JP2007324926A - Communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device in which a wide variety of settings containing equipment settings and network settings. <P>SOLUTION: The communication device is equipped with an image reading unit (a two-dimensional bar-code input unit 110) which reads an image converted from at least one of authentication information, setting information and equipment attribute information, an information obtaining unit (a setting information producing unit 102) which obtains information containing at least one of the authentication information, the setting information and the equipment attribute information based on the image read from the image reading unit, and a communication unit (a radio LAN interface unit 109) which communicates with other communication devices based on the information obtained in the information obtaining unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device, and more particularly to a communication device that performs various settings based on image information.

In recent years, as the functions of PCs and mobile devices have increased, procedures for various settings have become complicated, making it difficult for ordinary users to understand and complicating. Therefore, a method for simplifying such setting has been conventionally proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-140502 uses an information processing terminal connected to an optical device, describes a two-dimensional barcode corresponding to input data on a print medium, reads the data with an optical device, and inputs the data. Discloses a method for simplifying data setting.
JP2004-140502

  However, Patent Literature 1 described above does not propose a specific method for simplifying device settings and network settings.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device capable of easily performing various settings including device settings and network settings.

  In order to achieve the above object, a communication device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes an image reading unit that reads image information in which setting information has been converted, and a setting based on the image information read from the image reading unit. A setting information acquisition unit that acquires information and a communication unit that communicates with other communication devices based on the setting information acquired by the setting information acquisition unit.

  Further, in the communication device according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the image information read by the image reading unit includes at least a MAC (Media Access Control) address used for communication setting with another communication device. , Converted setting information (device profile information including device-specific identification information) including a PIN (Personal Identification Number) code.

  Here, device profile information including device-specific identification information may be described in XML format.

  In the communication device according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the image information read by the image reading unit includes tuner setting, image quality setting, mail setting, wireless security setting, browser setting, and printer setting. Of these, at least one piece of setting information (device profile information including attribute information of the device) is converted.

  Here, the device profile information including the attribute information included in the device may be described in the XML format.

  The communication device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention further includes an encryption key generation unit that generates an encryption key in the first aspect, and the communication unit is based on the setting information converted by the conversion unit. Communicates with another communication device by temporary connection, and the encryption key creation unit creates an encryption key by exchanging keys with the other communication device when the communication unit is temporarily connected to the other communication device. The communication unit communicates with the other communication device using the encryption key created by the encryption key creation unit.

  The communication device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention further includes an authentication unit that performs authentication by communication with the other communication device by the communication unit in the first aspect, and the communication unit includes the authentication unit. When the authentication by the unit is successful, communication connection with the other communication device is performed.

  Moreover, the communication apparatus which concerns on the 6th aspect of this invention displays the image information which the image preparation part which produces new image information from the said setting information, and the said image preparation part in the 1st aspect. And a display unit.

  According to the present invention, various settings including device settings and network settings can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the present embodiment, in which a mobile terminal 60 as a registration setting management terminal (terminal on which setting information is set) and a registered setting terminal (terminal on which setting information is set) are shown. The wireless router (infrastructure device) 51 performs wireless communication via a high-speed wireless interface such as a wireless LAN. Here, the mobile terminal 60 and the wireless router 51 may communicate using a short-range wireless interface such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or UWB, or a wired interface such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or HDMI.

  The wireless router 51 includes a high-speed wireless interface such as a wireless LAN for performing wireless communication with the mobile terminal 60 and is installed in each home, each office, or each hot spot. It is assumed that the wireless router 51 is connected to the Internet 50, and a sticker on which the two-dimensional barcode information 51-1 is printed is attached to a part of the wireless router 51 (such as the back surface). The two-dimensional bar code information 51-1 includes a device serial number, product name, model number, manufacturer name, Ethernet (registered trademark) MAC address, wireless MAC address, PIN information, and wireless security setting information necessary for wireless temporary connection. including. In addition, the two-dimensional barcode information 51-1 is attached to the device as a seal at the time of shipment of a router or the like. Image information such as a one-dimensional barcode may be used instead of the two-dimensional barcode information.

