JP2016076852A - Control device and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately provide connection information for a communication connection.SOLUTION: A control device controlling a predetermined communication connection between a first communication device and a second communication device includes: acquisition means for acquiring role information in the predetermined communication connection from the first communication device and the second communication device, respectively; determination means for determining whether or not to transmit the connection information for the predetermined communication connection to the first communication device and the second communication device, respectively, on the basis of the role information acquired from the first communication device and the role information acquired from the second communication device; and transmission means for transmitting the connection information for the predetermined communication connection to the first communication device and the second communication device, respectively, according to the determination result by the determination means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for providing connection information for performing communication connection.

  In recent years, a technique for mirroring a display screen via wireless communication has been proposed as Wi-Fi Display (Miracast) (Non-Patent Document 1). Here, mirroring is a technique for sharing a screen by transmitting a display screen of a transmission device to a reception device via a network. In Wi-Fi Display, the role of a device that transmits a screen is called “Source”, and the role of a device that receives a screen is called “Sink”. Devices such as tablets having both the roles of Source and Sink (hereinafter referred to as “Dual-Role”) have been put into practical use.

  The role of each device is determined, for example, by information included in the Beacon signal, Probe_Request signal, and Probe_Response signal used for wireless LAN control. In Wi-Fi Display, connection processing is started when the roles of devices that want to communicate are different. That is, when the roles of the devices are the same, the connection process in accordance with the Wi-Fi Display standard is not started.

  Patent Document 1 proposes a technique in which terminals that desire wireless connection share wireless connection information via an IC card. Specifically, by bringing an IC card that has acquired wireless connection information from a wireless access point (AP) by non-contact communication close to a personal computer (PC), the PC can acquire wireless connection information from the IC card. It becomes possible to connect to the constructed network.

JP 2003-229872 A

Wi-Fi Display Technical Specification v1.1, Wi-Fi Alliance

  However, for example, when a technique for sharing wireless connection information described in Patent Document 1 is applied to a connection using Wi-Fi Display, the following problems may occur. That is, since the role information of each terminal in Wi-Fi Display is not considered, communication processing cannot be started when the role of each terminal is the same. However, although the communication process cannot be started, the wireless connection information is shared.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that suitably provides connection information for performing communication connection.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a control device according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, in the control device that controls the predetermined communication connection between the first communication device and the second communication device, the predetermined communication connection from each of the first communication device and the second communication device. Based on acquisition means for acquiring role information, role information acquired from the first communication device, and role information acquired from the second communication device, the first communication device and the second communication device Determining means for determining whether or not to transmit connection information for the predetermined communication connection to each of the first communication device and the second communication device according to a determination result by the determination means Transmitting means for transmitting connection information for the predetermined communication connection to each of them.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which provides suitably the connection information for performing communication connection can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the network structure in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the mobile telephone which is a control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the provision process of the connection information in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an error display screen exemplarily. It is a sequence diagram which shows the provision process of the connection information in case the role information of two PCs is the same. It is a sequence diagram which shows the provision process of the connection information in case the role information of two PCs differs. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the provision process of the connection information in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a role determination screen. It is a sequence diagram which shows the provision process of a connection information in case the role information of two PC is both Dual-Role.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

(First embodiment)
As a first embodiment of the control device according to the present invention, a mobile phone 101 that can be connected to an external PC by wireless communication will be described as an example. In particular, in the following description, a process for providing connection information necessary for WFD connection (predetermined communication connection) to the PC 102 and the PC 103 that transmit and receive a video stream according to the Wi-Fi Display (hereinafter referred to as WFD) standard. State.

<Device configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration in the first embodiment. In the figure, the mobile phone 101, the PC 102, and the PC 103 are shown as separate units. Also good. In addition, although it is expressed as the mobile phone 101 here, the control device of the present invention does not have to be a mobile phone, and may be any device that satisfies the functions described below.

  A mobile phone 101 which is a control device according to the first embodiment is a communication device having a wireless LAN function conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series standard. The mobile phone 101 also has a function of providing WFD connection information necessary for WFD connection to a terminal that transmits and receives a video stream according to the WFD standard. Here, the WFD connection information identifies setting information necessary for wireless communication such as SSID as a network identifier, encryption method, encryption key, authentication method, and authentication key, and a WFD connection partner such as a MAC address. Information.

