JP2001016651A - Radio communication system and its communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a radio communication system where complicated manual entry of an extension number of a slave set desired of connection by a user can be omitted and a time required for connection until start of inter-slave-set communication is decreased and to realize its communication method. SOLUTION: A slave set 100 of the radio communication system has a storage means 104 that stores radio communication information to make communication with another slave set via a master set and radio communication information to make communication with another slave set not through the master set, and transmits an inter-slave-set connection request signal with the other slave set having been stored in advance to the master set immediately after the position registration end to the master set at application of power.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital cordless telephone,
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system that wirelessly connects between a master unit and a slave unit or between slave units, and particularly to a wireless communication terminal that mainly performs communication between slave units.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, wireless communication technology and computer technology have been remarkably developed, and various services such as exchange of still images and moving images as well as voices are used by connecting to various communication networks using wireless communication terminals. be able to.

At home, printers, scanners,
Various computer peripheral devices such as digital cameras have come to be used on a daily basis, but if the connection of these peripheral devices becomes complicated, it will be troublesome and the appearance will be impaired. It has come to be.

For example, in a home digital cordless telephone system, a plurality of slave units can be used.
In some cases, communication can be performed between the slave units via the master unit, between the slave units, or between the slave units without the intervention of the master unit.

[0005] According to this, by connecting a slave unit of a digital cordless telephone system to a computer or its peripheral device, wireless connection of the peripheral device becomes possible.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional digital cordless telephone system.

[0007] Base unit 401 serving as a base station is connected to a telephone line. A child device 402 capable of communicating with the parent device 401;
403 and 404 are prepared, and the master unit 401 and each slave unit 40 are provided.
Wireless communication is performed with 2, 403, and 404.

For example, when the computer 405 is
2 and connected to a provider or the like via a telephone line with the base unit 401, connected to a printer 406 via a slave unit 403, or connected via a slave unit 404.
By being connected to the digital camera 407, wireless connection of peripheral devices becomes possible.

Regarding the digital cordless telephone system in Japan, a standard (RCRSTD-28) for a second generation cordless telephone system has been formulated. In this second generation cordless telephone system, transmission and reception are performed at the same frequency, TDMA-TD for so-called ping-pong transmission
The D system (time division multiple access / time division duplex system) is adopted.

According to this method, the transmission of the control signal from the master unit to each slave unit is performed at predetermined intervals according to a fixed format.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart of control signals in the conventional digital cordless telephone system.

As shown in FIG. 5, every 100 ms, 62
During 5us, the control signal 501 is transmitted to each slave unit. When the master unit calls the slave unit, the control unit 501 transmits the individual number or the like of the corresponding slave unit by the control signal 501 and calls the slave unit.

When each slave unit is in a reception standby state, if only this control signal is intermittently received at a predetermined period (for example, once every 1.2 s), it can be continuously received. Power consumption can be greatly reduced as compared with the case of receiving.

[0014] Further, in each slave unit of the digital cordless telephone device, not only a response from a call from the master unit but also direct communication is performed between the slave units. In this case, since ten channels are prepared as communication channels between slave units, it is necessary to scan at a predetermined cycle whether or not there is a call from another slave unit over all ten channels.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart of control signals in the conventional digital cordless telephone system.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, ten channels are sequentially scanned in a period after 625us receiving the control signal 601 from the master unit, and it is determined whether there is a call from another slave unit. There is a need. Assuming that it takes about 10 ms to scan one channel, the receiver system of the slave unit must always be turned on. In this manner, the method of scanning all communication channels between slave units has a disadvantage that the power consumption of the slave unit in the reception standby state is significantly increased as compared with a case where the communication channel between slave units is not scanned. .

Therefore, when communication is performed between the slave units, an extension number of another slave unit to be connected is transmitted from the calling slave unit, so that the calling slave unit can establish a connection between the slave units. A request signal is transmitted to the master unit, and when the master unit receives the slave unit connection request signal, the master unit transmits a slave unit connection request signal to the called slave unit, and the called unit A method is known in which a slave unit receives a connection request signal between slave units and starts communication between slave units between a calling-side slave unit and a called-side slave unit.

