JP2010081425A - Control apparatus and pairing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that, when a plurality of devices to be controlled are present, and when a pairing object is selected in accordance with a signal output or a response time, pairing with an object which should be originally paired may not be performed occasionally. <P>SOLUTION: A control device 100 performs pairing preferentially on a device 200 to be controlled that is not paired up to this time among a plurality of devices 200 to be controlled. Furthermore, when all pairing candidates are paired before, the most previously paired device 200 to be controlled is selected as a pairing object. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device and a pairing method for a system in which a control device and a controlled device perform pairing in advance and perform wireless communication.

  In order to remotely control home appliances such as televisions, wireless systems that use radio waves in the 2.4 GHz band such as the IEEE 802.15.4 standard have recently started to be used.

  A television or remote control that employs a remote control method using such a wireless method needs to perform pairing that associates the remote control with a device that is an operation target of the remote control at the time of purchase.

  Pairing means that a control device (for example, a control device such as a remote controller) and a controlled device (for example, a controlled device such as a television) exchange identification information for identifying each other.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a pairing communication sequence.
When the user performs a pairing operation on the control device (step S501), the control device transmits a pairing request describing its own identification information as a broadcast message (step S502).

  Upon receiving the pairing request, the controlled device transmits a pairing response describing its own identification information to the transmission source (step S503).

  Upon receiving the pairing response, the control device registers the identification information of the controlled device that has transmitted the pairing response as a pairing target (step S504), and transmits a pairing completion notification to the controlled device (step S505). .

  The controlled device that has received the pairing completion notification registers the identifier of the control device as a pairing target, transmits a pairing completion notification response to the control device (step S506), and completes the pairing (step S507). .

By the way, when there are a plurality of controlled devices that can be paired, a pairing request is transmitted as a broadcast message, so a pairing response is transmitted from the plurality of controlled devices. In such a case, the control devices of Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 select and determine a controlled device to be paired from a plurality of controlled devices that can be paired.
Special table 2007-536852 gazette JP 2008-205780 A

  However, in the pairing method described in Patent Document 1, the control device performs pairing with the controlled device that first returns a pairing response. In this method, for example, when there is a controlled device with high-speed processing capability, pairing with the controlled device is likely to be performed, and pairing with the controlled device to be paired is not necessary. There is a problem that cannot be done.

  Further, in the pairing method described in Patent Document 2, the field strength of the radio signal received from the control device on the controlled device side is measured and transmitted, including the value of the field strength in the pairing response. Pair with the controlled device that returned the pairing response with the maximum electric field strength. In this method, for example, if there is a controlled device that always returns the maximum electric field strength value fixedly on the controlled device side, pairing with the controlled device is always performed, and the controlled device that you want to pair with is always required. There is a problem that cannot be paired with.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a control device capable of pairing with an appropriate controlled device from among a plurality of controlled devices.

  In order to solve the above problems, a control device according to the present invention is a control device that performs pairing with a controlled device in advance to perform wireless communication, and shows a history of the controlled device that has been paired in the past. When there are a history information holding unit that holds history information and a plurality of controlled devices that can be paired when performing pairing, the controlled devices to be paired from the plurality of controlled devices based on the history information A pairing control unit that selects a device and updates the history information.

  Thereby, since the controlled device to be paired is selected based on the history information, it is possible to pair with an appropriate controlled device from among a plurality of controlled devices capable of pairing.

  For example, when there is a controlled device that is not recorded in the history information among the plurality of controlled devices that can be paired, the pairing control unit selects a controlled device that is not recorded in the history information. Select the controlled device to be paired.

  As a result, the control device can pair with a controlled device that has not been paired in the past. In other words, when a new controlled device is installed, a controlled device that has not been paired in the past is preferentially paired, so that it can be appropriately paired with the new controlled device.

  In addition, when the plurality of controlled devices that can be paired are all recorded in the history information, the pairing control unit performs pairing on the controlled device paired most recently indicated by the history information. Select as target controlled device.

  Thereby, even if the control apparatus has been paired in the past, the controlled apparatus that has not been paired for the longest period from the present time can be selected as the controlled apparatus to be paired. In other words, since the priority of the controlled device once paired decreases during the next pairing, the user correctly pairs the controlling device with the controlled device desired by the user by repeating the pairing operation multiple times. can do.

  The history information is a list in which addresses of controlled devices that have been paired so far are arranged in order of time of pairing.

  Thus, the control device can easily find the address of the controlled device to be selected from the history information.

  The present invention can be realized not only as such a control device, but also as a method for pairing by the control device, a program for pairing by the control device, and a storage medium for storing the program. Can be realized.

