JP2003134130A - Main communication equipment, subsidiary communication equipment, announcement instruction program, announcement instruction method and network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network system whose operability can be improved. SOLUTION: The main communication equipment of this invention, that establishes communication paths with a plurality of subsidiary communication equipment through a prescribed network, displays a plurality of choices respectively allocated to the plurality of subsidiary communication equipment, detects that an optional choice is selected among the plurality of choices, generates a control signal for operating a notifying means provided in an optional subsidiary communication equipment to notify the user of the main communication equipment of the optional sub communication equipment corresponding to the detected choice, and transmits the control signal to the optional subsidiary communication equipment through a communication path. In this case, the optional sub communication equipment receives the control signal from the main communication equipment and controls the notifying means on the basis of the control signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a master communication device, a slave communication device, a notification instruction program, a notification instruction method, and a network system, for example, Bluetooth.
It is suitable for being applied to a network system constructed by a plurality of communication devices conforming to h: registered trademark).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the Bluetooth SIG (Spec
A communication device based on Bluetooth, which is a short-range wireless data communication standard standardized by the ial Interest Group), has been developed.

Bluetooth is a 2.4 [GHz] band ISM (Indu
(Communication frequency of 1 [MHz] frequency band in the strial Scientific Medical) band, frequency range of 79 [MHz] every 625 [μsec] which is a time unit of time division multiplexing (hereinafter referred to as time slot) It is specified that data is transmitted within a space of about 10 [m] square by using a frequency hopping type spread spectrum communication method that randomly changes (hopping).

Therefore, a network system constructed by using a plurality of such communication devices (hereinafter referred to as a BT system) shares a frequency hopping pattern and a time slot among a plurality of communication devices and shares a frequency axis. A state in which synchronization is established between the top and the time axis (hereinafter referred to as a piconet) is formed.

At this time, in the piconet, as shown in FIG. 14, one communication device (hereinafter referred to as a master), which is a construction source of the BT system and has a control function, among a plurality of communication devices. ) Is always present, and there is one or more communication devices (hereinafter, referred to as slaves) controlled by the master.

In this case, the master controls one or more slaves to synchronize the slave with its frequency hopping pattern and time slot. Therefore, the master can individually exchange various data (data communication) with one or more slaves.

Incidentally, the piconet is designed to be able to construct a network system called a scatternet by interconnecting with another piconet.

As described above, the BT system not only performs data communication by simply replacing a cable between one-to-one communication devices, but also does not provide a relay device corresponding to a base station or the like between one-to-many communication devices. The data communication can be easily performed.

[0009]

By the way, in a BT system 1 specifically shown in FIG. 15, a personal computer 2 (master) has a space AR of about 10 [m] square with respect to the personal computer 2. When a piconet is formed with the mobile phones 3, 4, 5 and 6 (slave) existing therein, the attribute information in the mobile phones 3, 4, 5 and 6 is requested.

In this case, the personal computer 2, based on the respective attribute information supplied from the mobile phones 3, 4, 5 and 6, for example, as shown in FIG. A device selection screen 10 including device names 8A to 8D representing names rewritten by the user and device icons 7A to 7D having the same pattern representing various types of electronic devices as mobile phones is displayed on a display unit (not shown). ) Is displayed.

As a result, the personal computer 2
The user of the personal computer 2 is made aware of the attributes of the mobile phones 3, 4, 5 and 6 forming the piconet, and the selected device name 8A, 8B, 8C or 8D (device icon 7A, 7B, 7C or 7D). ), Various data communications can be performed with the mobile phones 3, 4, 5 or 6.

However, the personal computer 2
Indicates the correspondence between the device icons 7A to 7D having the same pattern or the device names 8A to 8D arbitrarily rewritten by the user of the personal computer 2 and the actual mobile phones 3 to 6 by the user. However, as a result, it is difficult for the user to select the device names 8A to 8D (device icons 7A to 7D), and there is a problem that the usability is poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is intended to propose a main communication device, a slave communication device, a notification instruction program, a notification instruction method, and a network system that can improve usability.

[0014]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, a master communication device that establishes communication paths with a plurality of slave communication devices via a predetermined network is a plurality of slave communication devices. Display a plurality of choices assigned to each of the plurality of choices, detect that any of the plurality of choices is selected, and select any slave communication device corresponding to the detected choice as a user of the main communication device. In order to notify, the control signal for operating the notification means provided in the arbitrary slave communication device is generated, and the control signal is sent to the arbitrary slave communication device via the communication path. In this case, any slave communication device receives the control signal from the main communication device and controls the notification means based on the control signal.

Therefore, if the user who uses the main communication device selects a desired option from a plurality of options, the user selects the desired option by the notification operation of the notification means in the slave communication device corresponding to the selected option, and the selected option. The correspondence relationship with the slave communication device corresponding to the option can be grasped.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(1) Overall configuration In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a BT (Bl according to the present invention as a whole.
uetooth (registered trademark) system, a personal computer 21 having a Bluetooth module compliant with Bluetooth and a PDA (Personal Digital Assist)
ants) 22, PDA 23, mobile phone 24 and mobile phone 25.

In this case, the personal computer 21
Functions as a master from which the BT system 20 is built, and is
[m] PDA22 and PDA existing in the four-sided space AR1
The mobile phone 23, the mobile phone 24, and the mobile phone 25 function as slaves to form a piconet.

