JP2001168881A - Radio communication network system and radio equipment thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify subscribing register operation and to save power consumption in radio equipment by confirming the configuration of a radio network existing in the circumference before the subscribing register of radio equipment and by surely executing the subscribing register of the radio equipment with respect to the desired network. SOLUTION: An inquiry command is inputted in non-subscribing radio equipment TA. Then an inquiry packet is transmitted to circumferential piconetworks PA, B and PC, and then an FHS packet is returned from each kind of radio equipment constituting the piconetworks PA, PB and PC. A synchronizing word expressing the system ID of each piconetwork and the ID address of the radio equipment of a return source are respectively extracted from the FHS packet, the synchronizing word and the ID address are classified for each piconetworks PA, B and PC, and then they are displayed in an LCD 34.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to, for example, Bluetoot
The present invention relates to a wireless network system employing short-range wireless data communication technology called h and wireless devices thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of communication technology and diversification of needs, various wireless network systems have been developed and put into practical use. Among them, a wireless network system employing a short-range wireless data communication technology called Bluetooth has been proposed. is there.

[0003] Bluetooth is a 2.4 GHz ISM (Indus
stry Science Medical) One of the short-range wireless communication standards using a band, mainly connecting personal computers with peripheral devices such as printers, modems and keyboards, and between mobile phones and personal computers. Used to With Bluetooth,
Since cables that connect each device can be eliminated,
The usability of various devices can be greatly improved.

[0004] Bluetooth uses a frequency hopping spread spectrum communication technique. 79 channels of 1 MHz width are used, and these channels can be used up to 16 channels per second.
Switch 00 times. This prevents interference with other wireless communications using the same ISM band. There are three classes of transmission output. Class 1 is + 20dBm (maximum transmission distance 100m), Class 2 is + 4dBm, Class 3
Is 0 dBm (maximum transmission distance 10 m). Although the maximum data transmission rate is 1 Mbps, the downstream channel is 721 Kbps and the upstream channel is 57.000 Mbps in asymmetric transmission.
6 Kbps. At the time of symmetric transmission, both the downlink channel and the uplink channel are 432.6 Kbps. The multiplexing scheme of the downlink channel and the uplink channel includes TDD (Time Div.
ision Duplex) method.

[0005] Bluetooth compatible devices are divided into a master that determines a frequency hopping pattern and a maximum of seven slaves according to the master. A wireless network composed of a master and a slave is called a piconet. The master can simultaneously be the slave of another piconet. By using this function to link a plurality of piconets in a daisy chain, a larger wireless network system can be configured. This is called a scatter net.
In each piconet, the relationship between the master and the slave can be arbitrarily changed.

[0006]

By the way, Bluetooth
If a plurality of piconets are present in the vicinity when a device is registered and subscribed to the piconet, the device may be registered in a piconet different from the piconet originally intended to be registered. In such a case, after the user has deleted the registration of the device, it is necessary to execute the registration sequence again in order to register the desired piconet. Therefore, if registration / deletion is frequently repeated due to movement of equipment,
Since the user's registration operation becomes troublesome and a lot of power is consumed in the device every time the registration is performed, the operation time is greatly affected particularly in a device using a battery, which is very undesirable.

A first object of the present invention is to enable the configuration of a wireless network existing in the vicinity to be confirmed before registration of a wireless device, so that the wireless device can be securely registered in a desired network. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless network system and a wireless device capable of simplifying the registration operation and reducing the power consumption of the wireless device.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a wireless device capable of easily confirming the configuration of a wireless network after registration, and in particular, confirming whether the wireless device functions as a master or a slave. To provide.

[0009]

In order to achieve the first object, a first aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for transmitting a first wireless device that has not yet joined a wireless network from a second wireless device that has already joined a wireless network. An inquiry signal for inquiring about the attribute of the device is transmitted. When the inquiry information arrives from the first wireless device, the second wireless device returns response information including information indicating its own attribute to the first wireless device that has made the inquiry. The first wireless device receives the response information returned from the second wireless device, and generates and displays information indicating the configuration of the wireless network based on the attribute information included in the response information.

Therefore, according to the first aspect, when the inquiry information is transmitted from the unsubscribed wireless device, the attribute information is returned from each wireless device constituting the wireless network to the wireless device of the inquiry source. Information indicating the configuration of the wireless network is generated and displayed based on the returned attribute information of each wireless device. Therefore, when trying to newly register a wireless device in the wireless network, the user of the wireless device or the system administrator of the wireless network can check the configuration of the wireless network existing in the vicinity in advance. Become.

Specifically, the display means classifies and displays the attribute information of the plurality of wireless devices that have returned the response information for each wireless network. With this configuration, the user or the system administrator can more clearly understand the configuration of the wireless network based on the displayed information.

A conversion table is provided for a plurality of wireless devices that may join the wireless network, in which identification codes and character data representing the contents of attributes are stored in association with each other. When the attribute information included in the response information is an identification code, character data representing the content of the attribute corresponding to the identification code is read from the conversion table, and character data representing the content of the read attribute is read. indicate.