  The PC (personal computer) 102 and the PC 103 each have a wireless LAN function and can construct the wireless LAN networks 104 and 105. Further, the PC 102 and the PC 103 have a WFD function and support communication processing based on the WFD protocol.

  Further, each of the PC 102 and the PC 103 has a function of displaying a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) via its own display unit. The QR code includes information indicating its role in the WFD such as “Source”, “Sink”, and “Dual-Role”. “Source” indicates that only the role of data transmission is possible, and “Sink” indicates that only the role of data reception is possible. “Dual-Role” indicates that both roles of data transmission and data reception are possible.

  Further, the QR code can include wireless connection information for the mobile phone 101 to connect to the networks 104 and 105. The mobile phone 101 can connect to the networks 104 and 105 by reading a QR code using the built-in camera and acquiring connection information included in the QR code.

  In addition, the mobile phone 101 can provide connection information for the WFD connection between the PC 102 and the PC 103 to the PC 102 and the PC 103 via wireless LAN communication. The PC 102 and PC 103 that have received the WFD connection information can construct a network 106 in accordance with the WFD standard and can transmit and receive a video stream.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the mobile phone which is the control device according to the first embodiment.

  The wireless communication control unit 201 is a functional unit for transmitting and receiving wireless signals to and from other wireless devices via a wireless LAN. The wireless communication control unit 201 includes, for example, an antenna, a circuit, and a program for controlling them and controlling communication. The transmission / reception unit 202 performs transmission / reception control of data according to the protocol of each communication layer.

  The operation unit 203 is a functional unit for receiving an operation from the user. The operation unit 203 includes a trigger for starting the camera 207, buttons for determining the roles of the PC 102 and the PC 103 in WFD, and the like. Note that the operation unit 203 may be configured by hardware, or may be configured by an arbitrary UI by software, such as selecting an icon output by the display unit 204.

  The display unit 204 performs various display processes such as an LCD screen and LEDs that can be visually recognized by the user. In addition, you may also provide the structure which outputs the audio | voice which a user can recognize audibly like a speaker.

  The control unit 205 controls the entire mobile phone 101 by executing a control program stored in the storage unit 206. The storage unit 206 includes a ROM that stores programs and data for controlling the mobile phone 101 and a RAM that manages temporary storage. Various operations described later are realized by the control unit 205 executing a control program stored in the storage unit 206.

  The camera 207 is a functional unit having a function of imaging the periphery of the mobile phone 101. For example, it is used for imaging a QR code displayed by the PC 102 and the PC 103. The captured image acquisition unit 208 analyzes the image data acquired by the camera 207. For example, the captured image acquisition unit 208 can acquire role information in the WFD of the PC 102 and the PC 103 by analyzing the captured QR code. Further, wireless connection information for connecting to the network 104 and the network 105 can be acquired.

  The WFD role determination unit 209 determines whether or not the role information of the PC 102 and the PC 103 acquired by the captured image acquisition unit 208 is the same information. The WFD connection information providing unit 210 is a functional unit that transmits information to the PC 102 and the PC 103. As will be described in detail later, when the WFD role determination unit 209 determines that the role information is not the same, connection information for WFD connection to the PC 102 and the PC 103 is transmitted.

  When the role error notification unit 211 determines that the role information in the WFD is the same by the WFD role determination unit 209, the role error notification unit 211 causes the display unit 204 to output that the role information is the same. The WFD role resetting unit 212 (role setting unit) is a functional unit for resetting to either Sink or Source when the role information of at least one of the PC 102 and the PC 103 is Dual-Role. The role information determined by the WFD role resetting unit 212 is transmitted to the Dual-Role PC via the WFD connection information providing unit 210.

<Operation of the device>
In the first embodiment, a case will be described in which role information in WFD that can be acquired by the mobile phone 101 is Source or Sink. That is, Dual-Role is not included. Note that the operation when Dual-Role is included will be described in a second embodiment described later.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the connection information providing process in the first embodiment.

  In step S <b> 301, the mobile phone 101 activates the camera 207 in response to a user start instruction via the operation unit 203. In step S302, the mobile phone 101 captures a QR code displayed by the PC 102 and reads it as an image.