Here, the piconet is a communication frequency of 79 [MHz] with a frequency width of 1 [MHz] in the Bluetooth standard.
A state in which a plurality of communication devices share a frequency hopping pattern that randomly changes (hopping) within the range of the frequency width of (1) and a time unit of time division multiplexing (hereinafter referred to as a time slot) (that is, A state in which synchronization is established on the frequency axis and the time axis).

Therefore, the personal computer 21 functioning as a master is the PDA 2 functioning as a slave.
2, the PDA 23, the mobile phone 24, and the mobile phone 25 are synchronized with their own frequency hopping patterns and time slots.
The DA 23, the mobile phone 24, and the mobile phone 25 can be individually exchanged with each other (data communication).

The PDA 22, PDA 23, mobile phone 24, and mobile phone 25 (slave) are connected to other slaves (PDA) via the personal computer 21 (master).
22, PDA 23, mobile phone 24, mobile phone 25)
Both are capable of exchanging various data (data communication).

(2) Configuration of Each Communication Device (2-1) Circuit Configuration of Personal Computer As shown in FIG. 2, the personal computer 21 has a central processing unit (CPU) for centrally controlling various functions of the personal computer 21. Unit) 30, ROM (Read Only Memory) 31, RAM (Randa)
m Access Memory) 32, keyboard 33, mouse 34,
A hard disk drive (HDD) 35, a display unit 36, and a Bluetooth module 37 compliant with Bluetooth are connected to each other via a bus BUS, and various data are exchanged between the circuit units via the bus. There is.

The hard disk of the HDD 35 has a window
Various programs such as an operating program such as ws98 (a trademark of Microsoft Corporation), a piconet forming program for forming a piconet, a notification instruction program for instructing a user to grasp a communication device formed by the piconet, Various personal data such as video data are stored.

Accordingly, the CPU 30 appropriately reads out various programs stored in the hard disk of the HDD 35 in accordance with various operations from the keyboard 33 and the mouse 34 and expands them in the RAM 32 to execute the processing according to the programs. , The processing content is displayed on the display unit 36.
It is designed to be viewed through.

For example, when the CPU 30 performs a predetermined operation for forming a piconet with the keyboard 33 or the mouse 34 according to the operating program, the CPU 30
The piconet forming program stored in the hard disk of the DD 35 is read and expanded in the RAM 32 to function as a master, and controls the Bluetooth module 37.

In this case, the Bluetooth module 37
Is a 2.4 [GHz] band ISM (Industrial Scientific Medical)
A maximum of 79 communication frequencies with a frequency width of 1 [MHz] is set in the band, and the communication frequency is randomly changed (hopping) for each time slot (625 [μsec]), and AR1 in a space of approximately several [m] squares is set.
Various data is exchanged with the PDA 22, PDA 23, mobile phone 24, and mobile phone 25 existing in (FIG. 1).

The Bluetooth module 37 includes a Bluetooth clock (not shown), a flash memory (not shown) and a ROM (not shown), and the ROM stores a Bluetooth address. .

The Bluetooth address is information unique to the Bluetooth module and is an identifier used as a parameter for generating a frequency hopping pattern in the Bluetooth module.

Practically, the CPU 30 controls as a piconet formation request data including the Bluetooth clock counter information for controlling the Bluetooth module to establish the time axis for the piconet formation target and the Bluetooth address for establishing the frequency axis. PDA22, PDA23, via the Bluetooth module 37,
It transmits to the mobile phone 24 and the mobile phone 25 and forms a piconet in synchronization with its own frequency hopping pattern and time slot.

In this state, the CPU 30 makes the HDD
By reading the notification instruction program stored in the hard disk 35, expanding it in the RAM 32, and executing the notification instruction processing, each communication device (P
The user of the personal computer 21 can know the DA 22, the PDA 23, the mobile phone 24, and the mobile phone 25).

(2-2) Circuit configuration of PDA Since the PDA 22 and the PDA 23 have the same configuration, only the circuit configuration of the PDA 22 will be described here.

As shown in FIG. 3, the PDA 22 is
CPU4 that controls various functions in DA22
0, a memory 41, an operation input unit 42 including an operation button and a touch panel, a display unit 43, a speaker 44, and a Bluetooth module 45 conforming to Bluetooth are respectively connected via a bus BUS. Various data are transmitted and received between the circuit units.

In the memory 41, various programs such as a basic program for realizing an operating system, a piconet forming program for forming a piconet, a notification processing program for making a user understand a communication device formed by the piconet, and the like, Various personal data such as video data and audio data are stored.

Therefore, the CPU 40 appropriately reads out various programs stored in the memory 41 in accordance with various operations from the operation input unit 42 and expands them in the internal RAM (not shown), thereby performing processing according to the programs. Is executed, and the processing content is displayed via the display unit 43.

For example, when the CPU 40 receives the piconet formation request data from the personal computer 21 through the Bluetooth module 45 according to the basic program, the CPU 40 visually notifies the user of the PDA 22 of the fact through the display unit 43. , Aurally notify via speaker 44.

At this time, when a predetermined operation for receiving the piconet formation request data is performed by the operation input unit 42, the CPU 40 reads the piconet formation program stored in the memory 41 and stores it in an internal RAM (not shown). By expanding, it functions as a slave and controls the Bluetooth module 45.