  According to the present invention, even if there is a controlled device that quickly returns a pairing response, once the controlled device is newly installed after pairing with the controlled device, the controlled device not in the history Since the device is preferentially paired, the possibility that the pairing target device can be correctly paired increases. In addition, controlled devices that have been paired once have a lower priority during the next pairing operation regardless of the strength of the pairing signal. The possibility of pairing is increased.

  Hereinafter, a control device (control device) and a pairing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a control device in the present embodiment.
The control device 100 includes, for example, an input unit 101 including operation buttons, a reception list holding unit 102 that holds a reception list that will be described later, and a history list holding unit (history information holding unit) 103 that holds a history list that will be described later. A pairing control unit 104 that selects a pairing target based on a reception list and a history list, and a communication unit 105 that communicates with a plurality of controlled devices 200 or one of them.

Hereinafter, operation | movement of such a control apparatus 100 is demonstrated using FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example of the control device 100 and the controlled device 200 when a plurality of controlled devices 200 exist. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that there are two controlled devices 200 that can be paired with the control device 100, and these controlled devices 200 are shown separately as a controlled device 200A and a controlled device 200B.

  First, the user performs a pairing operation (step S201). The pairing operation is an operation of pressing a button or the like installed on the input unit 101 of the control device 100. Further, the pairing operation may be an operation such as simultaneous pressing of a plurality of buttons installed in the input unit 101 of the control device 100. Pairing is started with such a pairing operation as a trigger.

  When the pairing operation is performed, the control device 100 transmits a pairing request packet (hereinafter referred to as a “pairing request”) to which a device ID for identifying itself is added as a broadcast message (step S202). As the device ID, a MAC address assigned individually to the wireless interface may be used.

  When the controlled devices 200A and 200B that have received the pairing request perform pairing with the control device 100, a pairing response packet to which a device ID for identifying the controlled devices 200A and 200B is added (hereinafter referred to as a pairing response). ) Is transmitted to the control device 100 (steps S203 and S204).

  When the control device 100 transmits a pairing request and waits for a response from the controlled devices 200A and 200B for a certain period of time and receives the pairing response, the control device 100 sets the device ID of the controlled devices 200A and 200B included in the pairing response. Record in the reception list (step S205).

  After a certain period of time, the control device 100 selects one device to be paired from the device ID described in the reception list and the device ID described in the history list, and determines it as a pairing target device ( Step S206).

  The control device 100 transmits a pairing completion notification to the selected pairing target device (controlled device 200A in this example) (step S207). The controlled device 200A that has received the pairing completion notification records the device ID of the control device 100 as a pairing target, and transmits a pairing completion notification response (step S208).

  The control device 100 that has received the pairing completion notification response records the device ID of the controlled device 200A as the pairing target device (step S209).

  The control device 100 transmits the pairing request and the pairing completion notification and receives the pairing response and the pairing completion notification response by the communication unit 105 of the control device 100. Other operations are performed by the pairing control unit 104 of the control device 100.

  Hereinafter, the process of step S205 and step S206 which determines the pairing object apparatus in the control apparatus 100 is demonstrated using FIGS. 3-5.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device 100 from step S205 to step S206. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the control device 100 when a device ID not recorded in the history list is included in the reception list, and FIG. 5 is a device included in the reception list. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of the control apparatus 100 when all ID is recorded on the log | history list.

  After transmitting the pairing request, the control device 100 waits for a pairing response for a predetermined time (step S101). When a pairing response from the controlled device 200 is received within a certain time, a pairing response (device ID) is added to the reception list in the control device 100 (step S102). FIG. 4A is an example of a reception list. The device ID of the controlled device 200 is added to the reception list in the order received. In the example of FIG. 4A, a pairing response is first received from the controlled device 200 having the device ID 3, and then a pairing response is received from the controlled device 200 having the device ID 7. A state in which a pairing response from the controlled device 200 having ID1 is received is shown.

  When the state in which the control device 100 waits for a pairing response times out, the control device 100 compares the reception list with the history list (step S103).

  FIG. 4B is an example of a history list. In the history list, the identifiers of the controlled devices 200 that the control device 100 has paired in the past are recorded in time series. In the history list shown in FIG. 4B, the controlled device 200 that has been paired most recently is the controlled device 200 having the device ID3, and the controlled device 200 having the device ID2 is the controlled device having the device ID3. The pairing is performed more recently than the device 200, and the controlled device 200 having the device ID 1 indicates that the pairing was performed most recently.

  When the control device 100 compares the reception list and the history list, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, if a device ID that does not exist in the history list exists in the reception list, a pair is received from the reception list. One controlled device 200 to be ringed is selected (step S104).

