JP2016009889A - Communication control method, communication device and portable communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication technology starting software AP only when a communication device serving as an access point (AP) detects the necessity of serving as an AP.SOLUTION: A communication device includes: a second communication unit (212) performing a communication with a portable terminal device (3); a specific signal detection unit (222) detecting a specific information signal indicating a situation where an access point function is to be provided, from a signal received by the second communication unit; and a communication control unit (221) starting software AP in accordance with the detection of the specific information signal.

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication control technique for a communication apparatus that provides or uses an access point function.

  In recent years, as so-called smart phones, tablet terminals, notebook PCs (Personal Computers), and the like have become popular as portable communication devices, technologies for providing connection to the Internet through wireless communication have been proposed. For example, in Patent Document 1 listed below, when a mobile terminal (hereinafter abbreviated as MT) is connected to an access point (base station) (hereinafter abbreviated as AP), an application being executed at that time, location information, Is used to select an AP having the optimum communication quality from a database that records the communication quality. In addition, a technology called software AP in which a communication device provides a function as an AP by a program, or a communication device that has the software AP function and can be connected to the Internet is used for other communication devices on the Internet (wide area public network) A technique called tethering that relays the connection to the network) by wireless communication is widely used.

JP 2010-124374 A (released on June 3, 2010)

  However, in the conventional technology as described above, when a communication device that relays connection to the Internet becomes an AP by a software AP function, a signal indicating that it can become an AP by software processing is always output, or another communication terminal It is necessary to constantly monitor connection requests from the Internet. For example, a communication device that becomes an AP in a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) network constantly transmits a packet called a beacon by a software process on a channel on which the AP operates, and constantly monitors a connection request packet from a communication terminal. To do. For this reason, the processing capability of the communication device that becomes the AP is reduced because the processing of the CPU increases as compared to the normal MT state. In addition, since the radio band for the beacon is constantly consumed, the communication speed is lowered, and the CPU and the communication unit consume extra power, so the battery life is deteriorated and the temperature of the communication device also rises excessively. Various problems arise.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication technique that activates a software AP only when a communication device that becomes an AP detects the necessity of becoming an AP.

  In order to solve the above problems, a communication control method according to an aspect of the present invention is a communication control method for a communication apparatus that provides an access point function, and the communication apparatus should provide an access point function. When a presence of another communication device that transmits a specific information signal indicating is detected, a program that provides an access point function is started, and the communication device according to one aspect of the present invention provides an access point A communication device that provides a function, a communication unit that communicates with an external device, and a specific signal detection unit that detects, from a signal received by the communication unit, a specific information signal indicating a situation in which an access point function should be provided; Communication control means for activating a program for providing an access point function in response to the specific signal detection means detecting the specific information signal. And said that there were pictures.

  According to each aspect of the present invention, since the communication device activates a program for becoming an access point only after detecting a situation to be an access point, the load on the CPU of the communication device, a decrease in communication speed, communication The power consumption of the device and the temperature rise of the communication device are reduced.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication apparatus of Embodiment 1, and a portable terminal device. It is a figure which shows each process which a communication apparatus and a portable terminal device perform in order to start tethering in the communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the transition of each operation state of the said communication apparatus and a portable terminal device. It is a figure which shows the transition of the operation state of the communication apparatus of Embodiment 2, and a portable terminal device. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the communication apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the hardware of each embodiment. It is a figure which shows each process which a some communication apparatus and portable terminal device perform in order to start tethering in the communication system of Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows each process which a communication apparatus and a portable terminal device perform in order to start tethering in the communication system of Embodiment 3. It is a figure which shows an example of the priority information of Embodiment 2. It is a figure which shows the production | generation rule of SSID in the communication system of Embodiment 3.

Embodiment 1
The embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[1-1. Overview of communication system]
As shown in FIG. 3A, the communication system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a communication device 2 (external device) serving as an access point (hereinafter referred to as AP) that provides a tethering function, and a communication device 2. Mobile terminal device 3 (portable communication device, external device, other communication device; hereinafter referred to as mobile device 3) using the tethering function. The communication device 2 can be connected to a computer network (hereinafter referred to as a network) 4 via wired communication or wireless communication. The AP function is a function in which a certain communication device X accepts a connection request from another communication device Y and establishes a wireless communication connection with the communication device Y. In this specification, in addition to the Wi-Fi base station function, the term “AP function” also refers to setting a Bluetooth (registered trademark) device in a “searchable” state and accepting connections from surrounding devices. Shall be shown. In the present embodiment, the communication device 2 has an AP function and a WAN (Wide Area Network) connection function, and tethering for providing WAN connection to the portable device 3 is exemplified. However, the communication device 2 has at least an AP function. As long as it is limited, it is possible to provide the mobile device 3 with the computing capability of the communication device 2 itself instead of WAN connection, or to use the functions of peripheral devices connected via USB (Universal Serial Bus) or LAN (Local Area Network). 3 may be provided.
In addition, the communication device 2 can be an AP by starting a software AP program (hereinafter referred to as an AP program), and can provide an AP function. When the communication device 2 becomes an AP, the portable device 3 connects to the communication device 2 via wireless communication such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and connects the communication device 2 to the network 4 instead of the modem. The functions provided by the communication device 2 such as data transmission / reception with a computer connected to the computer can be used.

  When the communication device 2 detects the presence of another communication device that transmits a specific information signal indicating a situation in which the AP function should be provided, the communication device 2 starts a program that provides the AP function (the AP program). In the following, starting an AP program is also simply referred to as starting an AP. In the example shown in FIG. 3A, the portable device 3 corresponds to the other communication device Y. The mobile device 3 is not limited to one.