In this case, the Bluetooth module 45
Is a 2.4 [GHz] band ISM (Industrial Scientific Medical)
A maximum of 79 [pieces] of communication frequency with a frequency width of 1 [MHz] is set in the band, and it is randomly changed (hopping) at each time slot (625 [μsec]) to exchange various data with the personal computer 21. Has been done.

The Bluetooth module 45 has a built-in Bluetooth clock (not shown), a flash memory (not shown) and a ROM (not shown), and the ROM stores a Bluetooth address. .

Practically, the CPU 40 calculates the frequency hopping pattern for establishing the synchronization of the frequency axis based on the Bluetooth address of the personal computer 21 in the piconet formation request data by controlling the Bluetooth module 45, and in the piconet formation request data. Based on the Bluetooth clock counter value of the personal computer 21, an offset is added to its own Bluetooth clock to set the timing of the time slot for establishing the synchronization of the time axis.

As a result, the CPU 40 forms the piconet by synchronizing the Bluetooth module 45 with the Bluetooth module 37 (FIG. 2) of the personal computer 21.

In this state, the CPU 40 develops the notification processing program in the memory 41 and executes the notification processing so that the user of the personal computer 21 can grasp the PDA 22 forming the piconet.

(2-3) Circuit Configuration of Mobile Phone Since the mobile phone 24 and the mobile phone 25 have the same structure, only the circuit structure of the mobile phone 24 will be described here.

As shown in FIG. 4, the mobile phone 25 has a CPU 50 for controlling various functions of the mobile phone 25, a memory 51, operation keys 52 including a plurality of operation buttons, a display section 53, and a CPU 50. A transmission / reception circuit unit 54 and a Bluetooth module 55 conforming to Bluetooth are connected to each other via a bus BUS, and various data can be exchanged between the circuit units via the bus.

The transmission / reception circuit section 54 includes a microphone 5
6 and a speaker 57 are connected to the memory 51, and the memory 51 is provided with a basic program for realizing an operating system, a piconet forming program for forming a piconet, and a notification process for letting the user know a communication device formed by the piconet. Various programs such as programs and various personal data such as video data and audio data are stored.

Therefore, the CPU 50 appropriately reads out various programs stored in the memory 51 in accordance with various operations from the operation keys 52 and expands them in the internal RAM (not shown), so that the programs are stored. The processing according to the above is executed and the content of the processing is displayed on the display unit 53.

For example, when a predetermined operation for making a call is performed by the operation key 52 according to the basic program, the CPU 30 controls the transmitting / receiving circuit section 54 to execute a calling process such as a calling process or a call ending process. .

That is, the transmission / reception circuit section 54 includes the CPU 50.
Control is performed to transmit a predetermined control signal to a base station (not shown) via the antenna 58 to perform call processing, and an incoming signal from the base station is received via the antenna 58. The CPU 50 is notified of an incoming call.

The transmitter / receiver circuit 54 amplifies the received signal received through the antenna 58 and then demodulates it to generate a voice signal during a call, and outputs the voice signal through the speaker 57 and the microphone 56. The audio signal is modulated and then amplified to generate a transmission signal, which can be transmitted via the antenna 58.

When the CPU 50 receives the piconet formation request data from the personal computer 21 via the Bluetooth module 55 according to the basic program, the user of the mobile phone 25 is informed of the fact by the display section 53.
And aurally via the speaker 57.

At this time, when a predetermined operation for receiving the piconet formation request data is performed by the operation key 52, the CPU 50 reads the piconet formation program stored in the memory 51 and expands it in the internal RAM (not shown). By doing so, it functions as a slave and controls the Bluetooth module 55.

In this case, the Bluetooth module 55
Is a 2.4 [GHz] band ISM (Industrial Scientific Medical)
A maximum of 79 [pieces] of communication frequency with a frequency width of 1 [MHz] is set in the band, and it is randomly changed (hopping) at each time slot (625 [μsec]) to exchange various data with the personal computer 21. Has been done.

The Bluetooth module 55 has a built-in Bluetooth clock (not shown), flash memory (not shown) and ROM (not shown), and the ROM stores the Bluetooth address. .

Actually, the CPU 50 calculates the frequency hopping pattern for establishing the synchronization of the frequency axis based on the Bluetooth address of the personal computer 21 in the piconet formation request data by controlling the Bluetooth module 55, and in the piconet formation request data. Based on the Bluetooth clock counter value of the personal computer 21, an offset is added to its own Bluetooth clock to set the timing of the time slot for establishing the synchronization of the time axis.

As a result, the CPU 50 forms the piconet by synchronizing the Bluetooth module 45 with the Bluetooth module 37 (FIG. 2) of the personal computer 21.

In this state, the CPU 50 develops the notification processing program in the memory 51 and executes the notification processing so that the user of the personal computer 21 can grasp the mobile phone 24 having the piconet. There is.

(3) Notification causal processing procedure First, of the notification causal processing procedures, the notification instruction processing procedure on the personal computer 21 side that functions as a master will be described.

That is, C of the personal computer 21
As shown in FIG. 5 (A), the PU 30 reads out the notification instruction program from the HDD 35 and expands it in the RAM 31, and then a step S following the start step of the routine RT1.
Move to P1.

At step SP1, the CPU 30 generates device grasping information request data for requesting information for the user to grasp the communication device forming the piconet, and sends it to the PDA 22, PDA 23, portable telephone 24 and portable telephone 25. , Go to step SP2.