  Here, the two-dimensional barcode information 51-1 is image information obtained by converting the setting information, but the setting information regarding the service provided by the provider such as the mail server address, mail address, DNS server, etc. Apart from what is affixed to the wireless router 51, it may be printed on, for example, a paper medium and distributed to users.

  The mobile terminal 60 includes a high-speed wireless interface such as a wireless LAN for performing wireless communication with the wireless router 51. In addition, the mobile terminal 60 includes a camera unit 61 for reading the two-dimensional barcode information 51-1 of the wireless router 51. A bar code reader may be used instead of the camera unit 61.

  First, the mobile terminal 60 reads the two-dimensional barcode information 51-1 of the wireless router 51 by the camera unit 61 as an image reading unit and takes it in (step 1).

  Next, the mobile terminal 60 temporarily connects to the wireless router 51 using the high-speed wireless interface based on the captured barcode information (procedure 2). Here, the temporary connection refers to a temporary connection for exchanging wireless security setting information for main connection, which will be described later. Next, this connection processing is performed. That is, communication is started using the wireless security setting information exchanged in the temporary connection (procedure 3).

  Procedures 1 'to 3' shown in FIG. 1 show the procedure for setting the second and subsequent registered setting terminals, and are basically the same as the procedure for setting the first device. However, since the wireless security setting information generated in the first unit setting procedure is used as described later, the information generation process is omitted.

  As setting information exchanged here, in addition to wireless security setting information, network settings (including IP address settings, wireless security settings, mail settings, browser settings, printer settings, etc.) and device settings (tuner settings, recording functions) Including settings and image quality settings).

  Further, the wireless router 51 and the mobile terminal 60 include a short-range wireless interface such as Bluetooth or UWB in addition to the high-speed wireless interface such as the wireless LAN described above, and the temporary connection and the main connection described above using the short-range wireless interface. May be performed.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the registration setting management terminal 100 and the configuration of the registered setting terminal 200. The registration setting management terminal 100 includes a GUI (graphical user interface) 111, a main control unit 101, a setting information generation unit 102, a registration protocol processing unit 103, a key sharing processing unit 104, a user authentication processing unit 105, A two-dimensional barcode processing unit 106, a transfer control unit 107, an EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) processing unit 108, and a wireless LAN interface 112 are provided. A setting information storage unit 113 is connected to the main control unit 101. An output / display device 108, an input device (button or the like) 109, and a two-dimensional barcode input unit (camera unit) 110 are connected to the GUI 111.

  The registered setting terminal 200 includes a GUI (Graphical User Interface) 211, a main control unit 201, a setting information generation unit 202, a registration protocol processing unit 203, a key sharing processing unit 204, and a user authentication processing unit 205. A two-dimensional barcode processing unit 206, a transfer control unit 207, an EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) processing unit 208, and a wireless LAN interface 212. A setting information storage unit 213 is connected to the main control 201. An output / display device 208 and an input device (such as a button) 209 are connected to the GUI 210. The two-dimensional barcode information 208-1 is output or displayed from the output / display device 208. The two-dimensional barcode information 208-1 is affixed to the registered setting terminal as a sticker.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the procedure of wireless security setting of the wireless access point (AP) 70 as the registered setting terminal. Here, the access point generally includes a wireless communication function based on a radio wave in a predetermined frequency band (for example, 2.4 GHz) using IEEE 802.11 technology, a routing function, a NAT (Network Address Translation) function, and the like. It has a communication control function, and is connected to a different network via a communication network such as another terminal in the same network or the Internet by wireless communication. A plurality of terminals can be connected to the access point, and the plurality of terminals are also referred to as wireless LAN access points because they can be accessed simultaneously by wireless communication.

  First, the camera unit 81 (two-dimensional barcode input unit 110 in FIG. 2) of the mobile terminal 80 as a registration setting management terminal reads the two-dimensional percode information 70-1 pasted on the wireless access point 70 with a seal. The data is taken into the two-dimensional barcode processing unit 106. Here, device profile information such as a MAC address and a PIN code is acquired by performing two-dimensional barcode processing.

  Next, a search operation for specifying a communication partner is performed using the wireless LAN interface 112 of the registration setting management terminal 100 and the wireless LAN interface 212 of the registered setting terminal 200 (procedure 2). Next, using the acquired device profile information, the user authentication processing unit 105 performs authentication processing for the communication partner (procedure 3).