[1-2. Configuration of communication device]
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the communication device 2 includes at least a first communication unit 211, a second communication unit 212, a control unit 220, a storage unit 230, an input unit 240, and an output unit 250. The first communication unit 211 includes a modem and a communication port for connecting to the network 4. The second communication unit 212 is a wireless communication unit including a wireless communication interface. The control unit 220 includes a communication control unit 221 (communication control unit), a specific signal detection unit 222 (specific signal detection unit), a connection processing unit 225, and a communication mode switching unit 226. The specific signal detection unit 222 includes a beacon transmission / reception unit 223 and an authentication unit 224 (authentication unit). The role and operation of each part will be described later. The storage unit 230 stores communication setting information 231 and an AP program 232 in addition to various programs for controlling the operation of the communication device 2. The communication setting information 231 is communication information as information necessary for generating a beacon (notification signal; corresponding to a specific information signal indicating that the AP function can be provided) to be transmitted when the communication apparatus 2 becomes an AP. It includes the SSID (Service Set Identification), authentication key, beacon transmission interval and channel information of the device 2 itself. The SSID is a network identification name for distinguishing the communication device 2 from other communication devices, and is determined in advance with the portable device 3 together with the authentication key. The communication setting information 231 also includes the SSID of the portable device 3 to be described later.

  When the communication device 2 detects a beacon including the SSID of the mobile device 3, the communication device 2 activates the AP using the SSID of the communication device 2 itself. Further, when the communication device 2 detects a connection request from the portable device 3 to its own AP, the communication device 2 authenticates the connection request using the authentication key, and starts communication with the portable device 3 when the authentication is successful. The SSID of the communication device 2 and the SSID of the portable device 3 may use the same character string.

[1-3. Configuration of portable terminal device]
As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile device 3 includes at least a communication unit 310, a control unit 320, a storage unit 330, an input unit 340 and an output unit 350. The communication unit 310 is a wireless communication unit including a wireless communication interface, and can perform wireless communication with the second communication unit 212 of the communication device 2. The control unit 320 includes a communication control unit 321 (communication control unit), a specific signal detection unit 322 (specific signal detection unit), a connection processing unit 325 (connection processing unit), and an application execution unit 326. The specific signal detection unit 322 includes a beacon transmission / reception unit 323 (specific signal generation means) and an authentication unit 324. The role and operation of each part will be described later. The storage unit 330 stores communication setting information 331, an AP program 332, and an application program 333 in addition to various programs that control the operation of the mobile device 3. The communication setting information 331 includes the SSID of the portable device 3 itself, the beacon transmission interval, channel information, and the like as information necessary for generating a beacon that is transmitted when the portable device 3 becomes an AP. The SSID is a network identification name for distinguishing the portable device 3 from other communication devices, and is determined in advance with the communication device 2 as described above. Further, the communication setting information 331 includes the SSID and authentication key of the communication device 2.
Note that any standard such as a Wi-Fi communication standard or a Bluetooth communication standard may be adopted as the standard of the identification information signal exchanged between the communication device 2 and the portable device 3. When the standard of Bluetooth communication is adopted, the SSID as a network identification name is replaced with a Bluetooth “device name”, and the authentication key is replaced with a Bluetooth “pass key”. In addition, the form adopting the standard of Bluetooth communication includes a form A using Bluetooth for beacon transmission from the portable device 3 to the communication device 2, a form B using Bluetooth for communication between the communication device 2 and the portable device 3, and the above-described form. A form C that includes a combination of A and form B is included.

  The SSID and the “device name” of Bluetooth are not limited to information for identifying individual devices, but may be information for identifying a group including a plurality of devices. For example, the same SSID (1) may be assigned to a plurality of portable devices, and the plurality of portable devices may activate the AP using the same SSID (1) and transmit a beacon. Further, a plurality of communication devices may activate the AP using the same SSID (2) and transmit a beacon. When there is one AP for a wide area, when communication with a portable device existing at an arbitrary position in the area cannot be guaranteed, a plurality of communication devices that can be APs are arranged in the area. The same SSID (2) is assigned to the plurality of communication devices. As a result, the AP function can be used regardless of where the portable device is located in the wide area.

[1-4. (Tethering start processing)
Each process executed by the communication device 2 and the portable device 3 to start tethering in the communication system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. 3A, the initial state of the communication device 2 is a state of operating in a normal mobile terminal mode (hereinafter referred to as MT mode).

  In the initial state, the specific signal detection unit 222 determines whether the portable device 3 has activated the AP program 332 (step 11; hereinafter abbreviated as S11). As shown in FIG. 2A, when the communication control unit 321 starts the AP program 332 in the portable device 3 (S1), the beacon transmission / reception unit 323 reads the communication setting information 331 from the storage unit 330, and the portable device 3 The identification information signal (m) (first specific information signal) including the SSID is generated, and the identification information signal (m) is transmitted as a beacon through the communication unit 310 under the control of the communication control unit 321. . As a result, in the communication device 2, the identification information signal (m) received by the second communication unit 212 is sent to the beacon transmission / reception unit 223 via the communication control unit 221. The authentication unit 224 receives the identification information signal (m) from the beacon transmission / reception unit 223 and refers to the communication setting information 231 to confirm that the SSID of the mobile device 3 is included in the identification information signal (m) ( YES in S11). That is, since the specific signal detection unit 222 has detected a specific information signal indicating a situation in which the AP function should be provided, the authentication unit 224 confirms that the appropriate portable device 3 has been authenticated by the communication control unit 221 and the connection processing. Tell part 225. As a result, the connection processing unit 225 instructs the communication mode switching unit 226 to start the AP program 232. When the communication mode switching unit 226 informs the communication control unit 221 that the AP program 232 has been read from the storage unit 230 and started (S12), the communication control unit 221 instructs the beacon transmission / reception unit 223 to generate a beacon. Accordingly, the beacon transmission / reception unit 223 refers to the communication setting information 231 and uses the SSID of the communication device 2 to control the identification information signal (M) via the second communication unit 212 under the control of the communication control unit 221. (Second specific information signal) is transmitted as a beacon.