By the way, the flash memories built in the Bluetooth modules 45 (FIG. 3) and 55 (FIG. 4) of the PDA 22, PDA 23, mobile phone 24, and mobile phone 25, respectively, use the device as information for identifying the communication device. Names, device categories, and the like are stored in advance under the control of the corresponding CPUs 40 and 50.

The device name is the name of the communication device provided with the Bluetooth module, and can be freely rewritten according to the taste of the user. The device category is type information indicating the type (a mobile phone, a washing machine, a refrigerator, or the like) of the communication device provided with the Bluetooth module.

In step SP2, the CPU 30 determines whether or not attribute data including device name data and device category data has been received from the PDA 22, PDA 23, mobile phone 24 and mobile phone 25 as a reply to the device grasp information request data. To do.

If a negative result is obtained here, this means that the attribute data has not yet been received from all the communication devices to which the device grasping information request data has been transmitted. At this time, the CPU 30 Wait until attribute data is received from all communication devices. On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained, the CPU 30 causes the subsequent step SP3.
Move on to.

In step SP3, the CPU 30 causes the user to visually recognize the communication device having the piconet, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, the specific terminal display area FD1.
Then, the device selection screen DIS1 including the instruction information display area FD2 for prompting the user to perform a predetermined operation is displayed on the display unit 36, and the process proceeds to step SP4.

At this time, the CPU 30 controls each communication device (PD
A22, PDA 23, mobile phone 24 and mobile phone 2
5) The device icon data corresponding to the type of the communication device based on the device category data respectively received from 5) is read from the hard disk of the HDD 35, and the device icons 61, 62, 63 are displayed in the specific terminal display area FD1.
While displaying as 64, the device icon 61
The device names 71, 72, 73, 74 based on the respective device name data are displayed in association with .about.

Further, the CPU 30 controls the instruction information display area FD.
By displaying, for example, “Please place the cursor on the desired icon and check the actual terminal device” in 2, the device icons 61, 62, 63, 64 and the actual communication device (PDA 22, PDA 23, mobile phone) 24
In addition, the user is prompted to select the device icon (or device name) desired by the user in order to make the user understand the correspondence with the mobile phone 25).

Incidentally, when the CPU 30 cannot receive the device category data or when the device icon corresponding to the device category data is not stored in the hard disk, for example, as shown in FIG.
Icon 65 and device name 75, which indicates that it is unknown
It is designed to display.

In step SP4, the CPU 30 causes the cursor CL, which moves on the device selection screen DIS1 to follow the movement operation of the mouse 34 by the operating system, to display the device icon 61, 62, 63 or 64.
It is determined whether or not it is located (overlapped) on (device name 71, 72, 73 or 74).

If a negative result is obtained here, this means that the device icons 61 to 64 (device names 71 to 74) have not been selected yet by the user's operation of moving the mouse 34. CPU30 at this time
Is the device icon 6 on the device selection screen DIS1.
1, 62, 63 or 64 (device name 71, 72, 73
Or 74) waits until the cursor CL is positioned above.

On the other hand, when a positive result is obtained, this means that the device icon 6 displayed on the device selection screen DIS1 is operated by the user operating the mouse 34.
1 to 64 (device names 71 to 74), for example, the device icon 61 (device name 71) is selected. At this time, the CPU 30 indicates that the device icon 61 (device name 71) has been selected. Is detected,
Then, it proceeds to step SP5.

At step SP5, the CPU 30 sets P
The operation control data for operating the notification means (the display unit 43 and the speaker 44) provided in the DA 22 to notify the user of the personal computer 21 is generated, and this is selected in step SP4 described above. It transmits to PDA22 corresponding to the device icon 61, and moves to step SP6.

At step SP6, the CPU 30 determines whether or not the response data indicating that the notification means has been operated is received from the PDA 22 which has transmitted the operation control data, based on the operation control data.

In the case of this embodiment, the PDA 22 performs a predetermined operation for setting the notification means to be operated when the operation control data is received. For example, the notification operation setting screen DIS2 as shown in FIG. The display screen of 43 is preset to blink.

Therefore, when the PDA 22 receives the operation control data transmitted from the personal computer 21,
Based on the operation control data, the display unit 43 is operated to blink for the purpose of notifying the user of the personal computer 21, and the response data indicating that the operation has been performed is returned to the personal computer 21.

At this time, the user of the personal computer 21 recognizes that the PDA 22, PD existing in the space AR1 (FIG. 1) of several [m] squares from the personal computer 21.
Among the A23, the mobile phone 24, and the mobile phone 25, the PDA 22 corresponding to the device icon 61 selected in step SP4 can be grasped.

That is, the CPU 30 executes the above-mentioned step S.
If a positive result is obtained in P6, the
PDA operating to let the user of A22 know
The display unit 43 of 22 is blinked to notify the user of the personal computer 21 according to the operation control data, so that the correspondence between the device icon 61 and the actual PDA 22 corresponding to the device icon 61 is determined by the personal computer. It is designed so that 21 users can visually grasp.

In this case, the CPU 30 receives the response data transmitted from the PDA 22, and proceeds to the subsequent step SP7.

In step SP7, the CPU 30 blinks the device icon 61 selected in step SP4 on the basis of the response data, so that the operation control data is transmitted to the user of the personal computer 21 to the PDA 22. Confirm, step S
Return to P4.