  In step S <b> 302, the captured image acquisition unit 208 decodes the QR code image captured in S <b> 302 and acquires role information in WFD and connection information for connecting to the LAN network 104. Note that the captured image acquisition unit 208 may autonomously detect and decode the QR code from the captured image, or may accept and decode the QR code position designation in the captured image by the user. In step S304, the mobile phone 101 connects to the network 104 based on the connection information acquired in S303.

  In step S305, the mobile phone 101 determines whether or not selection of a terminal that performs WFD connection is completed. For example, the determination is made based on a user instruction via the operation unit 203. Here, there are two PCs 102 and 103 as terminals for WFD connection. Therefore, at the end of the first loop of S302 to S304, it is determined that the terminal selection has not ended, and the second loop (S302 to S304) processing is performed on the PC 103. At the end of the second loop, it is determined that the terminal selection has been completed.

  In step S306, the mobile phone 101 determines whether or not the role information of the PC 102 and the role information of the PC 103 are the same. If it is determined in S306 that the role information is not the same, the process proceeds to step S307, and the WFD connection information is transmitted to the PC 102 and the PC 103. Thereby, the PC 102 and the PC 103 can construct the network 106 based on the received WFD connection information, and can transmit and receive the video stream.

  The WFD connection information may be generated by the mobile phone 101 or may be generated by the PC 102 or the PC 103 and included in the QR code so that the mobile phone 101 acquires the WFD connection information.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S306 that the role information is the same, the process proceeds to step S308, and for example, an error message is displayed on the display unit 204. FIG. 4 is a diagram exemplarily showing an error display screen. That is, transmission processing of WFD connection information to PC 102 and PC 103 is not performed.

  Next, processing between the mobile phone 101, the PC 102, and the PC 103 will be described using a sequence diagram.

  FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing connection information provision processing when the role information of two PCs is the same. Here, a case will be described in which the role information of both the PC 102 and the PC 103 is “Sink”, but the same applies even if the role information is both “Source”.

  In step S501, the mobile phone 101 activates the camera 207 to read the QR code.

  In step S502, the PC 102 constructs the wireless LAN network 104 in order to receive the WFD connection information. In step S <b> 503, the PC 102 displays a QR code including role information in WFD (here, “Sink”) and wireless connection information for connecting to the network 104.

  In step S <b> 504, the mobile phone 101 captures an image of the QR code displayed on the PC 102 by the camera 207. In step S <b> 505, the mobile phone 101 analyzes the captured image obtained in step S <b> 504 and acquires role information (here, “Sink”) of the PC 102 and wireless connection information for connecting to the network 104. In step S506, the mobile phone 101 connects to the network 104 using the wireless connection information acquired in S505.

  The same processing is performed between the mobile phone 101 and the PC 103. That is, the PC 103 constructs the network 105 (S507), and the mobile phone 101 connects to the network 105 (S511). The details of the process are the same as the processes of S502 to S506, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  Here, the mobile phone 101 is described as being connected to the network 104 of the PC 103 after being connected to the network 104 of the PC 102, but the reverse order may be used.

  In step S512, after connecting to the network 104 and the network 105, the mobile phone 101 ends selection of a terminal for WFD connection.

  In step S513, the mobile phone 101 confirms that the role information of the PC 102 and the PC 103 is “Sink”, and determines that the roles are the same. In step S514, the mobile phone 101 displays an error message on the display unit 204 as shown in FIG. 4, and ends the process. Note that a packet indicating that the WFD connection information cannot be transmitted may be transmitted to the PC 102 and the PC 103 via the networks 104 and 105 after S514.

  By this process, transmission of WFD connection information to each PC can be suppressed. In other words, since both the PC 102 and the PC 103 are “Sink”, video transmission / reception is not possible. For this reason, transmission of WFD connection information to the PC 102 and the PC 103 is not meaningless, and may be a failure of WFD connection with other PCs, but it is possible to prevent such a problem in advance.

  FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing connection information provision processing when the role information of two PCs is different. Here, a case where the role information of the PC 102 is “Source” and the role information of the PC 103 is “Sink” will be described, but the same applies even if the role information is reversed.

  Since the processing from S601 to S612 is the same as the processing from S501 to S512 described above, description thereof is omitted. However, the role information of the PC 102 acquired by the mobile phone 101 in S605 is “Source”.

