JP2013077860A - Wireless communication device and wireless communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method without interruption in recording and reproduction of AV data which is caused because a wireless network function is automatically activated while the AV data is being recorded or reproduced using a wired network.SOLUTION: A storage part 108 stores software for executing predetermined applications, information on the applications in activation, a connection configuration modification application modifying a connection configuration of a network, and automatic activation information indicating possibility or impossibility of automatic activation of the connection configuration modification application for each predetermined application. When a wireless communication card is inserted while a wired network is being used, an automatic activation controller 111 reads out the automatic activation information and the information on applications in activation from the storage part 108, and determines whether or not to activate the connection configuration modification application. On the basis of the determination result, a controller 103 activates the connection configuration modification application to switch the connection to a wireless network.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus and a wireless communication method for automatically detecting a connection of a wireless communication medium and automatically starting a wireless connection function.

  In recent years, household devices such as digital TVs, DVD recorders, and digital cameras having a network function are increasing. If this network function is used, it becomes possible to connect to the external Internet in addition to AV data communication with other devices in the home, monitoring of the operation state of other devices, various controls, and the like.

  Network connection forms between devices in the home include HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), and normal Ethernet (registered trademark). Wiring is necessary.

  Recently, wireless networks conforming to wireless LAN (Local Area Network) standards such as 802.11a / b / g / n are rapidly spreading. Even in the home, the number of devices equipped with wireless network functions is expected to increase in the future due to the feature that the installation location can be freely changed without the hassle of wiring. However, setting of a wireless network connection is complicated for a general household user, and simplification of the wireless network connection setting is strongly desired.

  For example, when a wireless communication terminal for sending and receiving electronic mail is attached, a communication device that detects attachment of the wireless communication terminal, automatically starts an electronic mail program, and starts sending and receiving electronic mail. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-10-164121

  By the way, in the method shown in Patent Document 1, there is no problem when only a wireless network is connected to a communication device, but when another wired network for communicating with an external device is connected in addition to the wireless network. May have problems.

  For example, when a communication device and an external device such as a recording / playback device are connected via a wired network, and AV data is recorded or played back between the communication device and the external device via the wired network, the wireless network function is When the wired network connection is automatically started and the AV data is disconnected or recorded, there is a problem that the recording and reproduction of the AV data is stopped halfway.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and even when a wireless network function is automatically activated during recording and playback of AV data using a wired network, recording and playback of AV data is in progress. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method that are not interrupted by the above.

  In order to achieve the above object, a wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is a wireless communication apparatus that switches between and uses a wired network and a wireless network, and is externally connected via the wired network. An external input / output unit for inputting / outputting signals to / from the device, a communication medium inserting unit for inserting a communication medium having a function of connecting to a wireless network, and outputting an insertion detection signal indicating that the communication medium has been inserted; Software for executing the application, application information being started, connection form change application for changing the network connection form, and automatic start information indicating whether or not the connection form change application can be automatically started for each predetermined application, An insertion detection signal is input from the storage unit to store and the communication medium insertion unit. The automatic start control unit that outputs a connection type change application start request or a start disable request based on the automatic start information and the starting application information, and when using a wired network, the automatic start control unit When acquiring a connection form change application start request, start the connection form change application, and when acquiring a connection form change application start disable request from the automatic start control unit, a control unit that does not start the connection form change application; It is characterized by having.

  With such a configuration, even when a wireless communication card or the like is inserted while an application using a wired network is running, after determining whether or not the connection to the wireless network can be changed, the connection change to the wireless network is performed. Done. Therefore, the application using the wired network is not interrupted to cause a problem.

  In the wireless communication device according to claim 2 of the present invention, in the wireless communication device according to claim 1, the control unit changes the network connection form when the activation disable request is acquired from the automatic activation control unit. A confirmation screen for requesting permission is displayed.

  With such a configuration, when an application that uses the wired network is interrupted and becomes a problem, the user can determine whether or not to change the connection to the wireless network while viewing a confirmation screen indicating that.

  In the wireless communication apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention, in the wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the external device is a recording / playback device, and an active application records an AV signal via a wired network. Alternatively, in the case of an application to be reproduced, the automatic activation control unit outputs an activation prohibition request to the control unit.