In this case, it is sufficient that the called handset performs the receiving operation only during the period when the control signal including the handset connection request signal is transmitted from the master, and the consumption of the handset in the reception standby state is sufficient. There is an advantage that power can be reduced.

[0019]

However, according to the conventional method, it is only possible to connect to a printer, a scanner, a digital camera or the like and to connect to, for example, another slave connected to a computer by communication between the slaves. However, there is a problem that even for a slave unit whose main purpose is to confirm that the standby mode has been set to the master unit once, the extension number of another slave unit must be manually transmitted. .

Specifically, after turning on the power of these peripheral devices, it is confirmed that the peripheral devices are in a standby state, that the connected child device has completed the location registration with the master device, The user has to manually send the extension number of the slave unit, which is inconvenient for the user.

According to the present invention, a radio communication system in which the trouble of manually inputting an extension number of a slave unit to be connected by a user can be omitted and the time spent for connection before starting communication between the slave units is reduced. And a communication method therefor.

[0022]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A slave unit of a wireless communication system according to the present invention includes wireless communication information for communicating with another slave unit via a master unit and another slave unit without passing through a master unit. Storage means for storing wireless communication information for performing communication with the base unit, and immediately after completion of location registration to the base unit at power-on, the base unit is immediately connected to another pre-stored slave unit. Is transmitted.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a slave unit 100 of a wireless communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The slave unit 100 communicates with a wireless unit 101 that performs transmission / reception processing of a wireless link, a modem unit 102 that performs digital modulation / demodulation processing, a channel codec unit 103 that performs control of a TDMA slot, and the like. Storage unit 104 for storing wireless communication information for performing the operation, and input / output processing unit 1 for controlling a microphone, a speaker, an imaging unit, an image monitor, and the like.
05 and a mobile terminal control unit 106 which controls these overall operations.
And

The storage unit 104 is a memory in which, for example, the PS-ID of another slave unit to be mainly connected is stored in advance. Of course, at the time of communication start negotiation or during communication, information can be added or rewritten by control information or the like from the master unit. The information stored in advance in the storage unit 104 includes, for example, the PS-
The ID, the CS-ID of the master unit, the PS number of the own station, the transmission capability of the own station, and the like. The storage medium is preferably a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM, but need not be limited to this.

FIG. 2 is a sequence chart of the operation when the power is turned on for the first slave unit, the master unit, and the second slave unit in the wireless communication system according to the above embodiment.

After the power of the first slave unit is turned on (204), the channel codec unit 103 controls the receiving operation so that only the control signal transmitted from the master unit via a predetermined control channel is received at predetermined intervals. . When the synchronization with the control signal is established and the content of the control signal is determined, the first slave transmits a "link channel establishment request" at a timing determined by the master, and starts position registration with respect to the master ( 2
05).

The method of location registration is standardized by the second generation cordless telephone system RCRSTD-28 standard, and therefore detailed description is omitted.

Upon completion of the location registration, the first slave immediately scans a channel prepared for an extension call (206), and detects an empty channel and an empty slot. Then, a “request for connection between child devices” is transmitted to the parent device, and the communication after the child device is started (207). This “request for connection between slave units” message includes information on empty channels and empty slots and wireless communication information such as the extension number of the second slave unit stored in the storage unit 104 in advance.

Next, a communication channel is activated for the detected channel and slot, and the second communication channel is used by using this communication channel.
(208).

The master unit, which has received the "inter-slave connection request" from the first slave unit, instructs the second slave unit to start an inter-slave unit connection request via the control channel. Is transmitted (209). The “request for connection between slave units” message includes information on an empty channel and an empty slot, and wireless communication information such as the extension number of the first slave unit.

When the first slave unit receives the "inter-unit connection request", it activates a communication channel on the channel and slot indicated by the connection request signal, and uses the communication channel. A synchronization signal is transmitted to the first slave (210).