  When the mobile device 3 transmits the identification information signal (m) as a beacon, it is not essential to activate the AP, and even if the identification information signal (m) is transmitted without activating the AP. Good. In this aspect, there is no portion for starting the AP in S1, and the processing in S11 is replaced with processing for detecting reception of the identification information signal (m). In addition, the AP program 332 of the portable device 3 is replaced with a program that controls generation and transmission of a beacon that is not accompanied by activation of the AP.

  In the mobile device 3, the authentication unit 324 performs the same process as the authentication unit 224, and uses the communication setting information 331 to indicate that the received identification information signal (M) includes the SSID of the communication device 2. Confirm (YES in S2). Subsequently, the communication control unit 321 performs a wireless connection procedure using the authentication key of the communication device 2 with the communication device 2 via the communication unit 310. Through the above processing, the communication connection between the communication device 2 and the portable device 3 is established. That is, communication for tethering is started (S3, S13). For example, the control unit 320 displays on the display screen of the output unit 350 that the communication connection has been established and notifies the user.

  Subsequently, when the application execution unit 326 receives a user instruction from the input unit 340 via the communication control unit 321, the application execution unit 326 reads the application program 333 corresponding to the user instruction from the storage unit 330 and cooperates with the communication control unit 321. The application is executed (S4). Various data associated with the execution of the application is transmitted / received to / from other communication devices connected to the network 4 via the communication unit 310, the second communication unit 212, the communication control unit 221, and the first communication unit 211. Thus, the tethering function of the communication device 2 is provided to the portable device 3, and the portable device 3 uses the tethering function of the communication device 2.

[1-5. (Transition of operation mode accompanying tethering start processing)
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating transition of each operation state (operation mode) of the communication device 2 and the portable device 3 in the tethering start process described above. 3A corresponds to the execution stage of S1 in the portable device 3. FIG. That is, when the communication device 2 is operating in the MT mode, the portable device 3 first transitions from the MT mode to the AP mode. Next, (b) of FIG. 3 corresponds to the execution stage of S2 in the portable device 3 and the execution stages of S11 and S12 in the communication device 2. That is, in response to the communication device 2 changing from the MT mode to the AP mode, the portable device 3 changes from the AP mode to the MT mode. 3C corresponds to the execution stage of S3 and S4 in the portable device 3 and the execution stage of S13 in the communication apparatus 2. FIG. That is, the portable device 3 uses the tethering function in the MT mode, and the communication device 2 provides the tethering function in the AP mode.
Here, an example is shown in which a “specific information signal indicating a situation in which an AP function should be provided” is transmitted using Wi-Fi communication, and wireless communication that provides a tethering function is realized by Wi-Fi communication. The portable device 3 stops the AP mode and then transitions to the MT mode. However, for example, when the “specific information signal indicating the situation where the AP function should be provided” is notified by Wi-Fi communication and the tethering function is realized by Bluetooth communication, or vice versa, the mobile device 3 is in the AP mode. It can be left as it is.

[Embodiment 2]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

[2-1. Overview of communication system]
The communication system 1m of the present embodiment includes a plurality of communication devices 2 and a portable device 3 that can be connected to the network 4 as shown in FIG. The communication devices 2A and 2B are exemplified as the communication device 2, but the number of the communication devices 2 is arbitrary. The communication device 2 is set with a connection priority, and the portable device 3 establishes a connection with the communication device 2 having the highest connection priority.

[2-2. Configuration of communication device]
Differences between the communication devices 2A and 2B and the communication device 2 (FIG. 1) described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 220 </ b> C of the communication devices 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B includes a priority determination unit 227 (priority determination unit) in addition to the units 221 to 226. In addition to the communication setting information 231 and the AP program 232, the storage unit 230C of the communication devices 2A and 2B stores priority information 233 of the own device. The role and operation of each part of the communication devices 2A and 2B will be described later.

[2-3. (Priority information)
The priority information is information set in each communication device 2 in order to identify the communication device to be connected with the highest priority when the mobile device 3 tries to connect to any one of the plurality of communication devices 2. It is. The priority information 233 is used for comparison with priority information of other communication devices. An example of priority information is shown in FIG. The numerical value described as “priority” in FIG. 9 corresponds to the priority information, and the priority information is included in the SSID as P0, P1, and P2. Thereby, the connection priority can be detected only by detecting the SSID.

The beacon transmission / reception unit 223 of the communication devices 2A and 2B generates the SSID including the priority information 233 as shown in FIG. 9 in response to the communication mode switching unit 226 activating the AP program 232. Therefore, the authentication unit 324 of the mobile device 3 can specify a communication device to be preferentially connected among the communication devices 2A, 2B, and 2C shown in FIG. For example, the authentication unit 324 reads the priority information P0, P1, and P2 included in the SSID received from the communication devices 2A, 2B, and 2C, so that the communication device 2B is more suitable for connection than the communication device 2A. Or the communication device 2C is optimal for connection.
The priority information is a fixed parameter that does not depend on the communication conditions. Specifically, the user determines the priority for each communication device based on information such as the operation speed, battery capacity, and line contract type (whether pay-per-use or non-per-use charge) of each of the communication devices 2A, 2B, and 2C. Set it.