  With such a configuration, even when a wireless communication card is inserted during recording or playback of an AV signal via a wired network, recording or playback is not interrupted in the middle.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless communication method including software for executing a predetermined application connected to at least two networks of a wired network and a wireless network, and a connection form changing application for changing a network connection form. A wireless communication method for a wireless communication device, the step of obtaining an insertion detection signal indicating that a communication medium having a function of connecting to a wireless network has been inserted into the wireless communication device, and a connection form changing application for each predetermined application A step of acquiring automatic start information indicating whether or not automatic start is possible and application information being started, and a connection form change application start request or start disable request based on the automatic start information and application information being started Output step; When using the wire network, when the activation request for the connection configuration change application is acquired, the connection configuration change application is activated, and when the connection configuration change application activation prohibition request is acquired, the step of not starting the connection configuration change application; It is provided with.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a wireless communication apparatus and a wireless communication method in which a wireless network function is automatically activated during recording and playback of AV data using a wired network, and recording and playback of AV data is not interrupted. Can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the concept of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the radio | wireless communication apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the radio | wireless communication card in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the automatic start information of the radio | wireless communication apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the starting control process of the radio | wireless communication apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display screen when the automatic starting of the radio | wireless communication apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention is impossible. It is a figure which shows the example of a display screen of the application starting state at the time of the automatic starting of the radio | wireless communication apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention possible.

  Hereinafter, a wireless communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, a digital television will be described as an example of the wireless communication apparatus of the present invention.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the concept of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a digital television 100 as a wireless communication device is connected to a recording / playback device 300 as an external device via a wired network 400. The digital television 100 and the recording / playback apparatus 300 communicate via the wired network 400 using a protocol that complies with, for example, DLNA guidelines. A user can record AV data of a program received by the digital television 100 on the recording / playback apparatus 300 via the wired network 400 by operating a remote controller (not shown) or the like. Also, the AV data of the program recorded in the recording / reproducing apparatus 300 can be reproduced and viewed on the digital television 100 via the wired network 400.

  The digital television 100 can be connected to the wireless network 500 in addition to the wired network 400. For this purpose, the digital television 100 includes a communication medium insertion unit 110 into which a wireless communication card (hereinafter also referred to as “wireless LAN adapter”) 200 as a communication medium can be inserted. The wireless communication card 200 can be connected to the external Internet via a wireless LAN access point (not shown; hereinafter, also simply referred to as “access point”) installed in another place in the home. The wireless communication card 200 includes, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface. When the wireless communication card 200 is inserted into the communication medium insertion unit 110, the wireless connection application is automatically activated and connected to the wireless network 500. The digital television 100 is configured to be connected to one of the wired network 400 and the wireless network 500, and the connection switching between the two networks is performed by a connection form change application stored in the digital television 100. Is called.

  Next, the configuration and operation of digital television 100 in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital television 100 in the embodiment of the present invention. The digital television 100 includes a receiving unit 101, a separating unit 102, a control unit 103, a decoding unit 104, an audio output unit 105, a video output unit 106, an OSD (On Screen Display) control unit 107, and a storage unit. 108, an external input / output unit 109, a communication medium insertion unit 110, an automatic activation control unit 111, an input unit 112, a speaker 113, and a display unit 114.

  The receiving unit 101 receives a digital broadcast wave from an antenna (not shown), performs processing such as amplification and demodulation, and then outputs it as a transport stream to the separation unit 102.

  Separating section 102 separates the transport stream input from receiving section 101 into AV data (MPEG2 compressed data) and attached information including electronic program information, etc., outputs AV data to decoding section 104, and attaches the attached information to the control section. To 103. In addition, the AV data input from the control unit 103 is output to the decoding unit 104.

