JP2008046970A - Wireless usb adaptor and data processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit data to a data processor by use of a wireless USB protocol by remotely setting a device provided with USB connector. <P>SOLUTION: The wireless USB adaptor 12 comprises USB connectors 24, 28 and 32, USB ports 22, 26, and 30 for processing data from an external device connected to the USB connectors, and a USB device driver 20 for wirelessly communicating data from the USB ports 22, 26 and 30, and relays data transfer with the data processor 14 externally connected thereto by use of the wireless USB protocol. The data processor 14 is separately mounted with a USB host driver 40, and the wireless USB adaptor 12 is set in a position usable for a user to form a wireless USB link with high security. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to data transmission between devices using wireless communication, and more specifically, a relay that remotely installs a device having a USB connector and transmits data to a data processing device using a wireless USB protocol. As a wireless USB adapter and a data processing device.

In recent years, the bus connection technology has advanced, and many storage devices, information processing devices, and communication devices using USB (Universal Serial Bus) are used. Since USB performs serial data communication with a power line using a small connector (hereinafter referred to as a USB connector), a plurality of USBs can be arranged without occupying the installation area of each connected device. . In recent years, the application of a wireless communication technology protocol to USB has also been studied, and use of UWB (Ultra Wide Band) as a lower layer of USB 2.0 in IEEE 802.15TG3a and the like is also being studied.
JP 2005-252612 A Japanese Patent No. 3754930

  Although the USB connector is small, in a data processing apparatus to which a USB is connected, such as an image forming apparatus or a personal computer, the USB connector is not normally visible from the viewpoint of operability and appearance of the apparatus body. Often installed. For example, in a personal computer, a USB host / device connector is often provided on the rear panel, and the user inserts a corresponding USB connector into the USB connector position provided on the rear panel. However, the advantage that the USB connector is small in this case is that it takes time to find the connector position, and it is necessary to shift the data processing device to a position where the connector can be seen from the front and to fit each connector. there were. Such a problem becomes more problematic in a data processing apparatus such as an image forming apparatus that must be relatively large, other than a relatively small data processing apparatus such as a personal computer.

  On the other hand, if a wireless USB is applied to perform data transmission using wireless communication, an external device equipped with a USB connector is placed at a user-friendly position remote from the data processing device, while the USB 2.0 is installed. An average data transmission rate of 480 Mbps can be obtained. Even in this case, unless the counterpart device is accurately specified, the problem inherent in wireless communication that the security of data stored in a storage device or communication device including a USB connector is not eliminated. In addition, in order to perform data transmission using wireless communication, power for wireless communication must be secured stably, and problems such as power-off of the data processing apparatus and communication function down have occurred. In this case, there is also a disadvantage that the user cannot know this in advance.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. An external device on which a USB connector is mounted is remote from the data processing device and is placed at a position where the user can use it, and the IEEE 802.15TG3a is provided. The present invention provides a wireless USB adapter and a data processing device that function as a relay device with an external device having a USB connector, which enables connection with a data processing device with high security and reliability at a data transmission speed.

According to the present invention,
A USB connector, a USB port for processing data from an external device connected to the USB connector, and a USB device driver for wirelessly communicating data from the USB port, using a wireless USB protocol A wireless USB adapter is provided that performs data transmission with an externally connected data processing device.

  In the present invention, the wireless USB adapter is detachable from the data processing apparatus, and a wireless USB link can be established using the data processing apparatus as a host device.

In the present invention, the wireless USB adapter is
A battery for supplying power to the wireless USB adapter;
A power supply switching unit that monitors a power supply voltage supplied from the data processing device, determines power supply from the data processing device, and switches to power supply from the battery in accordance with the power supply voltage. .

  In the present invention, the battery is a primary battery or a secondary battery, and when the battery is a secondary battery, a charger that charges the secondary battery according to a power supply voltage from the data processing device. Can be provided. In the present invention, the charger can trickle charge or rapidly charge the secondary battery when the wireless USB adapter receives power supply from the data processing device. In the present invention, the wireless USB adapter includes a nonvolatile memory that stores a device identification value of the wireless USB adapter, a host identification value of the data processing apparatus, and a secret key, and a display element that displays a session state of the wireless communication. The wireless USB adapter can encrypt and execute data communication with the data processing device.

  According to the present invention, a USB port, a USB host driver for wirelessly communicating data from the USB port, a non-volatile memory for storing a device identification value, a host identification value, and a secret key of an adapter for wireless communication A data processing apparatus is provided for establishing a wireless USB link with any of the wireless USB adapters described above.