Therefore, the CPU 30 executes the above-mentioned step SP.
Regarding the correspondence relationship between the device icon 61 selected in 4 and the actual PDA 22 corresponding to the device icon 61, for example, since the piconet is formed on the first floor and the second floor of the building, the display unit 43 of the PDA 22 is displayed. Even if the user of the personal computer 21 cannot recognize the blinking, the user can be informed of the fact.

On the other hand, when a negative result that the response data is not received is obtained in step SP6, this means that the response from the PDA 22 is returned even if a certain time has elapsed from the time when the operation control data was transmitted to the PDA 22. This indicates that data has not been received and data communication cannot be performed due to an interference wave or the like. At this time, the CPU 30 moves to the subsequent step SP8.

In step SP8, the CPU 30 sets P
The display unit 36 notifies that the communication with the DA 22 is disabled, and the process returns to step SP4.

Next, of the notification processing procedure, the notification processing procedure on the side of the PDA 22, PDA 23, mobile phone 24 and mobile phone 25 which function as slaves will be described.
Since the DA 22, the PDA 23, the mobile phone 24, and the mobile phone 25 have the same processing procedure, the PD 22
The notification processing procedure of A22 will be described.

That is, the CPU 40 of the PDA 22 operates as shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), the notification processing program is stored in the HDD 3
Routine R
The process moves from the starting step of T2 to the following step SP11.

At step SP11, the CPU 40
It is determined whether or not the device grasping information request data transmitted from the personal computer 21 has been received.

If a negative result is obtained here, the CPU 40
Waits until it receives the device grasping information request data. On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained, the CPU 40
Moves to the following step SP12.

At step SP12, the CPU 40
As a reply to the device grasping information request data, the device name data and the device category data are read from the flash memory in the Bluetooth module, transmitted to the personal computer 21 as attribute data, and the process proceeds to step SP13.

At step SP13, the CPU 40
It is determined whether operation control data has been received. If a negative result is obtained here, this means that the user of the personal computer 21 has not selected the device icon 61 (FIG. 6) of the device selection screen DIS1. At this time, the CPU 40 outputs the operation control data. Wait until you receive it.

On the other hand, when a positive result is obtained, this means that the user using the personal computer 21 has selected the device icon 61 (FIG. 6) of the device selection screen DIS1. At this time, the CPU 40
Moves to the following step SP14.

At step SP14, the CPU 40
The display unit 43 selected in advance through the notification operation setting screen DIS2 (FIG. 8) is caused to blink for notification to the user of the personal computer 21 based on the operation control data, and the process proceeds to step SP15. At this time, the user of the personal computer 21 can visually recognize by blinking on the display unit 43 of the PDA 22.

At step SP15, the CPU 40
Generate response data indicating that the display unit 43 has blinked,
This is sent to the personal computer 21, and the process returns to step SP11 to wait for the device grasping information request data again.

In the above BT system 20, the control unit 3 of the personal computer 21 functioning as a master.
0 is the device icon 61, 6 displayed on the display unit 36.
2, 63 and 64 (device names 71, 72, 73 and 7
4) For example, the cursor C is placed on the device icon 61.
When it is detected that L is located (overlapped), operation control data for operating the notification means provided in the PDA 22 corresponding to the detected device icon 61 to notify the user of the personal computer 21 is generated. , PD this via Bluetooth module 37
It was sent to A22.

In this case, a PDA that has established a piconet
22, PDA 23, mobile phone 24 and mobile phone 25
Of these, when the control unit 40 of the PDA 22 receives the operation control data transmitted from the personal computer 21 via the Bluetooth module 45, the control unit 40 is a notification unit based on the received operation control data.
And the display unit 43 of the speaker 44, which is set in advance.
By controlling the, the blinking operation is performed for a predetermined period for notifying the user of the personal computer 21.

Therefore, the personal computer 21
The PDA corresponding to the device icon 61 can be operated by only allowing the user to select the desired device icon 61 from the device icons 61 to 64 (device names 71 to 74) on the device selection screen DIS1 displayed on the display unit 36.
By blinking the display unit 43 in 22, the device icon 61 selected by the user,
It is possible to surely grasp the correspondence relationship with the actual PDA 22.

Further, the personal computer 21 does not newly provide the PDA 22 with a notification means, and
In the above, since the display unit 43 which is the existing notification means is caused to blink, the power consumption of the PDA 22 can be suppressed as much as possible.

In addition to this, the personal computer 2
1 receives from the PDA 22 response data indicating that the blinking operation has been performed for notification, and based on the response data,
The device icon 61 on the device selection screen DIS1 displayed on the display unit 36 is made to blink.

Therefore, the personal computer 21
Even in the situation where the user of the personal computer 21 cannot grasp even if the display unit 43 of the PDA 22 blinks, the corresponding relationship can be grasped.

Furthermore, if the personal computer 21 cannot receive the response data from the PDA 22 even after a certain period of time, the personal computer 21 and the P
By notifying that the communication with the DA 22 is not possible, it is possible to grasp the corresponding relationship.

According to the BT system 20 as described above,
The personal computer 21 indirectly controls the PDA 22 with operation control data, and the display unit 43, which is originally for notifying the user of the PDA 22, blinks for notifying the user of the personal computer 21. Actual PDA 22 corresponding to
Can be visually recognized by the user of the personal computer 21, and thus the usability can be improved.

