JP2017103650A - Communication device, communication device control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of reducing handover time when connecting to a wireless LAN using BLE.
When a digital camera receives a BLE handover request from a mobile phone, the digital camera responds to the request, activates a wireless LAN communication function, and prepares to transmit a radio signal as an access point. Start. At the same time, it provides wireless LAN parameters to the mobile phone and waits for a wireless LAN connection request. If the digital camera 100 functions as an access point when a wireless LAN connection request is made, the digital camera 100 is handed over to the wireless LAN and stops BLE.
[Selection] Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device that communicates with an external device via a plurality of wireless communication means, a communication device control method, and a program.

  In recent years, as a method for realizing a setting for communication connection such as a wireless LAN by a simple operation, the user can exchange the setting information necessary for authentication by using another communication method, so that the user can There has been proposed a mechanism that saves the trouble of inputting setting information. This mechanism is called so-called handover (especially vertical handover), and uses communication with a smaller communication range such as NFC (Near Field Communicator) and BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy). Exchange setting information necessary for authentication. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a digital camera and a mobile phone share wireless LAN communication parameters using NFC.

JP2015-146521A

  However, in Patent Document 1, no consideration is given to the time required for the handover process. For example, the time required for handover to connect to a wireless LAN includes not only the time required for wireless LAN activation and connection processing, but also activation and connection processing of other communication paths for sharing the communication parameters. The time it takes is included. For this reason, it may take more time than simply starting and connecting the wireless LAN.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to shorten the time required for handover processing.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a communication device according to the present invention is configured to communicate with a first communication unit, a second communication unit, and a communication with the second communication unit via a communication with the first communication unit. Control that, upon receiving a handover request from an external device, starts communication preparation processing by the second communication means before stopping communication by the first communication means for handover according to the request Means.

  According to the present invention, the time required for the handover process can be shortened.

(A) It is a block diagram of the digital camera in 1st Embodiment. (B), (c) is an external view of the digital camera in the first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile telephone in 1st Embodiment. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network system in a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow of the handover process in 1st Embodiment. It is a format example of the tag memory in the first embodiment. It is a NFC connection sequence of the communication apparatus and information terminal in 1st Embodiment. It is a BLE connection sequence of the communication apparatus and information terminal in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the hand-over process of the communication apparatus and information terminal in 1st Embodiment. It is a format example of the tag memory in other embodiment.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated in detail using attached drawing. The embodiment described below is an example as means for realizing the present invention, and may be appropriately modified or changed depending on the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. Moreover, it is also possible to combine each embodiment suitably.

[Embodiment]
<Configuration of digital camera>
FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a digital camera 100 that is an example of a communication apparatus according to the present embodiment. Although a digital camera is described here as an example of a communication device, the communication device is not limited to this. For example, the communication device may be an information processing device such as a portable media player, a so-called tablet device, or a personal computer.

  The control unit 101 controls each unit of the digital camera 100 according to an input signal and a program described later. Note that instead of the control unit 101 controlling the entire apparatus, a plurality of hardware may share the processing to control the entire apparatus.

  The imaging unit 102 includes, for example, an optical lens unit, an optical system that controls the aperture, zoom, focus, and the like, and an imaging device that converts light (video) introduced through the optical lens unit into an electrical video signal. Composed. In general, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) is used as the imaging element. The imaging unit 102 is controlled by the control unit 101 to convert subject light imaged by a lens included in the imaging unit 102 into an electrical signal by the imaging device, and perform noise reduction processing or the like to convert the digital data into an image. Output as data. In the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment, the image data is recorded on the recording medium 110 in accordance with the DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System) standard.

The non-volatile memory 103 is an electrically erasable / recordable non-volatile memory, and stores a program to be described later executed by the control unit 101.
The work memory 104 is used as a buffer memory that temporarily holds image data picked up by the image pickup unit 102, an image display memory of the display unit 106, a work area of the control unit 101, and the like.

  The operation unit 105 is used for the user to accept an instruction for the digital camera 100 from the user. The operation unit 105 includes, for example, a power button for instructing the user to turn on / off the digital camera 100, a release switch for instructing photographing, and a reproduction button for instructing reproduction of image data. Furthermore, an operation member such as a dedicated connection button for starting communication with an external device via the communication unit 111 described later is included. A touch panel formed on the display unit 106 described later is also included in the operation unit 105. The release switch has SW1 and SW2. When the release switch is in a so-called half-pressed state, SW1 is turned on. As a result, an instruction for making preparations for shooting such as AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing is accepted. Further, when the release switch is in a fully-pressed state, SW2 is turned on. As a result, an instruction for photographing is received.