  The data processing device may include a slot that accommodates the wireless USB adapter, and a power supply device that supplies power to the wireless USB adapter when the wireless USB adapter is installed in the slot. The data processing apparatus of the present invention can be an image forming apparatus or an information processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, although the present invention is explained based on an embodiment shown in a drawing, the present invention is not limited to an embodiment shown in a drawing.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network system using a wireless USB according to the present invention. A network system 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a wireless USB adapter (hereinafter referred to as an adapter for convenience of description) 12 of the present invention and a data processing device 14 that processes data transmission from the adapter 12. ing. A high-speed data communication link is established between the adapter 12 and the data processing device 14 via a 480 Mbps network using wireless USB based on the UWB communication protocol. The data processing apparatus 14 according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine in a specific embodiment, and may be an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer in another embodiment.

  The adapter 12 is configured to be detachable from the data processing device 14. When the adapter 12 is attached to the data processing device 14, the adapter 12 receives power supply from the power supply device 34 of the data processing device 14 and charges the secondary battery. In addition, when the adapter 12 is removed from the data processing device 14, power necessary for wireless communication is provided by supplying power from the secondary battery or the primary battery.

The adapter 12 is connected to a plurality of function processing units via an internal bus 16, and the USB host connectors 28 and 32 are connected to the internal bus 16 via USB host ports 26 and 30. The USB device connector 24 is connected to the internal bus 16 via the USB device port 22, and is connected to a USB device driver (hereinafter referred to as DWA: Device Wire Adapter) 20 connected to the internal bus 16. , The USB host driver HWA (hereinafter referred to as HWA driver: Host) of the data processing device 14 using the UWB protocol.
Reference as Wire Adapter. ) Communicate with 40. Examples of the external device connected to the adapter 12 in the present invention include devices having a communication port capable of USB connection, such as a storage device, a communication device, a personal computer, and a printer.

Note that the DWA (not shown) mounted on the adapter 12 can use a communication protocol compliant with IEEE 802.15TG3a or the like or the Multiband OFDM method. In the present invention, the UWB physical layer and UWB MAC (Media) defined in the DS-UWB (Direct Sequence UWB) protocol are used.
(Access Control) layer can also be provided, and a convergence layer for performing protocol conversion with the USB protocol is arranged between the network layer, which is an upper layer of UWB, and transaction control is performed.

  In addition, the data processing device 14 and the adapter 12 include wireless communication means connected to the NFC communication ports 18 and 36, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), IrDA, or IEEE 802.11, or wireless 1394. An NFC link that uses a Near Field Communication (NFC) protocol can be established. The NFC communication link is used for performing various communication settings between the data processing device 14 and the adapter 12.

  FIG. 2 is a detailed functional block diagram of the adapter device 12 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the adapter 12 of the present invention includes USB device ports / USB device connectors 22, 24 connected to an internal bus 16 and a plurality of USB host port / USB host connectors 26-32. ing. In addition, a central processing unit (CPU) 42, a ROM 44 for storing processing programs and setting values, and a RAM 46 for providing an execution space for processing are connected via the internal bus 16. Further, an NVRAM 48 is connected via the internal bus 16 and stores authentication data for wireless USB communication.

  FIG. 2 further shows a power supply system 50 of the adapter 12. The power supply system 50 is monitored by the CPU 42 via the internal bus 16 and performs switching processing of the power supply system. The power supply system 50 includes a power plug 50a that receives power supply from an external DC power supply and the like, and a charger 50b. When the power supply from the external DC power supply is received, the lithium ion battery, A secondary battery such as a Ni-Cd battery is charged. Further, the power switch 50d monitors the voltage of the power line between the power plug 50a and the charger 50b, and responds to the fact that the input voltage of the power plug 50a is equal to or lower than the first threshold value. The secondary battery 50c is switched to a power supply line (not shown) to supply power from the secondary battery 50c. The adapter 12 accepts a user operation from an operation unit 52 installed on a front panel (not shown) of the housing, and notifies the user of a communication state and a power state. In the present invention, the battery 50c can be a primary battery, but it is preferable to use a secondary battery from the viewpoint of maintainability such as battery life and labor for battery replacement.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of authentication data used when establishing a wireless USB link in the present invention. The authentication data shown in FIG. 3 is stored in a nonvolatile memory (not shown) such as the NVRAM 48 of the adapter 12 and the NVRAM of the data processing device 14, and the data processing device 14 and the adapter 12 are mutually self-existing. It is possible to identify and authenticate that the device belongs to the device. At the same time, any data processing device preemptively obtains a connection request from the adapter 12 and performs a handshake, thereby preventing a decrease in security due to data transmission with the arbitrary data processing device 14 is doing. In the authentication data shown in FIG. 3, an identification value HostID 60 uniquely assigned to the data processing device 14, an identification value DeviceID 62 uniquely assigned to the adapter 12, and a Connection Key (secret key) 64 are registered as a pair. Yes.