Further, according to the BT system 20, when a desired file is dragged and dropped and transmitted onto the device icons 61 to 64 displayed on the display unit 36 of the personal computer 21, for example, the device icon is set in advance. By placing the cursor CL on 61 to 64, the actual PDAs 22 and 23 and the mobile phones 24 and 2
It is possible to confirm the correspondence relationship with 5, and as a result,
PDA 22, 23 or mobile phone 2 not intended by the user
It is possible to prevent a desired file from being sent to Nos. 4 and 25, thus improving usability.

In the above-described embodiment, the personal computer 21 having the Bluetooth module 37 incorporated therein is used as the main communication device, and the PDA 22, 23 having the Bluetooth module 45 incorporated therein and the mobile telephone 24, 25 incorporating the Bluetooth module 55 therein.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the point is that a washing machine, a refrigerator, a cooler, an MD (Mini Disk) player, as long as it has a communication function to which Bluetooth is applied. Various other electronic devices (electronic devices) such as a television receiver can be widely applied as a main communication device or a slave communication device.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the display unit 43 as the notification means is blinked for notification is described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a speaker, a vibrator, and a predetermined odor are generated. Various other notification means such as a smell generating unit may be operated for notification.

In this case, the slave communication device may share the existing notifying means for notifying the users of the main communication device and the slave communication device, or may provide a dedicated notifying means. Further, the slave communication device may perform the notification operation by using two or more notification means in combination.

At this time, the CPU as the control signal generating means
Reference numeral 30 denotes operation control data as a control signal for operating one or more notifying means provided as dedicated notifying means in the slave communication device (PDA 22, PDA 23, mobile phone 24, mobile phone 25), 1 or 2 The operation control data for separately operating the above existing notification means for notifying the user of the main communication device (personal computer 21) is generated.

Further, the CPU 40, 50 as the control means controls the operation of one or more notifying means provided as the dedicated notifying means based on the operation control data, or the slave communication devices (PDA 22, PDA 23, One or more existing notification means for the users of the mobile phones 24 and 25) are controlled to notify the user of the main communication device (personal computer 21).

In this way, the main communication device (personal computer 21) can select the selected device icon 61, 62, 63 or 64 (device name 71, 72, 7).
3 or 74) and the actual slave communication device (PDA 22,
It is possible to make the user of the personal computer 21 more surely understand the correspondence relationship with the PDA 23, the mobile phone 24 or the mobile phone 25), and further improve the usability.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the personal computer 21 blinks the display unit 43 which is the notification means of the PDA 22 for notification is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the PDA 22 is a personal computer. The display unit 36 of 21 may blink for notification, the PDA 22 may blink the display unit 53 of the mobile phone 24 for notification, and a plurality of communications forming a piconet or scatanet. Any of the devices can be the main communication device that executes the notification instruction processing procedure described above with reference to FIG. 5A to operate the notification means for notification, and FIG.
The notification processing procedure described above may be executed so that the notification means becomes a slave communication device operated for notification.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the device icon 61,
The case where the selection is detected when the cursor CL is positioned (overlapped) on the 62, 63 or 64 (device name 71, 72, 73 or 74) has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Device icons 61, 62, 63
Alternatively, when 64 (device name 71, 72, 73 or 74) is clicked, one button of the mouse 34 is pressed to move the cursor CL to a desired position and then the button is released. Alternatively, the selection may be detected at various other timings, such as when a drag operation is performed for a predetermined period of time or when predetermined personal data stored in the HDD 35 is transmitted.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the CPU 30 as the detecting means selects the device icon 61, 62, 63 or 64 (device name 71, 72, 73 or 74) as an option by operating the mouse 34. Although the case of detecting the fact is described, the present invention is not limited to this, and instead of the mouse 34, it may be detected that an option is selected by an operation from the touch panel or the jog dial. In this case, it may be registered in advance so as to detect that the option is selected when a certain operation is performed from the touch panel or the jog dial.

Incidentally, when it is detected that the option is selected by the operation from the jog dial, the CPU 30 of the personal computer 21 replaces the device selection screen DIS1 as shown in FIG. 6 with, for example, as shown in FIG. And a device selection screen D for moving the device selection items 80A to 80D to the device determination area 85 in the direction of arrow a or b in conjunction with the rotation operation of the jog dial.
If IS3 is displayed, the personal computer 21
Users can select more easily (device selection item 80
A to 80D) can be selected.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the CPU 30 as the detection means is operated by the mouse 34 to select the device icon 61, 62, 63 or 64 (device name 71, 72, 73 or 74). Although the case of detecting is described, the present invention is not limited to this.
When a recognition means for recognizing the voice of the user of the personal computer 21 is provided in place of the mouse, and the recognition result by the recognition means matches the device name 71, 72, 73 or 74 of the device selection screen DIS1. Alternatively, it may be detected that the selection has been made. in this case,
The operation of the personal computer 21 for the user can be avoided, and the usability can be further improved.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the device icons 61 to 64 and the device names 71 to 74 as options are displayed on the display unit 36 as the option display means has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, only the device name (text data) or only the device icon may be displayed according to the type of the communication device. In short, at least 1 assigned to each of the plurality of communication devices forming the piconet or scatanet. Any option display means for displaying one option may be used.