  The control unit 103 stores the accessory information input from the separation unit 102 in the storage unit 108. When a channel selection request is input from the input unit 112 by a user's remote control (not shown) operation or the like, the receiving unit 101 is controlled, and when an accessory information display request is input from the input unit 112, predetermined accessory information Is obtained from the storage unit 108 and output to the OSD control unit 107 as an OSD display request. Also, AV data received from the wired network 400 via the external input / output unit 109 or AV data received from the wireless network 500 via the wireless communication card 200 inserted into the communication medium insertion unit 110 is output to the separation unit 102. To do. AV data to be transmitted to the wired network 400 is acquired from the storage unit 108 or the reception unit 101 and output to the external input / output unit 109. Similarly, AV data to be transmitted to the wireless network 500 is output to the wireless communication card 200. Further, a predetermined signal stored in the storage unit 108 in accordance with a request from the input unit 112 or a control signal input from the external input / output unit 109, a control signal input from the wireless communication card 200, or an internal state of the digital television 100. Start the application. When the connection form change application start request from the automatic start control unit 111 or the connection form change application start request from the input unit 112 is acquired, the connection form change application stored in the storage unit 108 is started. Further, the application information being activated is stored in the storage unit 108.

  The decoding unit 104 decodes the MPEG2 compressed AV data input from the separation unit 102 into the original video signal and audio signal, and outputs the decoded video signal to the video output unit 106, where the decoded audio signal is output. The signal is output to the audio output unit 105.

  The audio output unit 105 performs various types of audio processing such as volume adjustment and sound quality adjustment on the decoded audio signal input from the decoding unit 104, amplifies, and outputs the amplified audio signal to the speaker 113. Here, the speaker 113 may be built in the digital television 100 or may be a separate body.

  The video output unit 106 performs various types of video processing such as brightness adjustment and color adjustment on the decoded video signal input from the decoding unit 104, converts it to a predetermined display format, and outputs the video signal to the display unit 114 as a video signal. Output. Also, the OSD signal input from the OSD control unit 107 is combined with the video signal and output to the display unit 114.

  The OSD control unit 107 generates an OSD signal based on the OSD display request from the control unit 103 and outputs it to the video output unit 106. Here, the OSD signal includes an electronic program guide and the like.

  The storage unit 108 stores software for executing various applications including a connection form changing application, automatic activation information, and activated application information. Further, the auxiliary information and AV data input from the control unit 103 are stored. Furthermore, access point information for connecting to the access point is held. The access point information mentioned here includes at least information on an SSID (Service Set ID) for identifying an access point, and information on an authentication method, an encryption method, and an encryption key required when connecting to the access point. .

  The external input / output unit 109 communicates with the recording / playback apparatus 300 via a wired network 400 such as DLNA or HDMI. The control signal and AV data input from the recording / playback apparatus 300 are output to the control unit 103, and the control signal and AV data input from the control unit 103 are output to the recording / playback apparatus 300. As an external device, in addition to the recording / playback device 300, home appliances such as a refrigerator and an air conditioner may be used. In this case, monitoring information for monitoring the state of the home appliance is received from each home appliance via the wired network 400, or power control information and various setting information are transmitted to the home appliance.

  When the wireless communication card 200 is inserted, the communication medium insertion unit 110 outputs an insertion detection signal indicating that the wireless communication card 200 has been inserted to the automatic activation control unit 111. Also, AV data received from the wireless communication card 200 is output to the control unit 103, and AV data input from the control unit 103 is output to an access point (not shown) via the wireless communication card 200. Further, a control signal from the wireless communication card 200 is output to the control unit 103, and a control signal from the control unit 103 is output to the wireless communication card 200.

  When the insertion detection signal is input from the communication medium insertion unit 110, the automatic activation control unit 111 determines whether the connection form change application can be activated based on the automatic activation information stored in the storage unit 108 and the activated application information. Determine. Depending on the determination result, a connection form change application activation request or activation inactivation request is output to the control unit 103.

  The input unit 112 receives a remote control signal input via an input device (not shown) such as a remote control, and outputs it to the control unit 103.

  The speaker 113 receives an audio output signal from the audio output unit 105 and outputs audio.

  The display unit 114 includes a plasma display panel or a liquid crystal panel, and displays a video output signal from the video output unit 106.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the wireless communication card 200 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the wireless communication card 200 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The wireless communication card 200 includes a transmission / reception unit 201 and a control unit 202.