When receiving the synchronization signal, the first slave unit transmits a synchronization signal to the second slave unit using the same communication channel (211). When the second slave receives this synchronization signal, the communication control unit of the second slave responds (2).
12), communication is started between the first slave unit and the second slave unit (213).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first slave unit in the wireless communication system of the above embodiment.

After the power is turned on (301), the first slave unit activates the control channel so as to receive only the control signal transmitted from the master unit on a predetermined control channel at a predetermined interval (302). When synchronization with the control signal is established and the content of the control signal is determined, position registration with respect to the master unit is started (3.
03).

Upon completion of the location registration, the first handset immediately scans the channel prepared for the extension call to detect an empty channel and an empty slot (30).
4). Then, a “connection request between child devices” is transmitted to the parent device (305). The “request for connection between slave units” message includes information on empty channels and empty slots, and wireless communication information such as the extension number of the second slave unit stored in the storage unit 104 in advance.

Next, a communication channel is activated for the detected channel and slot (306), and a call is made to the second slave unit using this communication channel (30).
7). When the communication control unit of the second handset responds, communication between the first handset and the second handset starts (308).

According to the above-described embodiment, for example, a slave unit connected to a printer, a scanner, a digital camera, or the like mainly for the purpose of communication between slave units only with another slave unit connected to a computer or the like. If the power of these peripheral devices is supplied from these peripheral devices, simply turning on the power of these peripheral devices automatically starts communication with the pre-registered child devices. This eliminates the need for the user to manually input the extension number.

The above embodiment is an operation in the case of one master unit and two slave units for the sake of convenience. However, the present invention is not limited to this operation.
Although it is based on the generation cordless telephone system method, the above embodiment can be applied to all wireless communication systems that wirelessly connect between the parent device and the child device or between the child devices by transmitting and receiving digital data. it can.

Second Embodiment FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a handset 700 of a wireless communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The child device 700 transmits a request signal for connection between child devices to the second child device immediately after completing the location registration with the parent device after the power is turned on. There are at least two modes, that is, a mode for waiting for a control signal from the master unit after completing the location registration to the unit.

The handset 700 has mode selection means 707 for determining which mode to operate in after power-on, and mode storage means 708, based on mode information preset in the mode storage means 708. Mode selection at power-on.

When the mode information in the mode storage means 708 is "inter-subunit connection mode", the mode selection unit 707 immediately completes location registration in the parent unit after turning on the power, and immediately establishes a connection with the second child unit. The mobile terminal control unit 706 is notified so as to transmit a slave unit connection request signal to the master unit. Also,
If the mode information of the mode storage means 708 is “master unit connection mode”, the mobile terminal waits for a control signal from the master unit after completing position registration with the master unit after turning on the power. The control unit 706 is notified.

The information stored in the mode storage means 708 can be rewritten after the power is turned on, and can be made effective from the next power-on. The storage medium is preferably a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM, but need not be limited to this.

Regarding the operation in the “slave unit connection mode”,
The operation is the same as that described in the first embodiment. The “base unit connection mode” is standardized in the second generation cordless telephone system standard (RCRSTD-28). Omitted.

The power-on mode described in the above embodiment is two modes for convenience, but is not limited thereto.

Although the above embodiment is based on the second generation cordless telephone system, a wireless communication system for wirelessly connecting between the parent device and the child device or between the child devices by transmitting and receiving digital data. The above embodiment can be applied to all of the above.

[0048]

According to the present invention, for example, a slave unit connected to a printer, a scanner, a digital camera, or the like mainly for the purpose of communication between slave units only with another slave unit connected to a computer or the like. If power is supplied from these peripheral devices, communication with the pre-registered child devices is automatically started just by turning on the power of these peripheral devices. This eliminates the need for the user to manually enter the extension number, and reduces the time required for connection before starting the communication between the slave units.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a slave unit 100 of a wireless communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence chart of an operation when a first slave unit, a master unit, and a second slave unit are powered on in the wireless communication system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a first slave unit in the wireless communication system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional digital cordless telephone system.