For example, when the communication device that functions as a master is the mobile phone 25, the display unit 53 of the mobile phone 25 has scrollable device names 71 to 74 made of text data as shown in FIG. When the device selection screen DIS4 including the operation explanation area FD7 is displayed, one or more options can be displayed on the display unit. In this way, the display method can be selected according to the size and shape of the display unit of the communication device.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the device icons 61 to 64 and the device names 71 to 74 as options are displayed on the display unit 36 as the option display means in the specific terminal display area FD1 of the device selection screen DIS1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the PDA 2 as shown in FIG. 11 is used as an icon (hereinafter, referred to as an alternation) showing a form imitating an actual communication device.
PDA alternator 66 showing a form simulating 2 (PDA23)
Alternatively, for example, a mobile phone alternator 67 having a form imitating the mobile phone 24 (mobile phone 25) as shown in FIG. 12 may be displayed in the specific terminal display area FD1. Separately, device icon 6
The PDA clone 66 or the mobile phone clone 67 corresponding to the device icon selected from 1 to 64 may be displayed as a new display screen.

When displaying such an alter ego, the CPU 30
Allows the user of the personal computer 21 to grasp not only the communication devices of the same type but also the model of each type through the display unit 36.

Incidentally, the personal computer 21 sends a control command corresponding to the operation of the various operation keys 66A and 66B, 67A and 67B of the operation areas FD5 and FD6 in the alternations 66 and 67 to the actual PDA 22 or PDA 23, the mobile phone 24 or the mobile phone. It may be operated by giving it to 25.

Further, the personal computer 21 sends the control command to the actual PDA 22 or PDA 23, the portable telephone 2
4 or the display area F in the alternations 66 and 67 indicating the operation contents caused by the operation given to the mobile phone 25.
You may make it display on D3 and FD4.

In this case, the personal computer 21
It is possible to control the PDA 22 or PDA 23, the mobile phone 24 or the mobile phone 25 existing in a few [m] from the personal computer 21 as if they were operated on the spot, and the usability can be further improved.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the cursor CL is positioned (overlapped) on the device icon 61 by the CPU 30 as the control signal generating means,
The case of generating the operation control data as the control signal has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the control signal is generated at various timings such as when the personal data stored in the hard disk of the HDD 35 is transmitted. It may be done.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the display unit 43 is preset as the notification means to be operated for notification on the PDA 22 side as the slave communication device has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. You may make it set the notification means operated for notification on the personal computer 21 side as a communication apparatus.

In this case, the CPU 30 as a searching means in the personal computer 21 is the slave communication device (P
DA22, PDA23, mobile phone 24, mobile phone 2
The notification means search data for searching the notification means provided in 5) is generated and is transmitted to the PDA 22, for example.

When the notification means search data is received, the CPU 40 of the PDA 22 specifies the display section 43 and the speaker 44 as the notification means provided in itself, and sends the search reply data representing the specified display section 43 and speaker 44. It is transmitted to the personal computer 21.

When the CPU 30 as the selection means in the personal computer 21 receives the search reply data, the notification operation setting screen DI as shown in FIG.
S2 or notification operation setting screen D as shown in FIG. 13, for example
IS5 is displayed, and the user is allowed to set the notification means for performing the notification operation.

In this way, the user of the personal computer 21 is only conscious of the operation by the notification means set by himself, and the selected device icon 61, 6 is selected.
2, 63 or 64 (device name 71, 72, 73 or 7
4) and the actual slave communication device (PDA22, PDA2)
3, the correspondence relationship with the mobile phone 24 or the mobile phone 25) can be grasped, and erroneous recognition can be avoided.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the personal computer 21 as the main communication device, and the PDA 22, PDA 23, and mobile phone 24 as the slave communication devices.
And Bluetooth 25 as a network with mobile phone 25
The case where the BT system 20 in which the communication path is established by h is applied has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, if the main communication device and the slave communication device are Home RF, wireless
1394, IEEE (Institude of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers) Wi-Fi of 802.11b, IEEE802.11a, and other network systems in which a communication path is established by various wired or wireless networks can be widely applied.

In this case, the Bluetooth module 44 or 45 as the control signal receiving means and the Bluetooth module 37 as the control signal transmitting means and the receiving means.
The control signal receiving means, the control signal transmitting means, and the receiving means according to the type of the network that establishes the communication path may be applied.

Further, in the above embodiment, the HD
The case where the notification instruction program stored in the hard disk of D35 is appropriately expanded in the RAM 32 has been described.
The present invention is not limited to this, and the notification instruction process may be executed by installing a program storage medium in which the notification instruction program is stored.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the notification processing program stored in the memories 41 and 51 is stored in the internal R.
Although the case of appropriately expanding to the AM has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the notification processing may be executed by installing a program storage medium in which the notification processing program is stored.

The notification instruction program for executing the series of notification instruction processing described above and / or the notification processing program for executing the notification processing are installed in the personal computer 21, the PDA 22 and 23 or the mobile phones 24 and 25. As a program storage medium for making it executable, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memor)
y), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and other package media, as well as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk or the like in which the program is temporarily or permanently stored.

As means for storing the notification instruction program and / or the notification processing program in these program storage media, a wired or wireless communication medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting may be used, or a router or a modem. You may make it store via various communication interfaces of.