[0013] In this way, the user of the wireless device or the system administrator of the wireless network can immediately view the contents of the attributes of the wireless device constituting the wireless network, for example, the name of the vendor or model, just by looking at the displayed content. You can figure out. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user or the administrator to refer to the code correspondence table to check the contents of the attribute, thereby greatly improving the work efficiency.

[0014] Further, the first wireless device is further provided with subscription registration control means, and the subscription registration control means provides a second registration control means.
A sequence for registering itself in the wireless network with the second wireless device may be executed based on the response information returned from the wireless device.

Specifically, the first wireless device stores and retains attribute information included in response information returned from the second wireless device or information representing the configuration of the wireless network generated by the display means. Means for performing a sequence for subscribing itself to a second wireless device based on the stored information when a command for requesting subscription registration to a wireless network is input. Execute.

[0016] By doing so, the sequence for subscription registration is executed based on the stored information, so that the user or the system administrator can perform the subscription registration of the wireless device by using the wireless network of the subscription destination. It is no longer necessary to manually enter address information of wireless devices and wireless devices,
As a result, the registration process can be completed easily and in a short time without error.

On the other hand, in order to achieve a second object, a second aspect of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication system in which one device is a master device and one or more devices are slave devices. In a wireless device used in a wireless network functioning as a wireless communication device, a notification transmitted from another wireless device already registered in the wireless network in a state where each of the wireless devices has already been registered in the wireless network. A request signal is received, and in response to receiving the notification request signal, at least information indicating whether the self is functioning as a master or a slave is reported.

Therefore, according to the second aspect, for example, after a wireless device is newly registered in a wireless network, a display request is sent from the newly registered wireless device to a wireless device to which the wireless device has already been added. Information indicating the location of the wireless device itself is displayed in each wireless device. Therefore, the user or the system administrator can easily confirm whether or not the wireless device has certainly been registered in the desired wireless network after the new registration registration process of the wireless device. At this time, it is also possible to confirm which wireless device is the master or the slave.

Further, according to the present invention, when a display request arrives from another wireless device in the wireless network, response information including information indicating its own attribute is returned to the wireless device that has transmitted the display request. When the response information is returned, the wireless device that has transmitted the display request displays attribute information included in the response information.

In this manner, after the wireless device is newly registered in the wireless network and a display request is sent from the newly registered wireless device to the subscribed wireless device, the display request of the subscribed wireless device is transmitted. The attribute information is returned to the display requesting wireless device and displayed. For this reason, the user or system administrator of the newly registered wireless device can confirm the attribute information of the wireless device constituting the wireless network to which the user has newly registered on his / her display unit after the registration. Therefore, the user or the system administrator can easily confirm whether or not the newly registered wireless device has been successfully registered in the desired wireless network.

[0021] It should be noted that other inventions constituted by arbitrarily combining the inventions described in the claims and other inventions constituted by deleting some of the constituent elements of the inventions described in the above claims are all included. It is included in the invention of the present application.

[0022]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a wireless network system according to the present invention.

The wireless network system of this embodiment employing Bluetooth (hereinafter, referred to as BT) includes three piconets PA, PB, and PC. Piconet P
A includes a wireless device AM functioning as a master, and three slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3 connected to the master wireless device AM via a wireless channel. The piconet PB includes a wireless device BM functioning as a master, and one slave wireless device BS1 connected to the master wireless device AM via a wireless channel. The piconet PC includes a wireless device CM functioning as a master, and two slave wireless devices CS connected to the master wireless device CM via a wireless channel.
1 and CS2.

The master wireless device B of the piconet PB
The wireless device AS1 of the piconet PA is connected to M as a slave, and the device BS1 of the piconet PB is connected as a slave to the master wireless device CM of the piconet PC. Thereby, piconet PA, PB, P
C constitutes a scatternet.

The relationship between the master and slave of each wireless device can be changed as needed, for example, when radio interference or a decrease in battery output occurs in the wireless device functioning as the master.

Incidentally, each of the above-mentioned wireless devices is constituted, for example, as follows. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating W-CDMA (Wideband-Code Division Mull) which is expected to be used as one of wireless devices.
1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a mobile phone compatible with a tiple access method.

That is, this portable telephone has a radio unit 1
, A baseband unit 2, an input / output unit 3, a power supply unit 4,
And a BT radio unit 5. In FIG. 1, a radio frequency signal arriving from a mobile communication base station (not shown) via a wireless channel is received by a mobile communication antenna 11 and then received by a receiving circuit (RX) via an antenna duplexer (DUP) 12. ) 13 is input.

The receiving circuit 13 includes a high frequency amplifier, a frequency converter, a spectrum despreading circuit, and a demodulator. That is, the radio frequency signal is first subjected to low noise amplification by a low noise amplifier. Next, in the frequency converter, the signal is mixed with the reception local oscillation signal generated from the frequency synthesizer (SYN) 14, and thereby down-converted into a reception intermediate frequency signal or a reception baseband signal. The received signal after the down-conversion is subjected to spectrum despreading by a spectrum despreading circuit and then digitally demodulated by a demodulator. As the demodulation method, for example, a quadrature demodulation method compatible with the QPSK method is used. The frequency of the reception local oscillation signal generated from the frequency synthesizer 14 is controlled by the main control unit 2 provided in the baseband unit 2.
Instructed from 1.