  The display unit 106 displays a viewfinder image at the time of shooting, displays shot image data, and displays characters for interactive operation. Note that the display unit 106 is not necessarily built in the digital camera 100. The digital camera 100 can be connected to an internal or external display unit 106 and only needs to have at least a display control function for controlling display on the display unit 106.

  The recording medium 110 can record the image data output from the imaging unit 102. The recording medium 110 may be configured to be detachable from the digital camera 100 or may be built in the digital camera 100. That is, the digital camera 100 only needs to have a means for accessing at least the recording medium 110.

  The communication unit 111 is an interface for connecting to an external device. The digital camera 100 of this embodiment can exchange data with an external device via the communication unit 111. For example, image data generated by the imaging unit 102 can be transmitted to an external device via the communication unit 111. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 111 includes an interface for communicating with an external apparatus via a so-called wireless LAN in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard. The control unit 101 realizes wireless communication with an external device by controlling the communication unit 111. Note that the communication method is not limited to the wireless LAN, and includes, for example, an infrared communication method.

The close proximity wireless communication unit 112 includes, for example, an antenna for wireless communication and a modulation / demodulation circuit and a communication controller for processing wireless signals. The proximity wireless communication unit 112 outputs a modulated wireless signal from an antenna, and demodulates the wireless signal received by the antenna, thereby non-contact proximity communication according to the ISO / IEC 18092 standard (so-called NFC: Near Field Communication). Is realized. The close proximity wireless transfer unit 112 of the present embodiment is disposed on the side of the digital camera 100. The close proximity wireless communication unit 112 is provided with a tag memory, and information stored in the tag memory is transmitted to an external device having an NFC reader / writer function. In general, NFC is sometimes referred to as short-range wireless communication, but in this embodiment, wireless communication having a service area narrower than that of the wireless LAN (including Bluetooth (registered trademark), for example) is referred to as short-range wireless communication. Of these, proximity communication with a narrower service area is referred to as proximity wireless communication to distinguish. NFC can start communication without acquiring parameters for communication or registering information of the counterpart device in advance by pairing.
The digital camera 100 is connected to a mobile phone 200 to be described later by starting communication by bringing the close proximity wireless communication units close to each other. In addition, when connecting using a close proximity wireless communication part, it is not necessary to contact close proximity wireless communication parts. Since the close proximity wireless communication unit can communicate even if they are separated from each other by a certain distance, in order to connect the devices to each other, it is only necessary to approach the range where close proximity wireless communication is possible. In the following description, it is also referred to as bringing close to the range where close proximity wireless communication is possible.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 113 includes, for example, an antenna for wireless communication and a modulation / demodulation circuit and a communication controller for processing a wireless signal. The short-range wireless communication unit 113 outputs a modulated wireless signal from an antenna, and demodulates the wireless signal received by the antenna, thereby short-range wireless communication in accordance with the IEEE 802.15 standard (so-called Bluetooth (registered trademark)). To realize. In this embodiment, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication employs Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy version 4.0, which has low power consumption. This Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication has a narrower communicable range than wireless LAN communication (that is, a communicable distance is short). In addition, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication has a lower communication speed than wireless LAN communication. On the other hand, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication consumes less power than wireless LAN communication.

  In the present embodiment, the communication speed realized by the communication unit 111 is faster than the communication speed realized by the close proximity wireless transfer unit 112. The communication realized by the communication unit 111 has a wider communication range than the communication by the close proximity wireless transfer unit 112. Instead, the close proximity wireless communication unit 112 can limit the communication partner due to the narrow range of communication, and therefore does not require processing such as encryption key exchange necessary for communication realized by the communication unit 111. . That is, it is possible to communicate more easily than using the communication unit 111.

  Note that the communication unit 111 of the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment operates as an AP mode that operates as an access point (hereinafter also referred to as AP) in the infrastructure mode and as a client (hereinafter also referred to as CL) in the infrastructure mode. CL mode. Then, by operating the communication unit 111 in the CL mode, the digital camera 100 in the present embodiment can operate as a CL device in the infrastructure mode. When the digital camera 100 operates as a CL device, it can participate in a network formed by the AP device by connecting to a peripheral AP device. In addition, by operating the communication unit 111 in the AP mode, the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment is a kind of AP, but operates as a simple AP (hereinafter referred to as a simple AP) with more limited functions. Is also possible. When the digital camera 100 operates as a simple AP, the digital camera 100 forms a network by itself. Devices around the digital camera 100 can recognize the digital camera 100 as an AP device and participate in a network formed by the digital camera 100. It is assumed that a program for operating the digital camera 100 is held in the nonvolatile memory 103 as described above.