[0128]

As described above, according to the present invention, a master communication device that establishes a communication path with a plurality of slave communication devices via a predetermined network is assigned to each slave communication device. To display a plurality of options, detect that any one of the plurality of options has been selected, and notify the user of the main communication device of any slave communication device corresponding to the detected option. In addition, a control signal for operating the notification means provided in the arbitrary slave communication device is generated, and the control signal is sent to the arbitrary slave communication device via the communication path. In this case, any slave communication device receives the control signal from the main communication device and controls the notification means based on the control signal.

Therefore, the main communication device only performs a selection operation by the user of the main communication device, and operates the notification means in the slave communication device corresponding to the option selected by the selection operation to notify the main communication device. It is possible to allow the user to grasp the correspondence relationship between the option selected by the user of and the slave communication device corresponding to the option,
Thus, usability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a BT system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a personal computer.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a PDA.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a mobile phone.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a notification instruction processing procedure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a device selection screen.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an icon and a device name indicating unknown.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a notification operation setting screen.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a device selection screen example (1) according to another embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a device selection screen example (2) according to another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an icon simulating a PDA.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an icon simulating a mobile phone.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a notification operation setting screen according to another embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the concept of a BT system.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a conventional BT system.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a conventional device selection screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 ... BT system, 21 ... personal computer, 22,23 ... PDA, 24,25 ... mobile phone, 30,40,50 ... CPU, 31 ... ROM, 3
2 ... RAM, 33 ... keyboard, 34 ... mouse,
35 ... HDD, 36, 43, 53 ... Display section, 37,
45, 55 ... Bluetooth module, 41, 51
...... Memory, 42 ...... Operation input section, 44, 57 ...... Speaker, 52 ...... Operation keys, 61, 62, 63, 64, 6
5: Device icon, 71, 72, 73, 74, 7
5 ... Device name, 66 ... PDA alternation, 67 ... Mobile phone alternation.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takeo Inagaki             Sony 6-735 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Junichi Korimoto             Sony 6-735 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Nobuyuki Matsushita             Sony 6-735 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Yuji Ayatsuka             Sony 6-735 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation F-term (reference) 5B089 GB02 JB15 KA02 KB03                 5K033 BA08 DA01 DA19 EA03                 5K067 AA34 BB21 BB41 DD27 EE02                       EE12 FF23

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A main communication device that establishes communication paths with a plurality of slave communication devices via a predetermined network, and option display means for displaying a plurality of options assigned to each of the plurality of slave communication devices. In order to notify the user of the main communication device of the detection means for detecting that any one of the options has been selected and any slave communication device corresponding to the detected option, Control signal generating means for generating a control signal for operating a notification means provided in any slave communication device; and control signal transmitting means for sending the control signal to the any slave communication device via the communication path. A main communication device characterized by comprising. 2. The control signal generating means operates the notifying means, which is previously provided for notifying the user of the arbitrary slave communication device, for notifying the user of the main communication device. The main communication device according to claim 1, wherein the main communication device generates a control signal. 3. The control signal generation means includes a search means for searching the notification means provided in the arbitrary slave communication device, and a selection means for causing the user of the main communication device to select the notification means. The main communication device according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. The control signal sending means receives the response result from the arbitrary slave communication device until a predetermined period elapses after sending the control signal to the arbitrary slave communication device, and the response. The main communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies a user of the main communication device that the result has been received. 5. A sub-communication device which establishes a communication path with the main communication device via a predetermined network, and a notification means for notifying a user of the main communication device that the sub-communication device is the sub-communication device. A slave communication device comprising: a control signal receiving means for receiving a control signal for operating the notification means from the main communication device; and a control means for controlling the notification means based on the control signal. 6. An option for displaying a plurality of options assigned to each of the plurality of slave communication devices to a main communication device that establishes a communication path with each of the plurality of slave communication devices via a predetermined network. In order to notify the user of the master communication device of a display step, a detection step of detecting that any one of the options has been selected, and any slave communication device corresponding to the detected option. A control signal generating step of generating a control signal for operating a notification means provided in the arbitrary slave communication device, and a control signal transmitting step of transmitting the control signal to the arbitrary slave communication device via the communication path Notification instruction program to execute and. 7. An option display step of displaying a plurality of options respectively assigned to a plurality of slave communication devices establishing a communication path with a main communication device via a predetermined network, and any one of the options. A detection step of detecting that an option has been selected, and a slave communication device provided for the slave communication device for notifying the user of the master communication device of the slave communication device corresponding to the detected option A notification instruction comprising a control signal generation step of generating a control signal for operating the notification means, and a control signal transmission step of transmitting the control signal to the arbitrary slave communication device via the communication path. Method. 8. A network system in which a main communication device and a plurality of slave communication devices establish respective communication paths through a predetermined network, wherein the main communication device is a plurality of slave communication devices. The option display means for displaying a plurality of options respectively assigned, the detection means for detecting that any one of the options is selected, and the slave communication device corresponding to the detected option Control signal generating means for generating a control signal for operating a notification means provided in the arbitrary slave communication device to notify the user of the main communication device, and the control signal generating means for controlling the control signal via the communication path. Control signal transmitting means for transmitting the control signal to the slave communication device, and the plurality of slave communication devices include the notifying means and a control signal receiver for receiving the control signal from the master communication device. When the network system characterized by comprising a control means for controlling the notification means based on the control signal.