[2-4. (Communication connection switching process)
In the communication system 1m, each process executed by the communication devices 2A and 2B and the portable device 3 when the portable device 3 uses tethering will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in S21 of FIG. 4A, S21 of FIG. 7A and S31 of FIG. 7B, the communication connection between the communication device 2A and the portable device 3 is established, and the portable device 3 A state in which the MT mode and the communication apparatus 2A are operating in the AP mode is set as an initial state. Further, it is assumed that the communication device 2B is operating in the normal MT mode and is connected to the network 4. In addition, the processing content of S21 is the same as the processing of S1-S4 shown to (a) of FIG. 2, and the processing content of S31 is the same as the processing of S11-S13 shown in (b) of FIG.

  In this initial state, in the communication device 2B shown in FIG. 5, the process of S41 shown in FIG. That is, the beacon transmission / reception unit 223 constantly receives a beacon transmitted by another communication device via the second communication unit 212 and the communication control unit 221, and sends the beacon to the authentication unit 224. The authentication unit 224 extracts priority information from the SSID acquired from the identification information signal (m) of another communication device. The priority information extracted by the authentication unit 224 is sent to the priority determination unit 227. The priority determination unit 227 compares the priority information received from the authentication unit 224 with the priority information 233 in the storage unit 230C, detects whether an AP having a lower priority than the own device is detected, that is, the extracted priority It is determined whether an AP having a degree equal to or lower than the priority level of the own apparatus has been detected.

  If the determination result in S41 is YES, that is, if the acquired SSID includes priority information equal to or lower than the same level as the own device, or if the acquired SSID does not include priority information, priority is given. The degree determination unit 227 transmits the determination result to the communication control unit 221 and the communication mode switching unit 226. Thereby, the communication mode switching unit 226 determines that the specific signal detection unit 222 detects the specific information signal indicating the situation in which the AP function should be provided, reads the AP program 232 from the storage unit 230, and starts it. If the acquired SSID includes priority information at the same level as that of the own device, or if the acquired SSID does not include priority information, the AP may not be activated.

  When the communication mode switching unit 226 informs the communication control unit 221 that the AP program 232 has been activated (S42), the communication control unit 221 instructs the beacon transmission / reception unit 223 to generate a beacon. Accordingly, the beacon transmission / reception unit 223 refers to the communication setting information 231, generates an identification information signal (M) including the SSID of the communication device 2 </ b> B, and controls the second communication unit 212 under the control of the communication control unit 221. The identification information signal (M) is transmitted as a beacon via.

  Subsequently, the portable device 3 executes the process of S22. That is, it is determined whether there is an AP having a higher priority than the already connected communication device 2A. Specifically, the beacon transmission / reception unit 323 illustrated in FIG. 1 constantly receives a beacon transmitted by another communication device via the communication unit 310 and the communication control unit 321, and sends the beacon to the authentication unit 324. For example, the authentication unit 324 extracts priority information from the SSID acquired from the identification information signal (M) of the communication device 2B, and determines whether the priority of the communication device 2B is higher than the priority of the communication device 2A (S22). ). When the authentication processing unit 324 is informed that the determination result in S22 is YES, the connection processing unit 325 instructs the communication control unit 321 to switch the communication connection from the communication device 2A to the communication device 2B. In response to a connection switching instruction from the connection processing unit 325, the communication control unit 321 transmits a connection request signal to the communication device 2B via the communication unit 310. When the communication device 2B responds to the connection request signal, the communication connection between the portable device 3 and the communication device 2A is switched to the communication connection between the portable device 3 and the communication device 2B (S23). As a result, the mobile device 3 can use the tethering as it is by using the communication device 2B as an AP (S24).

  On the other hand, in the communication device 2A, while the processing of S22 and 23 is being performed in the portable device 3, the processing of S32 and 33 shown in FIG. In S32, similarly to the process of S41 executed in the communication device 2B, the priority determination unit 227 of the communication device 2A determines whether an AP having a higher priority than the own device is detected. When the determination result in S32 is YES, the priority determination unit 227 transmits the determination result to the communication control unit 221 and the communication mode switching unit 226. As a result, the communication mode switching unit 226 stops the execution of the AP program 232 ( S33). As a result, the operation mode of the communication device 2A is switched from the AP mode to the MT mode.

[2-5. (Transition of operation mode during tethering)
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating transition of each operation state (operation mode) of the communication device 2A and the communication device 2B during execution of the tethering described above. The operation mode of the portable device 3 remains the MT mode. FIG. 4A corresponds to the execution stage of S21 in the portable device 3, the execution stage of S31 in the communication apparatus 2A, and the execution stage of S41 in the communication apparatus 2B. That is, FIG. 4A shows a state in which the communication device 2A operates in the AP mode, while the communication device 2B operates in the MT mode, and both the communication devices 2A and 2B are connected to the network 4. ing. The communication device 2 </ b> A provides a tethering function for the portable device 3. Next, FIG. 4B corresponds to the execution stage of S22 in the portable device 3, the execution stage of S32 in the communication apparatus 2A, and the execution stage of S42 in the communication apparatus 2B. That is, since the communication device 2B detects the communication device 2A having a lower priority than itself, the communication device 2B transits from the MT mode to the AP mode. 4C corresponds to the execution stage of S23 and S24 in the portable device 3, the execution stage of S33 in the communication apparatus 2A, and the execution stage of S43 in the communication apparatus 2B. . That is, since the mobile device 3 has detected the communication device 2B having a higher priority than the communication device 2A that is in communication connection, the portable device 3 switches the communication connection from the communication device 2A to the communication device 2B. Furthermore, the communication device 2A stops the AP mode and transitions to the MT mode. As a result, the communication device 2B provides a tethering function in the AP mode.