  Note that although the digital camera 100 in this embodiment is a kind of AP, it is a simple AP that does not have a gateway function for transferring data received from a CL device to an Internet provider or the like. Therefore, even if data is received from another device participating in the network formed by the own device, it cannot be transferred to a network such as the Internet.

Next, the appearance of the digital camera 100 will be described. 1B and 1C are diagrams illustrating an example of the appearance of the digital camera 100. FIG. The release switch 105a, the playback button 105b, the direction key 105c, and the touch panel 105d are operation members included in the operation unit 105 described above. Further, the display unit 106 displays an image obtained as a result of imaging by the imaging unit 102. In addition, the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment has an antenna portion of the close proximity wireless transfer unit 112 on the side surface of the camera housing. Proximity wireless communication with other devices can be established by bringing the proximity wireless communication units closer to each other. Thereby, it is possible to communicate in a non-contact manner without using a cable or the like, and it is possible to limit communication partners according to the user's intention.
The above is the description of the digital camera 100.

<Internal configuration of mobile phone 200>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the mobile phone 200 which is an example of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Although a mobile phone is described here as an example of the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus is not limited to this. For example, the information processing apparatus may be a digital camera with a wireless function, a tablet device, or a personal computer.
The control unit 201 controls each unit of the mobile phone 200 according to an input signal and a program described later. Note that instead of the control unit 201 controlling the entire apparatus, the entire apparatus may be controlled by a plurality of pieces of hardware sharing the processing.
The imaging unit 202 converts subject light imaged by a lens included in the imaging unit 202 into an electrical signal, performs noise reduction processing, and outputs digital data as image data. The captured image data is stored in the buffer memory, and then a predetermined calculation is performed by the control unit 201 and recorded on the recording medium 210.
The nonvolatile memory 203 is an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory 203 stores an OS (operating system) that is basic software executed by the control unit 201 and an application that realizes an applied function in cooperation with the OS. In the present embodiment, the nonvolatile memory 203 stores an application (hereinafter referred to as an application) for communicating with the digital camera 100.
The work memory 204 is used as an image display memory of the display unit 206, a work area of the control unit 201, and the like.

The operation unit 205 is used to receive an instruction for the mobile phone 200 from the user. The operation unit 205 includes, for example, operation members such as a power button for the user to instruct ON / OFF of the power supply of the mobile phone 200 and a touch panel formed on the display unit 206.
The display unit 206 displays image data, characters for interactive operation, and the like. Note that the display unit 206 is not necessarily provided in the mobile phone 200. The mobile phone 200 can be connected to the display unit 206 and has at least a display control function for controlling the display of the display unit 206.
The recording medium 210 can record image data output from the imaging unit 202. The recording medium 210 may be configured to be detachable from the mobile phone 200 or may be built in the mobile phone 200. That is, the mobile phone 200 only needs to have at least a means for accessing the recording medium 210.

  The communication unit 211 is an interface for connecting to an external device. The mobile phone 200 of this embodiment can exchange data with the digital camera 100 via the communication unit 211. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 211 includes an antenna, and the control unit 101 can be connected to the digital camera 100 by wireless communication via the antenna. In connection with the digital camera 100, it may be connected directly or via an access point. As a protocol for communicating data, for example, PTP / IP (Picture Transfer Protocol over Internet Protocol) through a wireless LAN can be used. Note that communication with the digital camera 100 is not limited to this. For example, the communication unit 211 can include an infrared communication module, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication module, and a wireless communication module such as WirelessUSB. Furthermore, a wired connection such as a USB cable, HDMI (registered trademark), or IEEE1394 may be employed.