The demodulated signal output from the demodulator is input to the baseband unit 2. The baseband unit 2 includes a main control unit 21, a demultiplexing unit 22, an audio codec (hereinafter referred to as an audio codec) 23, a multimedia processing unit 24, and an LCD control unit 25.

The demodulated signal is identified by the main control section 21 as control information or multimedia information. If the demodulated signal is multimedia information, the demodulated signal is supplied to a demultiplexing section 22 where audio data and image data are separated. Is separated into
Then, the audio data is input to the audio codec 23, where the audio is decoded. Then, the reproduced audio signal is loudspeaked and output from the speaker 32 of the input / output unit 3. On the other hand, the image data is stored in the multimedia processing unit 2.
4 and is subjected to image decoding processing here. Then, the reproduced image signal is supplied to the LCD 34 of the input / output unit 3 via the LCD control unit 25 and displayed.

The received image data is stored in the RAM in the main control unit 21 as needed. Also LCD3
4 also displays various management information output from the main control unit 21 and indicating the operation state of the own device. The displayed management information includes, for example, telephone directory data, a detected value of the received electric field strength, a remaining battery level, and the like.

On the other hand, the transmission voice signal of the user output from the microphone 31 of the input / output unit 3 is transmitted to the baseband unit 2.
Is input to the demultiplexer 22 after being subjected to voice coding. In addition, camera (C
The image signal output from the AM 33 is input to the multimedia processing unit 24 of the baseband unit 2, where the image signal is subjected to image coding processing, and then input to the demultiplexing unit 22. In the demultiplexer 22, the encoded audio data and image data are multiplexed in a predetermined format. Then, the multiplexed transmission data is transmitted to the main control unit 2.
1 to the transmission circuit (TX) 15 of the radio unit 1.

The transmission circuit 15 includes a modulator, a spread spectrum circuit, a frequency converter, and a transmission power amplifier. The transmission data is first digitally modulated by a modulator, and then subjected to a spread spectrum process by a predetermined spread code in a spread spectrum circuit. As the modulation method, Q
The PSK method is used. The transmission signal after the spread spectrum is mixed with the transmission local oscillation signal generated by the frequency synthesizer 14 in the frequency converter, and thereby up-converted into a signal in a wireless transmission band.
After being amplified to a predetermined transmission level by the transmission power amplifier, it is supplied to a mobile communication antenna 11 via an antenna duplexer 12 and transmitted from the antenna 11 to a mobile communication base station (not shown). .

The power supply unit 4 includes a battery 41 such as a lithium ion battery, a charging circuit (CHG) 42 for charging the battery 41, and a voltage generation circuit (PS) 4
3 are provided. The voltage generation circuit 43 has, for example, D
It comprises a C / DC converter and generates a predetermined power supply voltage Vcc based on the output voltage of the battery 41.

The BT radio unit 5 includes an antenna 5 for BT communication.
BT wireless circuit 52 having a BT control unit 1 and C as a BT control unit.
PU53 and a link baseband controller (L
BC) 54 and an external interface 55. The CPU 53 cooperates with the LBC 54 to control the BT communication control. The BT communication control includes a process of forming a wireless link with a wireless device of a communication partner, a process of encoding / decoding a transmission / reception signal, and the like. That is, the CPU 53
The LBC 54 has a function as a link manager. On the other hand, the CPU 53 and the external interface 55
Performs a transfer process of a control signal related to BT communication and transmission / reception data with the main control unit 21 having a function as a host command interface (HCI).

The BT radio circuit 51 digitally modulates the carrier signal with the transmission data output from the LBC 54, and spreads the modulated carrier signal by frequency hopping. Then, after amplifying the transmission signal to a transmission output level equal to or less than a specified value, the transmission signal is transmitted from the antenna 51 to the wireless device of the communication partner. Further, a radio signal arriving from a wireless device of a communication partner is received through the antenna 51 and then subjected to spectrum despreading, and then digitally demodulated and input to the LBC 53.

By the way, the mobile phone of this embodiment is
As new functions related to BT communication control, a piconet information collection control function 21a, a piconet information display control function 21b, and a display command transmission / reception control function 21c are provided.

First, the piconet information collection control function 21a performs control for collecting information about the peripheral piconet when the user inputs an inquiry command in a state where the piconet is not subscribed to the piconet PA, PB, or PC. Execute.

That is, when an inquiry command is input from the key input unit 35, an inquiry request is given to the CPU 53 of the BT radio unit 5. CPU 53 and L
The BC 54 generates an inquiry ID packet in response to the inquiry request, and generates the inquiry ID packet.
The packet is transmitted from the BT wireless circuit 51 to the peripheral piconet P
Send to A, PB, PC.

When another wireless device in the vicinity returns an FHS packet to the inquiry ID packet, the FHS packet is transmitted to the LTS via the BT wireless circuit 51.
It is received by the BC 54 and the CPU 53. Then, the content of the received FHS packet from each wireless device is transferred from the external interface 55 to the main control unit 21.

The piconet information display control function 21b executes control for displaying the information collected by the piconet information collection control function 21a on the LCD 34, and has a first display mode and a second display mode.