  The authentication method using the authentication data shown in FIG. 3 is a shared key method, and the adapter 12 and the data processing device 14 share the secret key 64 recorded as a secret key. When data is transmitted, the adapter 12 encrypts the plaintext with the secret key 64, and when the data processor 14 can decrypt the plaintext using the secret key 64 that the data processor 14 has, the data processor 14 sends a connection confirmation response. To improve security by permitting subsequent data transmission. The secret key 64 that can be used in the present invention can be either 64 bits or 128 bits, but is not particularly limited in the present invention.

  The plain text encrypted with the secret key 64 can be combined data of Host ID 60 and Device ID 62. In the present invention, the security level can be improved by using a key distribution encryption method, a public key encryption method, an electronic signature, etc. in addition to the above-described shared key encryption method. Each unique identification value can be a medium access control address (MAC) address used in the UWB protocol.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view (a) showing the configuration of the adapter 12 of the present invention and a diagram (b) showing the configuration of the rear panel when viewed from the direction of the arrow A. The adapter 12 accommodates the functional block shown in FIG. On the front panel 66 a of the housing 66, an operation unit 52, USB host connectors 28 and 32, and a USB device connector 24 are disposed. The operation unit 52 includes a switch 52a and LEDs 52b and 52c, which are display elements for notifying the user of the communication state of the adapter 12 and the like. Further, the NFC communication port 18 and the power connector 50a are disposed on the rear panel 66b of the housing 66. The NFC communication port 18 is prepared for performing short-range wireless communication other than the wireless USB link, such as IEEE802.11 and wireless IEEE1394, but further description thereof is omitted in the present invention. Various configurations can be used for the power connector 50a. When the adapter 12 is configured as a detachable unit of the data processing device according to the present invention, it is formed in the slot of the data processing device 14 when inserted into a slot formed at an appropriate location of the data processing device 14. The power supply plug is connected to the adapter 12 to supply power from the data processing device 14.

  In the present invention, since various connectors are arranged on the front panel 66a and the NFC communication port 18 and the power connector 50a are arranged on the opposite rear panel 66b, the adapter 12 is mounted on the data processing apparatus 14 main body side. However, the user can make a USB connection without any inconvenience. Further, even when the adapter 12 is connected to the data processing device 14, the present invention allows the data processing device 14 and the adapter 12 to be connected in a wireless USB environment without using an external USB cable or terminal. Communication is performed to enable access to the user using the USB.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the data processing device 14 of the present invention. The data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 5 is an embodiment configured as an image forming apparatus 70 such as a digital copying machine. The image forming apparatus 70 shown in FIG. 5 includes a scanner 72 and an operation unit 74 mounted as an operation panel or the like. The image forming apparatus 70 receives user input from the operation unit 74, interrupts the controller 38, activates the scanner 72, sorter (not shown), etc., and executes processing in response to the user command, and performs the printer 78. The print image is output from

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the adapter 12 is inserted into the insertion slot of the image processing device 70 and receives power supply through the power plug 80 of the power supply device 34. The controller 38 establishes a wireless communication link from the adapter 12 and performs communication. Note that the HWA (not shown) of the data processing apparatus 14 includes the same UWB physical layer and UWBMAC layer as the corresponding DWA 20, and performs protocol conversion between the USB protocol and the network layer, which is an upper layer thereof. Transaction control is performed using the convergence layer to be executed.

  FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the image processing apparatus 70 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 70 includes a CPU 82, a ROM 86, and a RAM 90, which are interconnected by an internal bus 98 and execute a job instructed by a user. A group of modules constitutes the controller 38 of the present invention. The CPU 82 reads out the processing program from the HDD 84 to the RAM 90, develops it, and executes processing for the commanded job. Further, the image forming apparatus 70 includes an I / F 88 for connecting to a standard LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark), and further, an HWA driver 40 is mounted to perform data transmission via a wireless USB link. Yes. The NVRAM 92 stores the same Host ID, Device ID, and secret key that the adapter 12 stores, and identifies data transmission from the adapter 12.