[Embodiment 3]
The following will describe still another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted. In the present embodiment, an example of a method for improving the security of communication connection between the communication device 2 and the portable device 3 in the configuration of the communication system 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

[3-1. Generation operation of identification information data in portable terminal device]
The beacon transmitting / receiving unit 323 of the mobile device 3 shown in FIG. 1 generates a plurality of encrypted identification information signals by encrypting the identification information signal (m) using key information shared with the communication device. A program for generating an encrypted identification information signal, the key information, and necessary data are stored in the storage unit 330 as communication setting information 331.

  Hereinafter, the generation rule of the encrypted SSID as the encrypted identification information signal will be described with reference to FIG. First, the communication device 2 and the portable device 3 hold a common SSID prefix and a 128-bit encryption key in advance. The portable device 3 generates an SSID according to the following rules. (1) The basic SSID (basic identification information signal) and the authentication key that the communication device 2 wants to use when generating identification information data in the AP mode are used. Generate as a random string. (2) By concatenating each data representing “basic SSID, authentication key, encryption method value, data generation time, CRC32 value”, a 64-byte byte string (plain text) is generated. (3) The plaintext is encrypted by an AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) algorithm using the 128-bit encryption key. (4) The encrypted byte string (ciphertext) is converted into a character string by the base64 method. (5) The character string is divided into 20 characters, and an SSID prefix and an identification number (0 to 3) are added before the character string. Thus, for example, four encrypted SSIDs shown in the lower part of FIG. 10 are generated.

  The number of encrypted SSIDs is not limited, but the number of the encrypted SSIDs may be determined between the communication device 2 and the portable device 3 so that it can be detected whether the communication device 2 has received all the encrypted SSIDs. . Also, if the total number of pieces of information is included in the encrypted SSID generated by the portable device 3, it is not necessary to decide the number between the communication device 2 and the portable device 3. The encryption key length (number of bits), the encryption algorithm, and the method of dividing the character string are not limited to the above example as long as they are within the limitation of the maximum length of SSID of 32 characters. If the length of the basic SSID, the length of the authentication key, and the encryption key length are sufficiently shortened, the number of encrypted SSIDs can be reduced to one. Hereinafter, a case where there are four encrypted SSIDs will be described as an example.

  The communication device 2 combines and decodes the detected encrypted identification information signals in the order of the identification numbers, and acquires the basic SSID, authentication key, encryption method, and data generation time generated by the portable device 3. At this time, if the CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) does not match or the generation date is extremely old, the data is discarded. The processing in this case is not shown in the flow of FIG. 8B, but when the data is discarded, the processing of the communication device 2 ends, and the portable device 3 follows the flow of FIG. 8A. Wait for a new session to start.

[3-2. (Tethering start processing)
In order to start tethering in the communication system 1 of this embodiment, each process which the communication apparatus 2 and the portable apparatus 3 perform is demonstrated with reference to FIG. In addition, since the operation | movement of each part in the control parts 220 and 320 has already been demonstrated, it abbreviate | omits. In the portable device 3, as shown in FIG. 8A, the basic SSID and authentication key described above are randomly generated (S51), and four encrypted SSIDs are generated using the generated basic SSID and authentication key. Is generated (S52). Note that it is not essential to randomly generate the basic SSID and the authentication key, and it is only necessary that the generated encrypted SSID is different from the previously generated encrypted SSID. Next, using the four encrypted SSIDs one by one in the order of the identification numbers, the identification information signal (m) (first specific information signal: a specific information signal indicating a situation in which an access point function should be provided) Equivalent) is generated as a beacon and the AP is activated and terminated four times (S53). The identification information signal is not retransmitted one by one, but one or more identification information signals (m) are regenerated by using part or all of the four encrypted SSIDs. You may resend more than once. Thereafter, the portable device 3 tries to connect to the communication device 2 using the basic SSID and the authentication key (S54; connection processing), and determines whether or not the connection to the communication device has been established (S55). If connection to the communication device is established (YES in S55), communication with the communication device 2 is started using the AP function provided by the communication device 2 (S57), and use of tethering is started. If the communication device cannot be connected in S55 (NO in S55), it is assumed that the communication device 2 has missed (received or detected) at least one of the four encrypted SSIDs. Therefore, after the portable device 3 generates the identification information signal (m) as a beacon using one of the four encrypted SSIDs (for example, the one with the smallest identification number) and starts and ends the AP. , The process returns to S54 to determine again whether or not the communication apparatus can be connected. When the determination result in S55 is NO again, the processing in S54 to 56 is repeated using the encrypted SSID having the next smallest identification number. The processing of S54 to 56 may be repeated any number of times until the connection succeeds while changing the encrypted SSID in order, but an infinite loop is avoided such as setting a limit on the number of repetitions and displaying an error when the limit is exceeded. It is preferable. If an error display appears, a new session starting from S51 may be started automatically or by a user instruction.