The first display mode is the FHS of each wireless device.
The ID address of the return wireless device and the ID code unique to the piconet are extracted from the packet, and these are edited for each piconet and displayed on the LCD 34 as they are.

The second display mode is based on the FHS of each wireless device.
The storage unit 26 is searched based on the ID code of the wireless device of the return source extracted from the packet and the ID code for identifying the piconet, thereby reading out the character data corresponding to the ID code. Then, the character data is displayed on the LCD 34. That is, the received wireless device ID address and piconet-specific ID code are converted into character data indicating the vendor name of the wireless device and the model and model number of the product and displayed.

In response to the input of the display command, the display command transmission / reception control function 21c sends the “display command” to each wireless device in the same piconet in response to the input of the display command in a state where the wireless device has been registered in the piconet PA, PB, PC. "Send the packet. In addition, when this “display command” packet is received, its own location is displayed by, for example, lighting or blinking of an LED. At this time, it is determined whether the device is a master or a slave, and the display pattern is changed based on the result of the determination.

Next, the operation of the wireless network system configured as described above and the wireless device will be described. Now, suppose a case where a wireless device TA composed of a mobile phone is registered in the piconet PA as shown in FIG.
In this case, the user of the wireless device TA or the system administrator of the wireless network needs to set in advance each peripheral piconet P
In order to know the configuration of A, PB, and PC, first, the wireless device TA
, The user operates the key input unit 2 to input a predetermined inquiry command.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, HCI is sent from main control unit (HCI) 21 to CPU 53 of BT radio unit 5.
An inquiry request is notified. In response to this request, B
In the CPU 53 of the T radio unit 5, an inquiry packet (ID packet) is generated.
The packet is transmitted from the BT wireless circuit 52 to each peripheral piconet P
A, PB, and transmitted to PC.

On the other hand, each piconet PA, PB, PC
Wireless devices AM, AS1 to AS3, BM, B
S1, CM, CS1, and CS2 monitor the arrival of the BT wireless signal at random timing. In this state, when an inquiry packet arrives from the wireless device TA, each of the wireless devices AM, AS1 to AS3, BM, BS1, CM, and CS that have received the inquiry packet.
1, CS2 generates an FHS packet and returns it to the transmission source wireless device TA.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, a synchronization word generated based on the master address in the access code is inserted into the FHS packet, and its own unique ID address “BD_AD” in the system is inserted into the payload.
DR "and a physical address (MAC address) to be assigned to the inquiry-source wireless device TA. The ID address is composed of a lower address, an upper address, and an additional address, and these are distributed and inserted into a LAP field, a UAP field, and a NAP field provided in the payload, respectively. The FHS packet header includes a field (T
YPE) is provided, and an FHS packet code is inserted into this type field.

After transmitting the inquiry packet, the wireless device TA transmits the wireless devices AM, AS1 to AS3, B
It monitors the return of FHS packets from M, BS1, CM, CS1 and CS2. Then, in this state, each of the wireless devices AM, AS1 to AS3, BM, BS1, CM, CS
1, when FHS packets arrive from CS2, they are sequentially received. At this time, whether or not the received packet is an FHS packet is determined based on the FHS packet code inserted in the type field of the header.

Upon receiving the FHS packet, the radio equipment TA establishes synchronization in the LBC 54 based on the clock CLK inserted in the payload,
At 53, the synchronization word, ID address and MAC address inserted in the FHS packet are decoded, and the decoded information is notified to the main control unit 21.

The main control unit 21 stores the decoded synchronization word, ID address, and MAC address in the memory of the main control unit 11 in step 3a, and classifies each of the piconets PA, PB, and PC. Step 3b
Is sent to the LCD 34 via the LCD control unit 25 for display. FIG. 5 shows an example of the display result. As shown in the figure, each slave wireless device AS1 to AS3, B
The ID addresses of S1, CS1 and CS2 are assigned to the master wireless devices AM and B for each piconet PA, PB and PC.
It is displayed in association with the M and CM synchronization words.

Therefore, the user of the wireless device TA or the system administrator of the wireless network,
From the piconet information displayed on the LCD 34, the configuration of each piconet PA, PB, PC existing in the vicinity can be grasped. The display of the piconet information is deleted by a deletion operation of the user or the administrator. Alternatively, the information may be automatically deleted when a certain time has elapsed.

When a command for canceling the use of the inquiry procedure is input on the way to the wireless device TA, the main controller 21 sends the command to the B as shown in FIG.
The CPU 53 of the T radio unit 5 is notified of the HCI inquiry cancellation request. Upon receiving the HCI inquiry cancel request, the CPU 53 of the BT radio unit 5
An HCI command completion notification is transmitted to the main control unit 21.

When the inquiry procedure for all the peripheral wireless devices is completed, the CPU 5 of the BT wireless unit 5
3 sends an HCI inquiry completion notification to the main control unit 21. In response to this notification, the main control unit 21 controls the display of the inquiry result described above.

By the way, in the piconet information display control operation (first display mode) described above, the synchronization word and ID address received from each wireless device are displayed as they are. For this reason, the user of the wireless device TA or the system administrator of the wireless network needs to refer to a separately prepared code correspondence table to grasp the vendor name and model name of the device corresponding to the displayed code. Therefore, work efficiency is not good.