  The transmission / reception unit 201 receives wireless communication format data modulated for wireless communication via the wireless network 500 such as IEEE802.11a / b / g / n, and receives the wireless communication format data modulated for wireless communication. Is output to the control unit 202. The wireless communication format data input from the control unit 202 is wirelessly transmitted to a predetermined device (not shown) such as an access point.

  The control unit 202 analyzes the wireless communication format data input from the transmission / reception unit 201, acquires AV data or a control signal, and outputs it to the control unit 103 of the digital television 100. Also, AV data or a control signal input from the control unit 103 of the digital television 100 is converted into wireless communication format data using the access point information held in the storage unit 108 of the digital television 100, and the data is sent to the transmission / reception unit 201. Output.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the automatic activation information of the wireless communication apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and shows a correspondence table between applications to be activated and automatic activation availability. Examples of applications stored in the storage unit 108 of the digital television 100 include a DLNA playback application, a network recording application, and a home appliance monitoring application. Here, during the activation of the DLNA playback application and the network recording application, AV data required to continuously maintain real-time performance and connection flows through the wired network 400. When the network is switched to the wireless network 500 in this state, AV data is interrupted, and playback and recording are interrupted. On the other hand, while the home appliance monitoring application is activated, monitoring information and control signals are intermittently flowing through the wired network 400, and these signals are not required to continuously maintain real-time characteristics and connections. Therefore, even if communication is interrupted due to switching to the wireless network 500 while the home appliance monitoring application is running, there is no problem if communication is resumed when switching to the wired network 400 again.

  For example, when the digital TV 100 and the recording / playback apparatus 300 are connected by DLNA and the digital TV 100 plays back AV data recorded in the recording / playback apparatus 300, the control unit 103 of the digital TV 100 is stored in the storage unit 108. The DLNA playback application is activated to play back AV data. In this situation, when the wireless communication card 200 is inserted into the communication medium insertion unit 110 of the digital television 100, the automatic activation control unit 111 displays the activated application information (DLNA playback application) and automatic activation information (automatic activation is not possible). Based on this, it is determined that the activation of the connection form changing application is “impossible”.

  For example, when the digital TV 100 and a refrigerator (external device) are connected via an IP (Internet Protocol) network and the digital TV 100 monitors the operation information of the refrigerator, the control unit 103 of the digital TV 100 is stored in the storage unit 108. Start the home device monitoring application. In this situation, when the wireless communication card 200 is inserted into the communication medium insertion unit 110 of the digital television 100, the automatic activation control unit 111 is activated application information (home device monitoring application), automatic activation information (automatic activation is possible). Based on the above, it is determined that the connection form changing application can be activated.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the activation control process of the automatic activation control unit 111 of the wireless communication apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. First, the automatic activation control unit 111 stands by until an insertion detection signal indicating that the wireless communication card 200 has been inserted is received from the communication medium insertion unit 110 (step S501). When the automatic activation control unit 111 receives the insertion detection signal (“YES” in step S501), the automatic activation information and activated application information are acquired from the storage unit 108 via the control unit 103 (step S501). S502). Next, referring to the correspondence table in FIG. 4 from the active application information acquired in step S502, it is determined whether or not the connection form changing application for changing the connection to the wireless network 500 can be automatically started (step S503). If automatic activation is possible (if “YES” in step 503), the automatic activation control unit 111 outputs a connection form change application activation request to the control unit 103 and ends the operation. On the other hand, if automatic activation is not possible (in the case of “NO” in step 503), the automatic activation control unit 111 outputs an automatic activation impossibility request to the control unit 103 and ends.

  Next, an example of a display screen displayed on the display unit 114 when the wireless communication card 200 is inserted into the digital television 100 is shown. FIG. 6 is an example of a display screen when automatic activation is not possible in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. For example, when the wireless communication card 200 is inserted while the DLNA playback application is running, a display screen asking for permission to change the network connection setting is displayed on the display unit 114 as shown in FIG. When the user selects “Yes” with an input device (not shown) such as a remote controller, the screen is switched to a display screen as shown in FIG. 7 and connection with the wireless LAN access point is started. On the other hand, if “No” is selected in FIG. 6, the current application operation is continued without changing the setting.