  When one controlled device 200 is selected, the controlled device 200 that returned the response earliest may be selected, or the controlled device 200 that returned the response last may be selected. Further, the controlled device 200 may be selected at random from the reception list. For example, when the controlled device 200 that returns the earliest response is selected, in the state shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the controlled device 200 having the device ID 7 is the pairing target device. Selected as.

  Further, the control device 100 compares the reception list with the history list, and as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when all the device IDs of the reception list exist in the history list, the control device 100 performs pairing from the reception list. One controlled device 200 to be ringed is selected (step S105).

  FIG. 5A is an example of a reception list, and FIG. 5B is an example of a history list. Since these are equivalent to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, description thereof is omitted.

  When one controlled device 200 is selected, pairing is performed with the controlled device 200 that has been paired most recently in the history list. For example, when the reception list is in the state of FIG. 5A and the history list is in the state of FIG. 5B, the controlled device 200 having the device ID 3 is selected as the pairing target device.

  When the pairing target device is selected, the control device 100 updates the history list (step S106).

  If the device ID of the selected pairing target device does not exist in the history list, the device ID of the pairing target device is added to the head of the history list. For example, in FIG. 4C, when the controlled device 200 having the device ID 7 is selected as the pairing target device, the device ID 7 is added to the head of the history list.

  When the controlled device 200 in the history list is selected as a pairing target, the device ID is moved to the top of the history list. For example, in FIG. 5C, when the controlled device 200 having the device ID 3 is selected as the pairing target device, the device ID 3 is moved to the top of the history list.

  As described above, the control device 100 (control device) according to the present invention can select and pair an appropriate controlled device 200 by referring to the history list (history information).

  The control device and the pairing method of the present invention prevent the phenomenon that the pairing target is determined by the performance of the controlled device and the phenomenon that the pairing target is fixedly determined by the malicious controlled device. The user can be prevented from being confused by being unable to pair with a device to be paired. In addition, the control device and the pairing method of the present invention can be applied to, for example, a remote controller that performs communication by pairing with a controlled device such as a television.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a control apparatus. It is a communication sequence diagram when a control apparatus performs pairing. It is a flowchart at the time of a control apparatus selecting the controlled apparatus used as pairing object. (A) is a figure which shows an example of a receiving list, (b) is a figure which shows an example of a history list, (c) is a figure which shows an example of the history list after an update. (A) is a figure which shows the other example of a receiving list, (b) is a figure which shows the other example of a history list, (c) is a figure which shows the other example of the history list after an update. . It is a sequence diagram at the time of performing the conventional pairing operation.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Control apparatus 101 Input part 102 Reception list holding part 103 History list holding part 104 Pairing control part 105 Communication part 200 Controlled apparatus

Claims (8)

A control device for performing wireless communication by performing pairing with a controlled device in advance,
A history information holding unit for holding history information indicating the history of controlled devices that have been paired in the past;
When there are a plurality of controlled devices that can be paired when performing pairing, based on the history information, a controlled device to be paired is selected from the plurality of controlled devices, and the history information is updated. A pairing control unit;
A control device comprising: The pairing control unit
When there is a controlled device that is not recorded in the history information among the plurality of controlled devices that can be paired, a controlled device that is not recorded in the history information is selected as a controlled device to be paired To
The control device according to claim 1. The pairing control unit
When all of the plurality of controlled devices that can be paired are recorded in the history information, the most recently paired controlled device indicated by the history information is selected as a controlled device to be paired.
The control device according to claim 2. The history information is a list in which addresses of controlled devices that have been paired so far are arranged in order of time of pairing.
The control device according to claim 3. A pairing method in which a control device performs pairing with a controlled device in advance and performs wireless communication,
Holds history information indicating the history of controlled devices that have been paired in the past,
When there are a plurality of controlled devices that can be paired when performing pairing, based on the history information, a controlled device to be paired is selected from the plurality of controlled devices, and the history information is updated. ,
Pairing method. When selecting the controlled device to be paired,
When there is a controlled device that is not recorded in the history information among the plurality of controlled devices that can be paired, a controlled device that is not recorded in the history information is selected as a controlled device to be paired To
The pairing method according to claim 5. When selecting the controlled device to be paired,
When all of the plurality of controlled devices that can be paired are recorded in the history information, the most recently paired controlled device indicated by the history information is selected as a controlled device to be paired.
The pairing method according to claim 6. The history information is a list in which addresses of controlled devices that have been paired so far are arranged in order of time of pairing.
The pairing method according to claim 7.

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