Therefore, the present invention has a second display mode as an improvement. That is, the storage unit 26 is provided with a conversion table for display data. In this conversion table, for each of a plurality of other wireless devices that may possibly constitute a piconet, a synchronization word and an ID address thereof and character data (character data) representing a vendor name and a model name are mutually exchanged. They are stored in association with each other.

When the main controller 21 detects the arrival of the FHS packet transmitted by the wireless device in step 8a as shown in FIG. 8, the main controller 21 extracts a synchronization word and an ID address from this FHS packet in step 8b, and Part 2
1 in the internal memory. Then, when receiving FHS packets from all the surrounding wireless devices, step 8c
Then, the storage unit 26 is accessed based on the synchronization word and the ID address received from each wireless device, thereby reading out the character data representing the vendor name and model name of the wireless device corresponding to the synchronization word and the ID address, respectively. After categorizing and arranging these character data for each piconet, the LC
The data is supplied to the LCD 34 via the D control unit 25 and displayed.
FIG. 9 shows an example of the display result.

By adopting the second display mode in this way, the user of the wireless device TA or the system administrator of the wireless network can view each of the piconet PAs, PBs, and PCs only by looking at the contents displayed on the LCD 34. The vendor name and model name of the constituent master device and slave device can be immediately grasped. Therefore, it is not necessary to refer to the code correspondence table, thereby greatly improving work efficiency.

Now, the surrounding piconets PA,
After grasping the configurations of the PB and the PC, the user of the wireless device TA or the system administrator of the wireless network then performs an operation for subscribing the wireless device TA to a desired piconet.

For example, assuming that the piconet desired to be subscribed to is a PA, among the configuration data of each piconet PA, PB, PC displayed on the LCD 34 of the wireless device TA,
After selecting and specifying the piconet PA with the cursor CL as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 9, one of the master wireless device AM or the slave wireless device (for example, AS2) constituting the piconet PA is selected and specified.

Then, in the radio equipment TA, the main control unit 2
1 transmits a connection request to the BT radio unit 5. Thereafter, in response to this request, the BT radio unit 5 follows an asynchronous connectionless connection (hereinafter referred to as an ACL link connection) procedure and communicates with the slave radio device AS2 of the piconet PA. ACL
Control for establishing a link is executed.

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the control procedure, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure for establishing / disconnecting the ACL connection in the BT radio section 5 and its contents. That is, when receiving the ACL connection request from the main control unit 21 in step 7a, the BT wireless unit 5 first executes a page / page response process with the master wireless device AM of the link connection partner (in step 7b). After the page / page response process is completed, a connection request is sent from the wireless device TA to the master wireless device AM or the slave wireless device AS2 of the link connection partner, and an ACK response is received. At this time, the BT wireless unit 5 of each wireless device TA, AM or AS 2 performs pairing in step 7c and generates a link key in step 7d, or performs authentication in step 7e and then performs authentication in step 7g. Perform encryption processing. When the roles of the master and the slave between the wireless devices are changed, it is performed in step 7f after the end of the page / page response process.

When the setup is completed (step 7h), the wireless device TA and the master wireless device A to be connected are connected.
An ACL link connection operation is performed between the wireless device TA and the slave wireless device AS2 (step 7i), and thereafter, wireless communication becomes possible between the wireless device TA that has requested the subscription and the master wireless device AM or the slave wireless device AS2. . The connection form of the wireless link includes a synchronous connection type link connection (hereinafter referred to as an SCO link connection) procedure in addition to the above-described ACL link connection procedure.
The CO link connection procedure is executed in step 7j.

With the establishment of the wireless communication link described above,
The wireless device TA is registered in the piconet PA. That is, the registration registration process to the piconet PA is performed by the wireless device T
It is automatically executed only by selecting and specifying one of the piconet information displayed on the LCD 34 of A with the cursor CL. Therefore, the user or the system administrator
When subscribing to A, the system ID of the piconet of the registration destination, the ID address of the wireless device, and the like are entered into the key input unit 35.
Therefore, it is not necessary to input the information, and as a result, the registration can be completed by a simple operation without error.

Next, when the new registration of the wireless device TA is completed as described above, the user of the wireless device TA or the system manager of the wireless network is registered and subscribed to the piconet PA that the wireless device TA certainly desires. A display command transmission procedure is executed to confirm whether or not the display command has been transmitted. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing this display command transmission procedure.

That is, the user or the system administrator
By operating the key input unit 35 in the wireless device TA, a specific display command is input. As the display command, for example, in each of the wireless devices AM and AS1 to AS3 constituting the piconet PA to which the wireless device TA has joined, information indicating the location or function is described.
A command requesting that AS1 to AS3 display themselves is used. Then, the master wireless device AM is designated as the transmission destination of the display request command.