  The near field communication unit 212 is a communication unit for realizing non-contact communication with other devices. The close proximity wireless communication unit 212 includes an antenna for wireless communication, a modulation / demodulation circuit for processing a wireless signal, and a communication controller. The close proximity wireless communication unit 212 realizes contactless communication by outputting a modulated wireless signal from the antenna and demodulating the wireless signal received by the antenna. Here, non-contact communication according to the ISO / IEC 18092 standard (so-called NFC) is realized. When the proximity wireless communication unit 212 receives a data read request from another device, it outputs response data based on the data stored in the nonvolatile memory 203. In the present embodiment, the mobile phone 200 operates in the card reader mode, the card writer mode, and the P2P mode defined by the NFC standard through the close proximity wireless communication unit 212, and mainly acts as an initiator. On the other hand, the digital camera 100 behaves mainly as a Target via the proximity wireless communication unit 112.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 213 includes, for example, an antenna for wireless communication and a modem circuit and a communication controller for processing wireless signals. The short-range wireless communication unit 213 outputs a modulated wireless signal from the antenna, and demodulates the wireless signal received by the antenna, thereby short-range wireless communication according to the IEEE 802.15 standard (so-called Bluetooth (registered trademark)). To realize. In this embodiment, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication employs Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy version 4.0, which has low power consumption. This Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication has a narrower communicable range than wireless LAN communication (that is, a communicable distance is short). In addition, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication has a lower communication speed than wireless LAN communication. On the other hand, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication consumes less power than wireless LAN communication.

The public network communication unit 216 is an interface used when performing public wireless communication. The mobile phone 200 can talk with other devices via the public network communication unit 216. At this time, the control unit 201 inputs and outputs an audio signal via the microphone 214 and the speaker 215, thereby realizing a call. In the present embodiment, the public network communication unit 216 is an antenna, and the control unit 101 can be connected to the public network via the antenna. The communication unit 211 and the public network communication unit 216 can share one antenna.
The above is the description of the mobile phone 200.

<Network system configuration>
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the network system of the present embodiment. The network system includes a digital camera 100 and a mobile phone 200, which can communicate by proximity wireless communication using the NFC method or the BLE method. In addition, the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200 can communicate by wireless communication using a wireless LAN system.

<Overview of handover processing>
Next, an outline of the flow of handover (HO) processing executed in the network configuration shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The present invention is based on the premise that the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200 are already powered on. The handover here is a vertical handover in which communication is continued by switching the communication method or communication interface during communication to another communication method or communication interface.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, when communication (BLE) by the first communication means is started, wireless LAN communication parameters, that is, wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) are transmitted from the digital camera 100 to the mobile phone 200. Notification is made (S401). As a result, the digital camera 100 shares wireless LAN communication parameter information with the mobile phone 200.

  In the present embodiment, in parallel with the sharing of wireless LAN communication parameter information by BLE, a preparation process for starting up an access point function is performed. In this way, by performing the preparation process for starting up the access point function ahead of time during communication by the first communication means, the time until the start of the access point function can be shortened. Preparations for starting up the access point function include, for example, firmware download of the wireless module, parameter setting to the wireless driver, startup of the DHCP server function, setting of the access point function, and the like. Thereafter, as soon as the preparation process is completed, the digital camera 100 uses the access point function to start transmitting a wireless LAN beacon, which is the second communication means, based on the wireless LAN parameter notified in S401, and generates a wireless LAN network. To do.

  Subsequently, the mobile phone 200 transmits a communication connection request to the wireless LAN network corresponding to the SSID included in the wireless LAN parameter information received in S401 (S402).

  Thereafter, the digital camera 100 that has received the communication connection request transmits a response indicating the request permission to the mobile phone 200 (S403), and a wireless LAN communication connection is established between the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200. As the access point function rises earlier in this way, the communication connection request of the mobile terminal 200 can be received earlier, so that the time until establishment of the wireless LAN communication connection can be shortened.

  In the above-described example, when the communication by the first communication means is BLE, the preparation time for starting up the access point function is advanced to shorten the time until establishment of the wireless LAN communication connection. In addition to this, in the present embodiment, when the communication by the first communication means is NFC, the preparation process for starting the access point function is not advanced. The reason will be described below in comparison with BLE communication.

  First, NFC has a communication distance limited to about 10 cm, and exchanges data by bringing devices close to each other. By the user's action (or action) of making it approach, it is possible to specify a communication partner device, and it is possible to communicate intuitively without the need for complicated operations. On the other hand, the communication path is greatly affected by the user's actions, and there is a high possibility of communication failure due to the positional relationship of the proximity communication units between the devices. The certainty of communication is greatly affected by user actions. Therefore, the possibility of communication failure due to the user's work is higher than BLE.

  In the NFC having such a feature, when the communication preparation of the second communication means (wireless LAN) is advanced, it is necessary to prepare again each time the NFC communication fails, and for the suspended preparation process The consumed resources are useless. Therefore, when the communication by the first communication means is NFC, the reliability of communication is more important than the reduction of the connection time, and the wireless LAN preparation process is started after the NFC communication is completed. As a result, for example, resources such as electric power and calculation spent on a preparation process that may be wasted can be saved.