  In addition to the controller 38, the image forming apparatus 70 includes a scanner 72, a printer 78, an operation unit 74, and a power plug 80. The scanner 72, the printer 78, and the operation unit 74 are connected to the controller 38 via an internal bus 98, respectively. Then, it receives various commands from the controller 38 and executes processing.

  FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a handshake sequence between the adapter 12 and the data processing device 14 of the present invention. The adapter 12 sends a connection request from the DWA driver 20 to the HWA driver 40 of the data processing device 14 with HostID as the destination identification value (P1). When the HWA driver 40 receives the connection request from the DWA driver 20, the HWA driver 40 searches for the DeviceID stored in the NVRAM 92. If the received DeviceID can be searched, the HWA driver 40 returns a connection response to the DeviceID (P2), and the adapter. A handshake is established with 12 (P3). After establishing the handshake, the adapter 12 activates the DWA driver 20 to transmit the data encrypted with the secret key 64 stored in the NVRAM 48, and executes secure wireless USB data transmission (P4). At this time, if the host ID and the device ID acquired from the data decrypted by the data processing apparatus 14 using the secret key are not matched by combining the host ID and the device ID with the data and encrypting the data, The security can be further enhanced by causing the data processing device 14 to discard the received data. Thereafter, the session is continued using the authentication protocol using the secret key, and data processing by USB connection is executed (P5). As for the communication procedure after the wireless USB connection, a conventionally known communication protocol can be executed to execute data processing.

  In response to the establishment of the P4 session, the present invention turns on the LED 52b or the LED 52c of the adapter 12 shown in FIG. 4 to notify the user that the wireless USB link has been normally established. . In addition, when a session abnormality occurs, such as when a response from the data processing device 14 cannot be received before the time-out elapses, the user is notified of the session abnormality using a blinking LED or a change in display color. To do.

  FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the power management method executed by the adapter 12 of the present invention. The power management method shown in FIG. 8 shows control when the built-in power source of the adapter 12 is a primary battery. The control in FIG. 8 starts from step S100, and in step S101, whether or not there is power supply from the data processing device 14 is determined using the potential of the power supply line that receives power supply from the data processing device 14 side. to decide. If the power supply voltage from the data processing device 14 side is equal to or higher than the first threshold voltage (for example, 5V or 12V) (yes), the process branches to step S105 and the power supply from the data processing device 14 side is supplied. The power switch 50d is instructed to accept the line, the process branches to step S101, and the potential of the power line from the data processing device 14 side is monitored.

  In step S101, when the power supply voltage from the data processing device 14 side falls below a predetermined first threshold value (no), in step S102, a notification is sent to the power switch 50d to supply power from the primary battery. The line is turned on to supply power from the primary battery. In step S103, the voltage of the primary battery is monitored. If the voltage of the primary battery is not less than or equal to the second threshold value (no), the process branches to step S101 and the power supply from the data processing device 14 is resumed. Continue to monitor whether or not.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S103 that the voltage of the primary battery is equal to or lower than the second threshold voltage (yes), the display LED 52c of the operation unit is energized in step S104, and a warning is displayed to the user. Thereafter, the process branches to step S101, and the restart of power supply from the data processing device 14 side is monitored.

  The user can know the power state of the adapter 12 from the display element of the adapter 12 and can prevent useless data communication.

  FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the second embodiment of the power management method executed by the adapter 12 of the present invention. The power management method shown in FIG. 9 starts from step S200. In step S201, whether or not there is power supply from the data processing device 14 is determined, and the potential of the power supply line that receives power supply from the data processing device 14 side is determined. Use and judge. If the power supply voltage from the data processing device 14 side is equal to or higher than the first threshold voltage (yes), the process branches to step S205 to accept power supply from the power supply line from the data processing device 14 side. In this manner, the power switch 50d is instructed, and the voltage of the secondary battery is monitored in step S206.

  If it is determined in step S201 that there is no power supply from the data processing device 14 (no), the process branches to step S202, and the power switch 50d is instructed to supply power from the secondary battery. In step S203, it is determined whether the power supply voltage of the secondary battery is equal to or lower than the second threshold voltage. If the power supply voltage exceeds the second threshold voltage (no), the process branches to step S201 to monitor whether or not the power supply from the data processing device 14 has been resumed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S203 that the voltage of the primary battery is equal to or lower than the second threshold voltage (yes), the display LED of the operation unit is energized in step S204, and a warning is displayed to the user. The process is branched to step S201, and resumption of power supply from the data processing device 14 side is monitored.