  Next, the key sharing processing units (encryption key generation units) 104 and 204 exchange keys with a method such as Diffie-Hellman to generate an encryption key, and the registration setting management terminal 100 and the registered setting terminal 200 shares the encryption key (procedure 4).

  In this embodiment, the procedure 4 that is the key exchange process is performed after the procedure 3 that is the user authentication, but this order may be reversed.

  Next, wireless security setting information (encryption key such as WEP, SSID, etc.) is automatically generated in the setting information generation unit 102 of the registered setting management terminal 100 or the setting information generation unit 202 of the registered setting terminal 200 (procedure 5). ). Next, the wireless security setting information is encrypted with the encryption key created in the procedure 4 and transferred by the registration protocol (procedure 6). In the temporary connection, the setting of the wireless security information is completed, and wireless communication as the main connection using the wireless security setting information transferred in the procedure 5 is started (procedure 7).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a first example of wireless security setting for the second and subsequent devices. Here, it is assumed that the information home appliances 52 and 53 corresponding to the network are used as the second registered setting terminal, and for example, a camera unit 81 that can read a barcode is used as a registered setting management terminal capable of centrally managing settings of various devices. Assume a mobile terminal 80 provided. 52-1 and 53-1 are two-dimensional barcode information.

  The procedure for setting the wireless security information of the registered setting terminal set for the second device is basically the same as the procedure for setting the wireless security information set for the first device. In the case of setting information, since the wireless security information has already been set in the first setting, there is no generation process (automatic generation) of the wireless security setting information.

  In addition to the setting of the wireless security setting information, the device profile information acquired in the procedure 1 can be referred to and the network setting related to the Internet access can be automatically performed as necessary.

  The two-dimensional barcode 52-1, which is image information, relates to setting information required by the information home appliance 52 (for example, information such as tuner setting and image quality setting required but mail address setting information not required). The information may also be converted together with device profile information such as a MAC address. If the information related to the required setting information is described as the two-dimensional barcode 52-1, the mobile terminal 80 may transfer only the setting information required for the information home appliance 52.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a second example of wireless security setting for the second and subsequent devices. Here, a network-compatible home information appliance 54 is assumed as a registration setting terminal, and a mobile terminal 80 including a camera unit 81 capable of reading a barcode is assumed as a registered setting terminal. Here, the configuration of the registration setting management terminal 100 in FIG. 2 is used as the configuration of the registered setting terminal, and the configuration of the registered setting terminal 200 is used as the configuration of the registration setting management terminal.

  Two-dimensional barcode information 54-1 is displayed on the screen of the display unit of the information home appliance 54. The two-dimensional barcode information 54-1 is obtained by manually setting or reading the setting information of various devices such as the network setting information in advance by the information home appliance 54, and the two-dimensional barcode information generated based on the set setting information. This is displayed on the display unit as image information.

  First, the two-dimensional barcode information 54-1 displayed on the display unit of the information home appliance 54 is read by the two-dimensional barcode input unit 110 as the camera unit 81 of the mobile terminal 80 and is taken into the two-dimensional barcode processing unit 106. 2D barcode processing is performed (procedure 1). Next, the setting information generation unit 102 converts the two-dimensional barcode information 54-1 into network setting information, and automatically performs wireless security settings and network settings related to Internet access with reference to the network setting information. When the transfer and registration of the setting information described above are completed, the wireless communication is started by shifting to the main connection (procedure 7). In this embodiment, steps 2 to 6 are omitted from steps 1 to 7 in FIG.

  FIG. 6 shows a wireless security setting of a mobile terminal as a registered setting terminal by a wireless access point (AP) 70 (here, Hotspot (registered trademark)) in a public area as a registration setting management terminal having security setting information. It is a figure for demonstrating the procedure which performs. Here, it is assumed that necessary wireless security setting information is stored in advance in the wireless access point (AP) 70. Further, a wireless access point 70 is assumed as a registration setting terminal, and a mobile terminal 80 including a camera unit 81 capable of reading a barcode is assumed as a registered setting terminal. Here, the configuration of the registration setting management terminal 100 in FIG. 2 is used as the configuration of the registered setting terminal, and the configuration of the registered setting terminal 200 is used as the configuration of the registration setting management terminal.