Then, the main control section 21 notifies the BT radio section 5 of the display request command. Receiving this, the CPU 53 of the BT radio unit 5 generates a “display command” packet based on the piconet information stored in the internal memory of the main control unit 21, and transmits the “display command” packet from the BT radio circuit 52 to the master of the piconet PA. It transmits to the wireless device AM.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the format of this "display command" packet. That is, the lower address of the ID of the master wireless device AM is inserted in the synchronization word of the access code, and the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS to be transmitted to the destination field of the header.
The physical address of S3 is inserted. Further, a display command is inserted into the user information field of the payload.

The master wireless device AM that has received the “display command” packet transmits the received “display command”.
The contents of the packet are decoded by the BT wireless unit 5 and the decoded information is transferred to the main control unit 21 and stored in the internal memory, and is also displayed on the LCD 34. It is effective to light the light emitting diode as the display form.
At this time, a sound may be generated from a speaker. In this way, the user or system administrator can easily confirm the location of the master wireless device AM from a distance.

The master wireless device AM transfers the received "display command" packet to each of the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3 connected thereto.
At this time, since a wireless link has already been established between the master wireless device AM and each of the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3, the master wireless device AM uses the display command by a predetermined slot via this wireless link. Forward the packet. The transfer of the display command is performed according to, for example, an SCO link connection procedure.

FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing the procedure. That is, the master wireless device AM sequentially sends display commands to the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3 using even-numbered slots, and sends the display commands to the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3.
S3 returns a "display command" response packet to the master wireless device AM using the odd-numbered slot upon receiving the display command.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the format of the "display command" response packet. The transfer of the display command from the master wireless device AM to each of the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3 can be performed by an ACL link connection operation.

Now, each of the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3
Then, upon receiving the "display command" packet, control is performed to display its location and function on its LCD 34 according to the contents of the request.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the procedure and contents. That is, the master wireless device AM and each of the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3 perform the “display command”
When a packet is received, it is first determined in step 12a whether or not the packet is addressed to the piconet PA to which it belongs, based on the synchronization word included in the access code. If it is not a packet addressed to the piconet PA to which it belongs, this received packet is rejected in step 12b.

On the other hand, if the packet is addressed to the piconet PA to which it belongs, it is determined in step 12c whether a display command is included in the user information field. If the display command is included, it is determined in step 12d whether the device itself is currently functioning as a master or a slave, and according to the determination result, in steps 12e and 12f, each of the master and slave is determined. Perform display processing.

For example, in the wireless device AM functioning as the master, the light emitting element such as the light emitting diode is kept lit, while in each of the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3, the light emitting element is turned on and off. In this way, the user or the system administrator can identify the master wireless device AM and each of the slave devices AS1 to AS3 at a glance. In this case, each slave wireless device AS1 to AS3
The blinking cycle may be different for each. By doing so, it is possible to individually identify each of the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3 in addition to identifying the master and the slave.

In addition, as a display form, a master and a slave are distinguished by different display colors, and a master and a slave are distinguished by combining lighting of a light emitting element and generation of a sound from a speaker. Things are conceivable.

The display of the location and function of each wireless device is deleted by sending a display deletion command from a user or a system administrator. In addition, the configuration may be such that each wireless device voluntarily erases the data after a certain time has elapsed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the inquiry packet is input to the unsubscribed wireless device TA to transmit the inquiry packet to the surrounding piconets PA, PB, and PC. , PB, and PC, an FHS packet is returned from the FHS packet, and a synchronization word indicating a piconet system ID and an ID address of the wireless device of the return source are extracted from the FHS packet and displayed on the LCD 34. I have.

Therefore, the user of the wireless device TA or the system administrator of the wireless network can use the LCD 34
It is possible to grasp the configuration of each of the piconets PA, PB, and PC existing in the vicinity from the piconet information displayed before the registration.

In this embodiment, a second display mode is provided as a piconet information display mode. Then, the storage unit 26 is accessed based on the received synchronization word and ID address. Then, the character data representing the vendor name and the model name of the wireless device corresponding to the synchronization word and the ID address are read out from the storage unit 26, and sorted and arranged for each piconet.
Is displayed.

Therefore, the user of the wireless device TA or the system administrator of the wireless network only needs to look at the contents displayed on the LCD 34 and can operate each piconet PA, PB,
The vendor name and model name of the master device and each slave device constituting the PC can be immediately grasped. Therefore,
There is no need to refer to the code correspondence table, which can greatly increase the work efficiency.

Further, in this embodiment, when the piconet information displayed on the LCD 34 is selected and designated by the cursor CL, based on the piconet information stored and held in the internal memory of the main control unit 21, communication with the selected wireless device is performed. An ACL link connection procedure is executed between the two, and the establishment of the ACL link registers the wireless device TA in the piconet.

Therefore, the user or the administrator does not need to input the system ID of the piconet of the registration destination, the ID address of the wireless device, etc. from the key input unit 35 at the time of subscribing the wireless device TA. Subscription registration can be completed without error by operation.

Further, in this embodiment, after the new registration of the wireless device TA is completed, a "display command" packet is transmitted to each wireless device constituting the piconet in which the wireless device TA has been registered, whereby each wireless device TA transmits itself to each wireless device. Function, that is, whether it functions as a master or a slave.