FIG. 5 is a control signal timing chart in the conventional digital cordless telephone system.

FIG. 6 is a control signal timing chart in the conventional digital cordless telephone system.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a slave unit 700 of the wireless communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100: slave unit, 101: radio unit, 102: modem unit, 103: channel codec unit, 104: storage unit, 105: input / output processing unit, 106: mobile terminal control unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference)

Claims (4)

[Claims] A master unit fixedly connected to a communication network and a communication network or another slave unit connected via the master unit,
Or a wireless communication system configured with a plurality of slaves connected to other slaves without going through the master, and between the slaves and the master, and between the slaves by a wireless channel, The first slave unit transmits wireless communication information for communicating with the second slave unit via the master unit and wireless communication information for communicating with the second slave unit without passing through the master unit. A storage unit for storing; a unit for transmitting a request signal for requesting connection with the second slave unit to the master unit immediately after completion of location registration with the master unit at power-on; Means for starting a slave-unit communication mode for directly communicating between slave units after transmitting a slave-unit connection request signal to the master unit; and directly communicating between slave units after starting the slave-unit communication mode. Means for transmitting a call signal to the second handset over a wireless channel capable of transmitting a call signal. When the master unit receives the inter-slave unit connection request signal with the second slave unit from the first slave unit, the master unit communicates with the first slave unit via a wireless channel on which the second slave unit stands by. The inter-machine connection request signal is transmitted to the second
Means for transmitting to the slave unit, wherein the second slave unit waits for a control signal from the master unit after completion of location registration with the master unit when power is turned on; Means for initiating an inter-slave communication mode for performing direct communication between the sub-units when the inter-slave unit connection request signal with the second sub-unit is received from the handset; Means for initiating an inter-slave communication with the first slave when a call signal is received from the first slave via a wireless channel capable of directly communicating between the slaves. A wireless communication system, comprising: 2. A base unit fixedly connected to a communication line network, and connected to a communication line network or another slave unit via the base unit,
Or a wireless communication method configured by a plurality of slaves connected to another slave without passing through the master, and between the slave and the master, and between the slaves by a wireless channel, The first slave unit stores in advance wireless communication information for performing communication with the second slave unit via the master unit, and immediately completes location registration with the master unit when power is turned on, and then immediately starts the wireless communication. The communication information is used to transmit a connection request signal between slave units to the second slave unit, and the connection request signal between slave units is transmitted to the master unit. Activating a communication mode between the slave units for performing communication, transmitting a call signal to the second slave unit using the wireless communication information via a wireless channel capable of directly communicating between the slave units, The device receives a request signal for connection between child devices with the second child device from the first child device. In this case, the second handset transmits a handset connection request signal with the first handset to the second handset via a wireless channel on standby, and the second handset includes: After the location registration with the master unit is completed when the power is turned on, the control unit waits for a control signal from the master unit, and receives a request signal for connection between the slave units with the first slave unit from the master unit. Activates the inter-slave communication mode for performing direct communication between the sub-slaves, and after starting the inter-slave communication mode, receives a call signal from the first sub-slave through a wireless channel capable of directly communicating between the slaves. And starting a communication between the slave units with the first slave unit. 3. The slave unit according to claim 1, wherein the slave unit transmits a request signal for requesting connection with the second slave unit to the master unit immediately after completion of location registration with the master unit after power-on. A mode for waiting for a control signal from the master unit after completing the location registration with the master unit after power-on; a mode storage unit which is a rewritable nonvolatile medium;
A mode selection unit for determining which mode to operate in after power-on based on mode storage information stored in the mode storage unit. 4. The slave according to claim 2, wherein after the power is turned on, the slave unit completes location registration with the master unit based on the mode information stored in the mode storage means which is a rewritable nonvolatile medium. A mode in which a request signal for connection between the slave units to the second slave unit is immediately transmitted to the master unit, and after a position registration is completed in the master unit after power is turned on, a control signal from the master unit waits. A wireless communication method, wherein one of the two modes is selected and operated.