the battery is greater than the second battery;
A communication method comprising: By one side acts as a first device that communicates I by the electromotive force generated by electromagnetic induction power carrier wave to be transmitted the communication partner device and the other operates as the second device for transmitting the power carrier wave, an external device In a program for causing a computer to execute a communication method of a communication device for communicating data with
The communication method is:
A detecting step of detecting a first battery remaining amount of the communication device;
An acquisition step of acquiring information of a second battery remaining amount of the external device;
A comparison step of comparing the first remaining battery level and the second remaining battery level;
As a result of the comparison in the comparison step, when the second battery remaining amount is higher than the first battery remaining amount, the communication device operates as the first device, and the first battery remaining amount is A switching step of switching to communicate with the external device by operating the communication device as the second device when the remaining amount of the battery is greater than the second battery;
A program comprising:

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