  In step S613, since the role information of the PC 102 is “Source” and the role information of the PC 103 is “Sink”, the mobile phone 101 determines that the role information of the PC 102 and the PC 103 is different. In step S614, the mobile phone 101 transmits WFD connection information to each of the PC 102 and the PC 103.

  In step S615, the PC 102 and the PC 103 each perform WFD Device Discovery processing for discovering each other based on the WFD connection information acquired from the mobile phone 101.

  After S615, according to the WFD standard, the network 106 common to the PC 102 and the PC 103 is constructed, the PC 102 as the source transmits the video stream, and the PC 103 as the sink receives it.

  In S614, the mobile phone 101 may also transmit an instruction for constructing the network 106 to the PC 103 whose role information is “Sink” together with the WFD connection information. On the contrary, a configuration in which an instruction to construct the network 106 as a wireless network is also transmitted to the PC 102 whose role information is “Source” may be used.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, whether to transmit the WFD connection information to each PC is controlled based on whether the role information of the two PCs to be WFD connected is the same. With this control, it becomes possible to suitably connect two PCs to be WFD connected and to perform efficient wireless communication.

  That is, when the role information is the same, the mobile phone 101 suppresses transmission of WFD connection information to each PC, and therefore suppresses meaningless wireless communication (transmission of a packet such as a Probe_Request signal) by each PC. Is possible.

(Second Embodiment)
In the second embodiment, a case where “Dual-Role” is included in the role information in WFD that can be acquired by the mobile phone 101 will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the connection information providing process in the second embodiment. Note that the processing of S701 to S706 is the same as the processing of S301 to S306 in FIG.

  In S706, if it is determined that the role information of the two PCs is not the same, the process proceeds to S707, and if it is determined that the role information of the two PCs is the same, the process proceeds to S708. In step S708, an error message is displayed on the display unit 204 in the same manner as in step S308, and the process ends without performing the WFD connection information transmission process.

  In step S707, the mobile phone 101 determines whether Dual-Role is included in each acquired role information. If it is determined in S707 that the Dual-Role is included, the process proceeds to S709, and if it is determined that the Dual-Role is not included, the process proceeds to S710.

  In step S709, the mobile phone 101 resets the Dual-Role terminal to either “Sink” or “Source”. For example, a UI (user interface) for selecting and setting one of “Sink” and “Source” to the Dual-Role terminal is displayed on the display unit 204, and a selection input from the user is accepted.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplarily showing a role determination screen. Here, the UI when both the PC 102 and the PC 103 are “Dual-Role” is shown as an example. The user selects and designates a role for each of the PC 102 and the PC 103 via the UI displayed on the display unit 204.

  If only one of the PC 102 and the PC 103 is Dual-Role, instead of accepting a user instruction, role information different from the role information of the other PC is automatically set in the Dual-Role PC. It may be configured. For example, when the role of the PC 102 is Source and the role of the PC 103 is Dual-Role, the role of the PC 103 may be automatically set to Sink.

  In step S710, the cellular phone 101 transmits WFD connection information to the PC 102 and the PC 103.

  FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of providing wireless connection information when the role information of two PCs is Dual-Role. In addition, since the process of S901-S912 is the same as the process of S501-S512 of FIG. 5, description is abbreviate | omitted. However, the difference is that the role information acquired by the mobile phone 101 in S905 and S910 is Dual-Role.

  In step S <b> 913, the mobile phone 101 determines whether Dual-Role is included in the acquired role information. Here, since the role information of both the PC 102 and the PC 103 is Dual-Role, it is determined that Dual-Role is included.

  In step S <b> 914, the mobile phone 101 resets the roles of the PC 102 and PC 103 to any one of Source and Sink. Here, an example will be described in which the PC 102 is reset to “Source” and the PC 103 is set to “Sink” based on the selection received from the user via the UI, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  In step S915, the mobile phone 101 transmits WFD connection information to each of the PC 102 and the PC 103.

  In step S916, the PC 102 and the PC 103 each perform WFD Device Discovery processing for discovering each other based on the WFD connection information acquired from the mobile phone 101.

  After S916, according to the WFD standard, the network 106 common to the PC 102 and the PC 103 is constructed, the PC 102 as the source transmits the video stream, and the PC 103 as the sink receives it.