  On the other hand, when there is power supply from the data processing device 14, it is further determined in step S206 whether or not the secondary battery needs to be charged. If it is determined in step S206 that the voltage of the secondary battery is lower than the third threshold voltage (yes), charging of the secondary battery is started in step S207, and the output voltage of the secondary battery is set in step S208. Monitor to determine whether the secondary battery is fully charged, and continue to receive power until it is fully charged. If the secondary battery is fully charged in step S208 (yes), the charging circuit is disconnected in step 209, the process branches to step S201, and the power supply from the data processing device 14 is continuously monitored.

  If it is determined in step S206 that the secondary battery does not need to be charged (no), the process branches to step S208 to execute the charging process depending on whether the secondary battery is fully charged. If not necessary, the process branches to step S201, and the power supply from the data processing device 14 is monitored again. Note that the adapter 12 of the present invention may include a charger 50b that performs trickle charging and quick charging as a charging circuit. When power is supplied from the data processing device 14, the adapter 12 performs the trickle charging and is fully charged. It can be charged. In this case, instead of the determination in step S206 and the charging start process in step S207, a process stage for executing trickle charging process can be used.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the data transmission using the wireless USB is secured from the position desired by the user, while preventing the waste of data communication due to the sudden power down. Thus, it is possible to provide a wireless USB adapter and a data processing device that can be performed while improving the usability of the user.

The figure which showed the network system of this invention. The block diagram of the wireless USB adapter of this invention. The figure which showed embodiment of the authentication data used by this invention. The perspective view and back view of the wireless USB adapter of this invention. The figure which showed embodiment of this invention data processing apparatus. The functional block diagram of the data processor of this invention. The figure which showed the wireless USB communication protocol in this invention. The figure which showed 1st Embodiment of the power management method of this invention. The figure which showed 2nd Embodiment of the power management method of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Network system, 12 ... Wireless USB adapter, 14 ... Data processing device, 16 ... Internal bus, 18 ... NFC communication port, 20 ... Wireless USB port (DWA driver), 22 ... USB device port, 24 ... USB device -Connector, 26 ... USB host port, 28 ... USB host connector, 30 ... USB host port, 32 ... USB host connector, 34 ... Power supply device, 36 ... NFC communication port, 38 ... Controller, 40 ... HWA driver 42 ... CPU, 44 ... ROM, 46 ... RAM, 48 ... NVRAM, 50 ... power supply system, 52 ... operating unit, 60 ... HostID, 62 ... DeviceID, 64 ... ConnectionKey (secret key), 66 ... housing, 70 ... Image forming apparatus 72. Scanner 74 Operation unit, 78 ... printer, 80 ... power plug, 82 ... CPU, 84 ... HDD, 86 ... ROM, 88 ... LAN-I / F, 90 ... RAM, 92 ... NVRAM,

Claims (9)

  A USB connector, a USB port for processing data from an external device connected to the USB connector, and a USB device driver for wirelessly communicating data from the USB port, using a wireless USB protocol Wireless USB adapter that performs data transmission with an externally connected data processing device.   The wireless USB adapter according to claim 1, wherein the wireless USB adapter is detachable from the data processing device, and establishes a wireless USB link using the data processing device as a host device. The wireless USB adapter is
A battery for supplying power to the wireless USB adapter;
A power supply switching unit configured to monitor a power supply voltage supplied from the data processing device, determine power supply from the data processing device, and switch to power supply from the battery according to the power supply voltage. The wireless USB adapter according to 1 or 2.   The battery is a primary battery or a secondary battery, and includes a charger that charges the secondary battery according to a power supply voltage from the data processing device when the battery is a secondary battery. Item 4. The wireless USB adapter according to item 3.   The wireless USB adapter according to claim 4, wherein the charger trickle-charges or fast-charges the secondary battery when the wireless USB adapter receives power supply from the data processing device.   The wireless USB adapter includes a nonvolatile memory that stores a device identification value of the wireless USB adapter, a host identification value of the data processing device, and a secret key, and a display element that displays a session state of the wireless communication, The wireless USB adapter according to claim 1, wherein the wireless USB adapter encrypts and executes data communication with the data processing device.   2. A USB port, a USB host driver for wirelessly communicating data from the USB port, and a nonvolatile memory for storing a device identification value, a host identification value, and a secret key of an adapter for wireless communication. A data processing device that establishes a wireless USB link with the wireless USB adapter according to any one of claims 6 to 6.   The said data processing apparatus is equipped with the slot which accommodates the said wireless USB adapter, The power supply apparatus which supplies electric power to the said wireless USB adapter when the said wireless USB adapter is mounted in the said slot is provided. Data processing device.   The data processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the data processing apparatus is an image forming apparatus or an information processing apparatus.

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