On the other hand, the communication device 2 detects whether the mobile device 3 has activated the AP during the execution of S51 to S53 (S61). The process of S61 is the same as the process of S11 shown in FIG. When the AP activation of the mobile device 3 is detected (YES in S61), it is determined whether all four encrypted SSIDs have been received from the mobile device 3 and detected (S62). If the determination result is NO, the process of S62 is repeated until the portable device 3 can detect all four encrypted SSIDs by performing the process of S56. It is preferable to avoid an infinite loop by setting a time limit in the processing of S62. When all four encrypted SSIDs are detected (YES in S62), the four encrypted SSIDs are combined to decrypt the identification information signal (m), and the basic SSID, authentication key, encryption method, and data generation time Is extracted (S63).
Subsequently, the authentication unit 224 determines whether or not the decrypted identification information signal (m) is a proper identification information signal (S63). Specifically, the identification information signal (m) decoded in the past is stored in the storage unit 230 (see FIG. 1), and the identification information signal (m) decoded in the past by the identification information signal (m) decoded this time. It is determined whether or not the same (S64). For this determination, it is only necessary to confirm that any one of “basic SSID, authentication key, encryption method value and data generation time” is different from those extracted and used in the past. . For example, even if the basic SSID and the authentication key are the same every time they are extracted, if it can be confirmed that the data generation time has changed, it is guaranteed that it is not “harassment or unauthorized access by a third party”.

  If the determination result in S64 is YES, that is, if the decrypted identification information signal (m) is illegal, the authentication unit 224 discards the identification information signal (m) (S68). As a subsequent process, the communication device 2 may wait for the start of a new communication session or send an authentication error message to the portable device 3. When the determination result in S64 is NO, that is, when the decrypted identification information signal (m) is appropriate, the stealth mode using the basic SSID extracted by the communication device 2 and the authentication key (corresponding to information included in the decrypted specific information signal) Then, the AP is activated (S65), and if the connection request from the portable device 3 can be properly authenticated (YES in S66), communication with the portable device 3 is started (S67), and provision of tethering is started. Whether or not the AP is activated in the stealth mode in S64 is not the essence of the present embodiment, and may be activated in the normal AP mode.

  As described above, the communication device 2 does not know the SSID to be used when the AP is activated before the communication with the portable device 3. After the mobile device 3 activates the AP, the SSID to be used by the communication device 2 is transmitted to the communication device 2 using an encryption technique. The reason why such a complicated method is taken is to conceal the “method for starting the AP in the communication device 2” from a third party. In the manner of the first embodiment, the network is monitored and the beacon transmitted from the mobile device 3 is analyzed and reproduced, or the beacon transmitted in the past communication is copied and sent to the communication device 2. Anyone can activate the AP in the communication device 2. A third party who does not know the authentication key cannot connect to the communication device 2, but harassment (attack) that places an unnecessary load on the communication device 2 can be easily performed. However, according to the method of the third embodiment, the communication device 2 cannot activate the AP unless the third party knows the “128-bit encryption key”. Each time the communication session is changed, the mobile device 3 newly generates a basic SSID and an authentication key. This makes it easy to prevent unauthorized devices from connecting to the communication device 2, thereby increasing network security.

[Specific examples of hardware]
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a specific example of hardware constituting the computer 100 that functions as the communication devices 2, 2 </ b> A, 2 </ b> B and the portable device 3. The computer 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110 corresponding to the control units 220, 220C, and 320, a memory 120 and a hard disk 130 corresponding to the storage units 230, 230C, and 330, the first communication unit 211, and the second communication. Unit 212, wireless communication unit 140 corresponding to communication unit 310, display 150 corresponding to output units 250 and 350, touch panel 160 corresponding to input units 240 and 340, keyboard 170 and mouse 180. Are connected to each other.

[Example of software implementation]
The control blocks of the communication device 2 and the portable device 3 (particularly the control units 220 and 320) may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or using a CPU. It may be realized by software. In the latter case, the communication device 2 and the portable device 3 include a CPU that executes instructions of a program that is software that realizes each function, and a ROM (Read that records the program and various data so that the computer (or CPU) can read the program. Only Memory) or a storage device (these are referred to as “recording media”), a RAM (Random Access Memory) for expanding the program, and the like. And the objective of this invention is achieved when a computer (or CPU) reads the said program from the said recording medium and runs it. As the recording medium, a “non-temporary tangible medium” such as a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. The program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) that can transmit the program. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission. Note that the timing for starting the software that implements each of the above units may be the timing for starting the own device, the timing specified by the user, and the timing according to the surrounding environment.

  In each of the above embodiments, an example has been described in which the AP program is activated by confirming transmission / reception of an identification information signal including the SSID. However, instead of activating the AP program, the Bluetooth ID may be notified. Alternatively, the presence of the AP may be detected by detecting that the identification information signal includes the Bluetooth ID.

[Summary]
A communication control method according to aspect 1 of the present invention is a communication control method for a communication device (2, 2A, 2B) that provides an access point function, and the communication device indicates a situation in which the access point function should be provided. When the presence of another communication device that is transmitting the specific information signal is detected, a program that provides an access point function is activated. According to the above method, the communication device that becomes the access point on the network to provide the access point function does not start the program for becoming the access point until it detects the situation to be the access point. The necessity of becoming an access point is detected by detecting the presence of another communication device that transmits a specific information signal indicating a situation in which the access point function should be provided, and the program is started. Therefore, the CPU load of the communication device, the decrease in communication speed, the power consumption of the communication device, and the temperature increase of the communication device are reduced.

  The communication device (2, 2A, 2B) according to aspect 2 of the present invention is a communication device that provides an access point function, and communicates with an external device (portable device 3) (second communication unit 212). A specific signal detection unit (specific signal detection unit 222) for detecting a specific information signal indicating a situation in which an access point function should be provided from the signal received by the communication unit, and the specific signal detection unit includes the specific information Communication control means (communication mode switching unit 226 and communication control unit 221) that activates a program that provides an access point function in response to detection of a signal is provided. According to said structure, since the communication apparatus is provided with the structure which implement | achieves the said communication control method, the already demonstrated effect can be produced.