  On the other hand, BLE has a communication distance of several meters to several tens of meters, and is less affected by user actions than NFC. In addition, when performing BLE handover, the communication device and the information terminal are already connected by BLE pairing, and it is considered that the possibility of communication failure is low. On the other hand, BLE tends to have a longer communication time than NFC. This is because, compared to NFC, which does not require encryption and is easy to establish a connection, BLE has a certain communication distance, so encryption is necessary, and connection authentication processing is complicated. It is to do. That is, in the case of BLE as compared with NFC, it is desired to shorten the time until connection to the wireless LAN. Therefore, when the communication by the first communication means is BLE, priority is given to shortening the connection time rather than the certainty of communication, and the wireless LAN preparation process is started ahead of time before the BLE communication is completed. Pairing is a process of previously registering information on devices that communicate with BLE as pairing information in advance. When communicating, the partner device is identified based on the pairing information, and the registered device is the registered device. If there is, start communication.

  Note that the advancement is up to wireless LAN preparation processing, and wireless LAN communication itself (actually starting beacon transmission) is performed after BLE communication is completed. This is because BLE and wireless LAN communication may belong to the same 2.4 GHz frequency band, and in this case, the two communications interfere with each other.

<NFC handover process>
First, the handover process when NFC is used for the first wireless communication means will be described. As a premise of this processing, wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) for connecting to a wireless LAN network generated by the access point function of the communication unit 111 of the digital camera 100 is stored in the tag memory in advance. And Here, the tag memory will be described. The near field communication unit 112 of the present embodiment includes a tag memory therein, and has a function of transmitting information stored in the tag memory to an external device having an NFC reader / writer function, for example, the mobile phone 200. An example of the data format of the tag memory in this embodiment is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the tag memory has a total capacity of 64 bytes, and can store information on SSID (16 bytes), encryption key (16 bytes), and communication enable / disable state (1 byte). Note that the communication enable / disable state is sometimes referred to as NFC-HO setting, and will be referred to as NFC-HO setting in the following description. The SSID (Service Set Identifier) and the encryption key are information necessary for connecting to a wireless LAN network generated by the communication unit 111 described later. Whether the NFC-HO setting can acquire information necessary for the digital camera 100 to transition to a state where the digital camera 100 can communicate with an external device using the communication unit 111 (that is, handover) via the proximity wireless communication unit 112. It is information indicating whether or not, and is indicated by either “0: possible” or “1: not possible”. The above is the description of the tag memory. In other words, it is information indicating whether or not handover from NFC to the wireless LAN is permitted.

  Next, FIG. 6 shows a sequence of handover processing when NFC is used for the first wireless communication means. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a processing sequence when the NFC-HO setting of the digital camera 100 is “0: Allowed”. Note that the NFC-HO setting is transferred from the digital camera 100 to the mobile phone 200 in S603 of FIG. 6, and is referred to by the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 in S605 to determine whether communication is possible or not. . Therefore, the processing sequence when the NFC-HO setting of the digital camera 100 is “0: Allowed” is not statically determined. As a result of the determination by the control unit 201 in S605, the NFC-HO setting is determined. Is possible, the sequence of FIG. The same applies to the case where NFC-HO setting is impossible. If the result of determination by the control unit 201 in S605 is that communication is not possible, the sequence shown in FIG.

In step S <b> 601, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 activates the NFC reader / writer function in response to a user operation. For example, it is activated when a predetermined button of the operation unit 205 is pressed.
In step S <b> 602, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 transmits a read request signal by the reader / writer function of the close proximity wireless transfer unit 212. This step is executed when the user brings the mobile phone 200 and the digital camera 100 close to the communicable range in NFC communication. Here, the communicable range of the NFC method is in the range of a close distance of about 10 cm. For example, when the NFC reader / writer function is enabled, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 displays a screen prompting the user to bring the mobile phone 200 close to the digital camera 100 on the display unit 206 of the NFC reader / writer function. . When the user brings the mobile phone 200 close to the digital camera 100, the mobile phone 200 and the digital camera 100 enter the communicable range in NFC communication, and the read request signal transmitted from the close proximity wireless communication unit 212 is the digital camera 100. The proximity wireless communication unit 112 is reached. The shaded portion on the vertical axis in FIG. 6 indicates a state in which the devices are close to each other within the communicable range of NFC communication. This read request is an example of an information acquisition request. Since the handover to the wireless LAN is started in response to the read request in S602, the read request in S602 can also be referred to as a handover start request from NFC to the wireless LAN.