Therefore, the user of the wireless device TA or the system administrator of the wireless network can easily confirm whether or not the display command has been registered in the piconet PA desired by the wireless device TA. At this time, the location of the wireless device functioning as the master and the location of the wireless device functioning as the slave can be confirmed at a glance.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various other embodiments, for example, as described below are conceivable. That is, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which a plurality of wireless devices AM and AS1 to AS3 transmit an inquiry packet from an unsubscribed wireless device TA to an already subscribed piconet PA to collect information on the piconet PA is described. Explained for. However, the invention is not limited thereto, and an inquiry packet may be transmitted from another second wireless device to a first wireless device that does not constitute a piconet,
On the other hand, the FHS packet returned from the first wireless device may be received by the second wireless device, and a synchronization word or an ID address may be extracted from the FHS packet and displayed.

At this time, F
By accessing the storage unit using the synchronization word or the ID address extracted from the HS packet as a key, character data representing the vendor name and model name of the corresponding wireless device may be read, and this character data may be displayed.

In this manner, the inquiry procedure can be performed between one-to-one wireless devices to acquire and display information on the other wireless device, thereby enabling the connection destination device to be identified before connection. You can check. Examples of the connection in this case include connecting a mobile phone to a personal computer, connecting a peripheral device such as a printer or mouse to a personal computer, connecting a keyboard or digital camera to the mobile phone. In some cases, an earphone or headphones may be connected to an audio player using a semiconductor memory as a recording medium.

In the above-described embodiment, the wireless device of the inquiry source accesses the storage unit based on the synchronization word and the ID address extracted from the received FHS packet, thereby obtaining the vendor name and model name of the corresponding wireless device. Is read and displayed.

However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the wireless device that has received the inquiry packet, character data representing its own vendor name and model name is read from the storage unit.
This is inserted into the payload of the FHS packet and transmitted to the wireless device of the inquiry source. Then, the wireless device of the inquiry source may extract character data representing the vendor name and the model name from the received FHS packet and display the character data.

In this way, each wireless device need only store character data representing its own vendor name and model name, and the synchronization word and ID address of the other wireless devices are replaced with the vendor name. In addition, a conversion table for converting character data representing a model name is not required. For this reason, the configuration of the device and the management of the conversion table can be simplified.

Further, when a "display command" packet is delivered from the master wireless device AM to each of the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3, a "display command" response returned from each of the slave wireless devices AS1 to AS3 to the master wireless device AM. The packet is transmitted to the master wireless device AM as shown in FIG.
Is sent back to the wireless device TA of the "display command" packet transmission source. Then, the wireless device TA may be configured to extract the synchronization word included in the returned response packet, the ID address of the wireless device of the return source, and the like, and display them on the display unit 3.

In this way, the configuration of the piconet to which the user has subscribed can be reconfirmed with the wireless device TA, thereby making it possible to grasp the presence or absence of a wireless device that has become unable to communicate due to radio interference or the like. Becomes

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which the self-registration is confirmed by transmitting the “display command” packet from the wireless device TA to the piconet PA to which the self-registered one is registered. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a “display command” packet may be sent to another piconet to which the user has not subscribed, thereby independently displaying the location and function of each wireless device in the other piconet.

In this way, the user of the wireless device TA or the system administrator of the wireless network can grasp the configuration of each piconet and the location and function of each wireless device by using any wireless device TA. It is possible to do. This is very effective for maintenance.

Further, in the above embodiment, Bluetooth has been described as an example of the short-range wireless data communication technology.
The present invention is applicable to other similar technologies, for example, HOME RF.

In addition, an inquiry control sequence,
The procedures and contents of the subscription control sequence and the display request sequence, the type and configuration of the wireless device, the display contents and display form of piconet information, and the like can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Further, the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined to form another embodiment, or some of the components of each of the above embodiments may be deleted to form another embodiment.
All are included in the present invention.

[0100]

As described in detail above, in the first invention, for example, in response to a command input for an inquiry, a first wireless device not yet subscribed to the radio network has subscribed to the second radio device already subscribed to the radio network. Inquiry information for inquiring about the configuration of the wireless network is sent to the device. When the inquiry information arrives from the first wireless device, the second wireless device returns response information including information indicating its own attribute to the first wireless device that has made the inquiry. The first wireless device receives the response information returned from the second wireless device after transmitting the inquiry information, and the information indicating the configuration of the wireless network based on the attribute information included in the response information. Is generated and displayed.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the configuration of a wireless network existing in the vicinity can be confirmed before registration of the wireless device, and the wireless device can be securely registered in the desired network. Thus, it is possible to provide a wireless network system and a wireless device that can simplify the registration operation and reduce the power consumption of the wireless device.

On the other hand, in the second invention, a display request is sent to another wireless device constituting the wireless network in response to the input of the display request command in a state where the wireless device is registered in the wireless network. When the display request arrives from another wireless device in the wireless network, at least information indicating whether the terminal itself functions as a master or a slave is notified in response to the display request.

Therefore, according to the second aspect, the user or the system administrator can easily confirm whether or not the wireless device is surely registered in the desired wireless network after the new registration processing of the wireless device. In particular, it is possible to provide a wireless device capable of confirming whether it is functioning as a master or a slave.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a wireless network system according to the present invention.