  The communication device according to aspect 3 of the present invention extracts the information related to the connection priority included in the specific information signal detected by the specific signal detection unit in aspect 2, and the connection is higher than the connection priority of the own device. It further includes priority determination means (priority determination unit 227) for determining whether or not priority is included in the specific information signal, and the priority determination means has a connection priority higher than the connection priority of the own device. In response to determining that the specific information signal is included, the communication control unit stops the access point function. According to the above configuration, the priority determination unit extracts the connection priority of the external device from the specific information signal detected by the specific signal detection unit, and the connection priority of the external device is the connection priority of the own device. Determine if it is higher. As a result, when the connection priority of the external device is higher than the connection priority of the own device, the communication control means stops the access point function. Thereafter, the external device provides an access point function instead of the communication device. This further reduces the load on the CPU of the communication device, the decrease in communication speed, the power consumption of the communication device, and the temperature increase of the communication device.

  The communication device according to aspect 4 of the present invention is a communication device (2, 2A, 2B) that provides an access point function, and a communication unit (second communication unit 212) that communicates with an external device (mobile device 3). And a specific signal detection unit (specific signal detection unit 222) for detecting a specific information signal from the signal received by the communication unit, and a connection priority included in the specific information signal detected by the specific signal detection unit Priority determination means (priority determination unit 227) for determining whether or not a connection priority not higher than the connection priority of the own device is included in the specific information signal, and the priority determination means Communication control means (communication) for starting a program that provides an access point function in response to determining that the specific information signal includes a connection priority that is not higher than the connection priority of the device itself Switching control unit 226 and communication control unit 221), and the specific information signal is a signal indicating that the external device can provide an access point function, or another access point with respect to the external device. It is a signal which shows that an access point function can be provided. According to the above configuration, when the specific information signal transmitted by the external device does not include a connection priority higher than the connection priority of the communication device, the specific information signal of the external device is It is a specific information signal indicating a situation in which an access point function should be provided on behalf of an external device. Therefore, the communication control means starts the program that provides the access point function in response to the detection of the specific information signal, so that the effect already described can be obtained.

  When the specific information signal transmitted from the external device does not include information related to the connection priority, or the specific information signal transmitted from the external device includes information related to the connection priority at the same level. The communication device may or may not start a program that provides an access point function.

  The communication apparatus according to Aspect 5 of the present invention is the communication apparatus according to any one of Aspects 2 to 4, wherein the specific information signal detected by the specific signal detection means is decrypted using an encryption key shared with the external apparatus ( An authentication unit 224), and the communication control unit activates a program that provides an access point function using information included in the specific information signal decoded by the authentication unit. According to said structure, an access point function can be provided only with respect to the external device which shares the encryption key for the said communication apparatus to decode a specific information signal. Thereby, from the standpoint of the external device, another communication device pretending to be an appropriate communication device can be connected to the external device, and fraud such as stealing various information from the external device can be prevented. Similarly, from the standpoint of a communication device, it is possible to prevent fraud such that another external device impersonating a proper external device connects to the communication device and uses the access point function of the communication device without permission.

  In the communication device according to aspect 6 of the present invention, in the aspect 5, the authentication unit further determines whether or not the decoded specific information signal is appropriate, and the communication control unit determines that the authentication unit is appropriate. A program that provides an access point function is activated using information included in the determined specific information signal. According to the above configuration, by further determining whether or not the specific information signal decrypted using the encryption key is appropriate, a third party copied the specific information signal used in the past and sent it to the communication device. Unauthorized access as in the case can be detected and eliminated. Thereby, the security of communication between the communication device and the external device can be improved.

  The portable communication device (portable device 3) according to aspect 7 of the present invention includes a communication unit (310) and a specific signal that generates a first specific information signal indicating that the device can provide an access point function. After transmitting the specific information signal through the generating means (beacon transmission / reception unit 323) and the communication unit, the communication unit transmits a second specific information signal indicating that the access point function can be provided from an external device. Communication control means (communication control unit 321) that starts communication with the external device using an access point function provided by the external device. According to said structure, said 1st specific information is used as a specific information signal which shows the condition where an external apparatus should provide an access point function with respect to the portable communication apparatus having transmitted the 1st specific information signal. As a result of recognizing the signal, when it is returned from the external device that the access point function can be provided, the portable communication device does not need to provide the access point function. For this reason, the effect that the load of CPU of a portable communication apparatus, the fall of communication speed, power consumption, and a temperature rise is reduced is produced. In addition, the external device needs to provide the access point function only when the portable communication device wants to use the access point function, thus reducing the CPU load, communication speed reduction, power consumption, and temperature rise of the external device. The effect that it can be made also produces.

  The portable communication device according to aspect 8 of the present invention is the aspect of aspect 7, in which the specific signal detection unit (specific signal detection unit 322) for detecting connection priority from the second specific information signal received by the communication unit is provided. The first connection priority included in the second specific information signal transmitted by the first communication device during communication connection with the first communication device (2A) as the external device And the second connection priority included in the second specific information signal transmitted from the second communication device (2B) as the communication device, and the second connection priority is A connection processing unit (connection processing unit 325) for determining whether or not the first connection priority is higher, and the communication control unit is configured such that the second connection priority is higher than the first connection priority. Depending on the determination by the connection processing means, the first communication device It switches the connection to the second communication device. According to the above configuration, while the portable communication device is in communication connection with the first communication device, the connection processing means is configured to output the second specific information signal transmitted from the second communication device in the second specific information signal. A comparison is made between the connection priority and the first connection priority in the second specific information signal transmitted from the first communication device. As a result, when the second connection priority is higher than the first connection priority, the communication control unit switches the connection from the first communication device to the second communication device. Since the higher the connection priority, the higher the communication condition can be set (for example, the communication quality is better or the communication fee is lower). Therefore, the portable communication device can use the access point function under advantageous communication conditions. .