  First, the two-dimensional barcode information 70-1 attached to the wireless access point 70 with a seal is read by the two-dimensional barcode input unit 110 as the camera unit 81 of the mobile terminal 80 and is taken into the two-dimensional barcode processing unit 106. . Here, the two-dimensional barcode information may be read from a display screen on the wireless access point or a display screen of an external terminal such as a PC connected to the wireless access point 70. Next, a search operation for specifying a communication partner is performed using the wireless LAN interface 112 of the registration setting management terminal 100 and the wireless LAN interface 212 of the registered setting terminal 200 (procedure 2). Next, based on the acquired device profile information, the user authentication processing units 105 and 205 perform authentication processing for the communication partner (procedure 3).

  Next, the key sharing processing units 104 and 204 exchange keys to generate an encryption key, and the registration setting management terminal 100 and the registered setting terminal 200 share the encryption key (procedure 4).

  In this embodiment, the procedure 4 that is the key exchange process is performed after the procedure 3 that is the user authentication, but this order may be reversed.

  Next, after the wireless security setting information stored in advance in the wireless access point 70 is encrypted with the encryption key, the wireless security setting information is transferred by a registration protocol (procedure 6). The setting of wireless security information is completed in the temporary connection, and wireless communication is started in the next main connection (procedure 7).

  In addition to the setting of the wireless security setting information, the device profile information acquired in the procedure 1 can be referred to and the network setting related to the Internet access can be automatically performed as necessary.

  As described above, according to the embodiment described above, in addition to the wireless LAN setting, other network settings and device settings can be simplified.

It is a conceptual diagram of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of a registration setting management terminal, and the structure of a to-be-registered setting terminal. It is a figure for demonstrating the procedure of the wireless security setting of the wireless access point as a registration setting terminal. It is a figure for demonstrating the 1st example of the wireless security setting with respect to the apparatus after the 2nd unit. It is a figure for demonstrating the 2nd example of the wireless security setting with respect to the apparatus after the 2nd unit. It is a figure for demonstrating the procedure which performs the wireless security setting of the mobile terminal as a registration setting terminal by the wireless access point as a registration setting management terminal.

Explanation of symbols

50 Internet 51 Wireless router 51-1 Two-dimensional barcode information 52 Information home appliance 53 Information home appliance 60 Mobile terminal 61 Camera unit 100 Registration setting management terminal 101, 201 Main control unit 102, 202 Setting information generation unit 103, 203 Registration protocol Processing unit 104, 204 Key sharing processing unit 105, 205 User authentication processing unit 106, 206 Two-dimensional barcode processing unit 107, 207 Transfer control unit 108, 208 EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) processing unit 112, 212 Wireless LAN processing unit 113 213 Setting information storage unit 110 Two-dimensional barcode input unit 111 GUI
200 Registered setting terminal 208 Output / display device 209 Input device

Claims (6)

An image reading unit that reads an image in which at least one of authentication information, setting information, and device attribute information is converted;
An information acquisition unit that acquires information including at least one of authentication information, setting information, and device attribute information based on an image read from the image reading unit;
A communication apparatus comprising: a communication unit that communicates with another communication device based on information acquired by the information acquisition unit. The image read by the image reading unit is obtained by converting authentication information including at least a MAC (Media Access Control) address and a PIN (Personal Identification Number) code used for communication setting with another communication device. The communication device according to claim 1. The image information read by the image reading unit is obtained by converting at least one of setting information among tuner setting, image quality setting, mail setting, wireless security setting, browser setting, and printer setting. Communication equipment. An encryption key creation unit for creating an encryption key;
The communication unit performs communication by temporary connection with another communication device based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit,
The encryption key creation unit creates an encryption key by exchanging keys with the other communication device when the communication unit is temporarily connected to the other communication device,
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit communicates with the other communication device using an encryption key created by the encryption key creation unit. An authentication unit that performs authentication by communication with the other communication device by the communication unit;
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit performs communication connection with the other communication device when authentication by the authentication unit is successful. An image creation unit that creates a new image from information including at least one of authentication information, setting information, and device attribute information;
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays an image created by the image creation unit.

Images