  Note that the display of the QR code (S903) displayed on the PC 102 and the QR code (S908) displayed on the PC 103 may be terminated by the acquisition of wireless connection information in S905 and S910, respectively. The display may be terminated based on another trigger (when receiving the WFD connection information in S915). By shortening the display time of the QR code including the wireless connection information, there is an effect of avoiding a security risk due to information interception by a third party.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, when the Dual-Role is included in at least one of the role information of two PCs to be WFD connected, the role of the PC of the Dual-Role is set again. With this control, it becomes possible to suitably connect two PCs to be WFD connected and to perform efficient wireless communication.

(Modification)
In the above description, the mobile phone 101 has been described as acquiring role information from a QR code, but may be acquired by near field communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication). In addition, connection information necessary for connection by WFD may be transmitted from the mobile phone 101 via proximity wireless communication. In this case, the mobile phone 101 does not need to be connected to a wireless LAN network constructed by each PC.

  In the above description, in order to transmit WFD connection information from the mobile phone 101 to each PC, the mobile phone 101 is connected to a network constructed by each PC. However, the mobile phone 101 may construct a network and accept a connection from each PC. Furthermore, when transmitting WFD connection information from the mobile phone 101 to each PC, instruction information that serves to build a wireless LAN network may also be transmitted.

  Furthermore, when the role information acquired from the PC is “Source”, information regarding whether or not the PC has a function of transmitting video to a plurality of sink devices may be acquired. Similarly, when the role information acquired from the PC is “Sink”, information regarding whether or not the PC has a function of receiving video from a plurality of source devices may be acquired.

(Other examples)
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program This process can be realized. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Mobile phone; 102 PC; 103 PC; 209 WFD role determination part; 210 WFD connection information provision part; 211 Error notification part; 212 WFD role reset part

Claims (10)

A control device that controls a predetermined communication connection between a first communication device and a second communication device,
Obtaining means for obtaining role information in the predetermined communication connection from each of the first communication device and the second communication device;
Based on the role information acquired from the first communication device and the role information acquired from the second communication device, the predetermined communication connection to each of the first communication device and the second communication device. Determining means for determining whether or not to transmit connection information for
Transmission means for transmitting connection information for the predetermined communication connection to each of the first communication device and the second communication device according to a determination result by the determination device;
A control device comprising: The role information includes first role information indicating that only the role of data transmission is possible, second role information indicating that only the role of data reception is possible, and both roles of data transmission and data reception are possible The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device indicates any one of third role information indicating that In the determination unit, both the role information acquired from the first communication device and the role information acquired from the second communication device were either the first role information or the second role information. 3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that connection information for the predetermined communication connection is not transmitted. Role setting for resetting the role information of the first role information or the second role information for the corresponding communication device when the role information acquired by the acquisition unit is the third role information. The control device according to claim 2, further comprising means. The control device according to claim 4, wherein the transmission unit transmits the role information reset by the role setting unit together with the corresponding communication device. At least one of the first communication device and the second communication device has a function of displaying its own role information on a display unit that it has,
The control device further includes an imaging unit,
The acquisition unit images role information displayed on the display unit using the imaging unit, and acquires role information of at least one of the first communication device and the second communication device. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. At least one of the first communication device and the second communication device has a function of transmitting its role information by proximity wireless communication,
The control device further includes proximity wireless communication means for performing proximity wireless communication,
The acquisition unit wirelessly connects to at least one of the first communication device and the second communication device via the proximity wireless communication unit, and obtains role information of the at least one communication device via the wireless connection. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is acquired. 8. The transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits an instruction to construct a wireless network used for the predetermined communication connection to the communication device having the second role information. The control device described in 1. A control method of a control device for controlling a predetermined communication connection between a first communication device and a second communication device,
An acquisition step of acquiring role information in the predetermined communication connection from each of the first communication device and the second communication device;
Based on the role information acquired from the first communication device and the role information acquired from the second communication device, the predetermined communication connection to each of the first communication device and the second communication device. A determination step of determining whether or not to transmit connection information for
A transmission step of transmitting connection information for the predetermined communication connection to each of the first communication device and the second communication device according to a determination result in the determination step;
The control method of the control apparatus characterized by including.   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the control apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 8.

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