  A portable communication device according to an aspect 9 of the present invention is a portable communication device that uses an access point function provided by an external device, and identifies information from the communication unit and other portable communication devices, Alternatively, a basic identification information signal is newly generated using a cryptographic key shared with the external device, and a basic identification information signal including information for identifying the device itself is generated from a group including a plurality of other portable communication devices. A specific signal generation means (beacon transmission / reception unit 323) for generating a first specific information signal indicating that the access point function can be provided, and an encrypted identification information signal obtained by encrypting After the first specific information signal is transmitted, the access point provided by the external device is connected to the external device via the communication unit using the basic identification information signal. And a communication control means for utilizing the capacity (communication control unit 321). According to the above configuration, the portable communication device newly generates a basic identification information signal each time a communication session with a specific external device is newly started. The specific external device is an external device sharing an encryption key with the portable communication device. When the external device receives the first specific information signal including the encrypted identification information signal from the portable communication device, the external device may use the encryption key to decrypt the encrypted specific information signal and extract the basic identification information signal. it can. The external device can recognize that an appropriate portable communication device is accessing by confirming that the extracted basic identification information signal is a new signal that has not been used in the past. Using this extracted basic identification information signal, a program for providing an access point function is started, and after connection processing with the portable communication device, communication with the portable communication device that is the source of the basic identification information signal Can start. As a result, the portable communication device and the external device can improve the security effect of avoiding connecting to an unauthorized partner.

  In the portable communication device according to aspect 10 of the present invention, in the aspect 9, the specific signal generating means generates a plurality of encrypted identification information signals from the basic identification information signal generated at random using the encryption key. And generating a plurality of the first specific information signals equal to the number of the encrypted identification information signals, and the communication control means outputs the plurality of first specific information signals via the communication unit. After the transmission, the connection process is performed. When the connection process fails, part or all of the plurality of first specific information signals are retransmitted, and the connection process is performed each time the connection is retransmitted. According to said structure, since the decoding process in an external device is complicated by using a some encryption identification information signal, the said security effect can be improved further. In addition, when the external device fails to receive or detect a plurality of encrypted identification information signals, the portable communication device resends and sends the first specific information signal including one of the encrypted specific information signals. Since connection processing is performed every time it is repaired, it can be made less susceptible to communication errors.

  A communication system including the communication device according to any one of aspects 2 to 5 of the present invention and the portable communication device according to any one of aspects 6 to 9 also falls within the scope of the present invention. The communication device and the portable communication device according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the computer is operated as each unit included in the communication device and the portable communication device. A communication control program for realizing the communication device and the portable communication device on a computer and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims, and the embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also described in the present invention. It is included in the technical scope of the invention. Furthermore, a new technical feature can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

  The present invention can be used for a communication device that provides an access point function and a communication device that uses the access point function.

  1: Communication system 2, 2A, 2B: Communication device (external device) 3: Mobile terminal device (external device, portable communication device) 212: Second communication unit (communication unit) 221: Communication control unit (communication control means) 222: Specific signal detection unit (specific signal detection unit) 224: Authentication unit (authentication unit) 226: Communication mode switching unit (communication control unit) 227: Priority determination unit (priority determination unit) 310: Communication unit 321: Communication Control unit (communication control unit) 322: Specific signal detection unit (specific signal detection unit) 323: Beacon transmission / reception unit (specific signal generation unit) 324: Authentication unit (communication control unit) 325: Connection processing unit (connection processing unit)

Claims (5)

A communication control method for a communication device that provides an access point function,
The communication device starts a program that provides an access point function when detecting the presence of another communication device that transmits a specific information signal indicating a situation in which the access point function should be provided Communication control method. A communication device providing an access point function,
A communication unit that communicates with an external device;
Specific signal detecting means for detecting a specific information signal indicating a situation in which an access point function should be provided, from the signal received by the communication unit;
A communication apparatus comprising: a communication control unit that activates a program that provides an access point function when the specific signal detection unit detects the specific information signal. Extracts information related to the connection priority included in the specific information signal detected by the specific signal detection means, and determines whether or not the specific information signal includes a connection priority higher than the connection priority of the own device. A priority determination means for
In response to the fact that the priority determination means determines that the specific information signal includes a connection priority higher than the connection priority of the own device, the communication control means stops the access point function. The communication device according to claim 2. A communication device providing an access point function,
A communication unit that communicates with an external device;
Specific signal detection means for detecting a specific information signal from the signal received by the communication unit;
Information regarding connection priority included in the specific information signal detected by the specific signal detection means is extracted, and whether or not the connection priority not higher than the connection priority of the own device is included in the specific information signal. Priority determining means for determining;
Communication control means for activating a program that provides an access point function in response to the priority determining means determining that the specific information signal includes a connection priority that is not higher than the connection priority of its own device And
The specific information signal is a signal indicating that the external device can provide an access point function, or a signal indicating that another access point can provide an access point function to the external device. A communication device characterized by the above. A portable communication device using an access point function provided by an external device,
A communication department;
Specific signal generating means for generating a first specific information signal indicating that the own apparatus can provide an access point function;
After transmitting the first specific information signal via the communication unit and receiving a second specific information signal indicating that the access point function can be provided from the external device via the communication unit, A portable communication device comprising: a communication control unit that uses an access point function provided by the external device via a communication unit.

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