  As described above, according to the wireless communication apparatus of the present embodiment, even when the wireless communication card 200 is inserted while an application for recording and reproducing AV data using the wired network 400 is running, The connection setting for the wireless network 500 is changed, the running application is interrupted, and AV data recording and playback are not interrupted. In addition, since a confirmation screen requesting permission to change the network setting is displayed, the user can select whether to continue using the wired network 400 or to change the connection setting to the wireless network 500.

  In the above-described embodiment, the connection destination of the wired network 400 is described by taking the recording / playback apparatus 300 as an example. However, a server, a digital still camera, or a digital video camera that provides content such as moving images may be used. It may be a household device (such as a refrigerator or an air conditioner).

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the connection destination external apparatus as one, you may be connected with several external apparatus. In this case, there may be a plurality of active applications. However, when there is an active application that cannot be automatically started, it may be determined that the application cannot be started and a user confirmation screen may be displayed.

  In the above embodiment, the connection information to the access point is held in the storage unit 108 of the digital television 100. However, when the wireless communication card 200 is inserted for the first time, the connection of the access point is performed. A screen for setting information may be displayed. The user can make settings with the access point using this screen.

  Further, in the above embodiment, it is determined whether or not the network connection setting can be changed by the application used in the wired network 400 when the wireless communication card 200 is inserted. May be determined by an application used in the wireless network 500. For example, when the content distributed from the content distribution server via the external Internet is being viewed using streaming using the wireless network 500, changing the network connection setting is prohibited when the wired network 400 is connected. You may do it.

  The present invention is widely applicable to a wireless communication apparatus that switches between a plurality of networks.

100 Digital TV (wireless communication device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Reception part 102 Separation part 103 Control part 104 Decoding part 105 Audio | voice output part 106 Video | video output part 107 OSD control part 108 Memory | storage part 109 External input / output part 110 Communication medium insertion part 111 Automatic start control part 112 Input part 113 Speaker 114 Display part 200 Wireless communication card (communication medium)
201 Transmission / Reception Unit 202 Control Unit 300 Recording / Reproducing Device (External Device)
400 wired network 500 wireless network

Claims (4)

A wireless communication device that switches between and uses at least two networks of a wired network and a wireless network,
An external input / output unit for inputting / outputting signals to / from an external device via the wired network;
Inserting a communication medium having a function of connecting to the wireless network and outputting an insertion detection signal indicating that the communication medium has been inserted;
Software that executes a predetermined application, application information that is being started, a connection mode change application that changes the network connection mode, and automatic startup that indicates whether or not the connection mode change application can be automatically started for each predetermined application A storage unit for storing information;
Automatic start control that outputs a start request or a start disable request for the connection form change application based on the automatic start information and the active application information when the insertion detection signal is input from the communication medium insertion unit And
While using the wired network, if the connection type change application activation request is acquired from the automatic activation control unit, the connection type modification application is activated, and the connection type modification application cannot be activated from the automatic activation control unit. A control unit that does not activate the connection form changing application when a request is acquired;
A wireless communication apparatus comprising: 2. The radio according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays a confirmation screen asking for permission to change a connection form of the network when the activation prohibition request is acquired from the automatic activation control unit. Communication device. When the external device is a recording / playback device and the running application is an application that records or plays back an AV signal via the wired network, the automatic startup control unit sends the startup disable request to the control unit. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication apparatus outputs the wireless communication apparatus. A wireless communication method for a wireless communication apparatus, which is connected to at least two networks of a wired network and a wireless network and includes a software that executes a predetermined application and a connection form change application that changes a connection form of the network,
Obtaining an insertion detection signal indicating that a communication medium having a function of connecting to the wireless network has been inserted into the wireless communication device;
Obtaining automatic start information indicating whether or not the connection form changing application can be automatically started for each predetermined application, and active application information; and
Based on the automatic start information and the application information being started, outputting a start request or a start impossible request for the connection form changing application;
When using the wired network, if the activation request for the connection configuration change application is acquired, the connection configuration change application is activated, and if the activation request for the connection configuration change application is acquired, the connection configuration change application is Steps that are not activated,
A wireless communication method comprising:

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