[Fig. 2] W- which is expected to be used as one of wireless devices
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a mobile phone compatible with a CDMA system.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an inquiry command operation procedure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the format of an FHS packet.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a display result of piconet information in a first display mode.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an inquiry command operation procedure when a command for canceling use of the inquiry procedure is input on the way;

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an operation procedure when an inquiry procedure for all peripheral wireless devices is completed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure and a content of piconet information display control in a second display mode.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of a display result of piconet information in a second display mode.

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure of an ACL link connection sequence.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an ACL / SCO connection establishment / disconnection control procedure and its control contents.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing a display command transfer procedure.

FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of the format of a display command packet.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a format of a display command response packet.

FIG. 15 is a timing chart showing an SCO link connection operation.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a display control procedure of the wireless device in response to the reception of the display command and the contents thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

PA, PB, PC: piconet AM, BM, CM: master wireless device AS1 to AS3, BS1, CS1, CS2: slave wireless device 1: wireless unit 2: baseband unit 3: input / output unit 4: power supply unit 5: BT Radio unit 11 Antenna for portable communication 12 Antenna duplexer (DUP) 13 Receiver circuit (RX) 14 Synthesizer (SYN) 15 Transmitter circuit (TX) 21 Main control unit (HCI) 21a Piconet information collection Control function 21b Piconet information display control function 21c Display command transmission / reception control function 22 Demultiplexing unit 23 Audio codec 24 Multimedia processing unit 25 LCD control unit 31 Microphone 32 Speaker 33 Camera 33 Liquid crystal display (LCD) 35 key input unit 41 battery 42 charging circuit 43 power supply circuit 5 ... BT antenna 52 ... BT radio circuit 53 ... BT control unit for communication (CPU) 54 ... link baseband controller (LBC) 55 ... external interface

Claims (10)

[Claims] In a wireless network system including a plurality of wireless devices that communicate with each other via a wireless channel, a first wireless device that has not joined the wireless network is a second wireless device that has joined the wireless network. Means for sending an inquiry signal for inquiring an attribute of the device to the device, wherein the second wireless device, when the inquiry information arrives from the first wireless device, information indicating its own attribute And a means for returning response information including the following to the inquiry source first wireless device, and wherein the first wireless device receives the response information returned from the second wireless device, A wireless network system comprising: display means for generating and displaying information representing the configuration of the wireless network based on included attribute information. 2. A sequence for registering itself in a wireless network with the second wireless device based on response information returned from the second wireless device. 2. The wireless network system according to claim 1, further comprising subscription registration control means for performing the following. 3. A wireless device used in a wireless network system comprising a plurality of wireless devices communicating with each other via a wireless channel, wherein the wireless device has not yet joined the wireless network and has joined the wireless network. Inquiry means for sending inquiry information for inquiring about the attribute of the device; response information receiving means for receiving response information returned from a wireless device that has joined the wireless network after transmitting the inquiry information; Display means for obtaining attribute information of a wireless device already subscribed to the wireless network from the response information, and generating and displaying information indicating the configuration of the wireless network based on the attribute information. machine. 4. The wireless device according to claim 3, wherein the display unit displays attribute information of the plurality of wireless devices that have returned the response information by classifying the attribute information for each wireless network to which the wireless device joins. machine. 5. The wireless device stores, for a plurality of wireless devices that may join the wireless network, a correspondence table representing a correspondence between an identification code of the wireless device and character data representing the contents of an attribute. Means, when the attribute information included in the response information is an identification code, reading means for reading character data representing the content of the attribute corresponding to the identification code from the correspondence table; and reading the character data read by the reading means. 4. The wireless device according to claim 3, further comprising a display unit for displaying. 6. The response information returned from the wireless device subscribed to the wireless network includes character data representing the contents of the attribute of the wireless device subscribed to the wireless network. 4. The wireless device according to claim 3, wherein the character data is extracted from the received response information and displayed. 7. The wireless device further includes subscription registration control means for executing a sequence for subscribing itself to the wireless network based on response information returned from a wireless device that has subscribed to the wireless network. The wireless device according to claim 3, further comprising: 8. A wireless network system comprising a plurality of wireless devices that communicate with each other via a wireless channel, wherein one of the wireless devices functions as a master and the other one or more functions as a slave. Means for receiving a notification request signal transmitted from another wireless device which has been registered in the wireless network and has already been registered in the wireless network system, and the notification request signal. A notification unit that notifies at least information indicating whether the wireless communication device is functioning as a master or a slave in response to reception of the wireless communication device. 9. In response to receiving a broadcast request signal transmitted from another wireless device already registered in the wireless network, transmitting information indicating its own attribute to the wireless device as the broadcast request signal transmission source The wireless device according to claim 8, further comprising a transmission unit that performs the transmission. 10. In the wireless device used in a system for configuring a wireless network among a plurality of wireless devices according to the Bluetooth standard, inquiry information is transmitted to a wireless device as a connection destination candidate, and the inquiry information is transmitted to the wireless device. On the other hand, by receiving response information returned from the wireless device serving as the connection destination candidate, attribute information collecting means for collecting attribute information of the wireless device serving as the connection destination candidate, and collecting by the attribute information collecting means And a display unit for displaying the attribute information.