  In step S <b> 603, the close proximity wireless transfer unit 112 of the digital camera 100 reads out information stored in the tag memory, and transmits the information to the mobile phone 200 as a response signal of the read request signal. The information transmitted here includes wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) for connecting to a wireless LAN network generated by the access point function of the short-range wireless communication unit 111 of the digital camera 100. Furthermore, information of NFC-HO setting (“0: Allowed”) is also included. Note that the close proximity wireless communication unit 112 of the digital camera 100 executes processing using power generated by electromagnetic induction when receiving radio waves supplied from the close proximity wireless communication unit 212 of the mobile phone 200. If the response is returned, the control unit 101 determines that sharing of the wireless LAN parameters with the mobile phone 200 by communication using the close proximity wireless communication unit 112 is completed, and invalidates the close proximity wireless communication unit 112. Specifically, a response to the read request from the mobile phone 200 is not returned. Alternatively, the NFC-HO setting information is changed to “1: Impossible”. This prevents the handover process from being redone when approaching the mobile phone 200 again, or from being handed over to another mobile phone when approaching another mobile phone. In subsequent S <b> 604, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 validates the access point function of the communication unit 111. That is, the wireless LAN communication function is activated. Note that the processing in S604 is executed after the control unit 101 determines that sharing of the wireless LAN parameters is completed, stops communication by NFC, and disables the close proximity wireless communication unit 112.

  On the other hand, in parallel with S604, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 analyzes the information received in S603 in S605 and determines whether or not to transmit a communication connection request from the communication unit 211. Specifically, based on the acquired NFC-HO setting information, a communication connection from the communication unit 211 is made by referring to a determination table including an NFC communication setting that the mobile phone 200 includes in advance in the nonvolatile memory 203 or the like. Decide whether to send the request. In the NFC communication setting, for example, either information indicating “communication permitted” allowing NFC communication or information indicating “communication impossible” not permitted is recorded, which is set in advance by the user operating the mobile phone 200. ing. For example, if it is determined that the NFC-HO setting received from the digital camera 100 is “communication enabled”, the control unit 201 further determines in S605 whether the NFC communication setting is “communication enabled”. If it is determined that both are “communicable”, the process proceeds to step S606. Note that the sequence in FIG. 6A has been described before when the NFC-HO setting is “communication enabled”, but in addition, the NFC communication setting is also “communication enabled”. If at least one of the NFC-HO setting and the NFC communication setting is “communication impossible” in S605, S606 is not performed and the procedure of FIG. 6B is performed. This step is an example of processing by the determining means.

  The NFC-HO setting is set in the digital camera 100 and indicates that handover from NFC to the wireless LAN is not permitted, and is not information for prohibiting the use of NFC for other purposes. On the other hand, the NFC communication setting is a setting that is set in the mobile phone 200 and indicates whether or not the NFC communication of the mobile phone 200 is possible. If the communication is disabled, NFC is used regardless of the application. I can't. For example, when “Non-communication” is set in the NFC communication setting, if the mobile phone 200 is configured not to output the NFC carrier wave, the procedure of FIG. 6 itself is not started. . In that case, the determination of the NFC communication setting in S605 is unnecessary, and only the NFC-HO setting needs to be determined.

  In S <b> 606, since it is determined in S <b> 605 that the control unit 201 transmits a communication connection request, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 connects to the wireless LAN network generated by the access point function of the connection unit 111 of the digital camera 100. In addition, the communication unit 211 is controlled to transmit a communication connection request to the digital camera 100. This step corresponds to connection request means in the present invention. Here, the wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) acquired in S603 is used. Note that the process of S606 is periodically performed immediately after the completion of S605. That is, the communication connection request is transmitted regardless of whether or not the network generation of the digital camera 100 in S604 is completed. This communication connection request is accepted as soon as the access point of the communication unit 111 in S604 is completed by the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100, that is, as soon as the network generation of the digital camera 100 in S604 is completed. .

  In step S <b> 607, when the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 determines that the wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) transmitted in step S <b> 606 is valid, the control unit 101 controls the connection unit 111 to permit a communication connection request. A response is transmitted to the mobile phone 200. Thereby, a wireless LAN communication connection is established between the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200. When it is determined that the wireless LAN parameter information transmitted in S606 is not valid, a response permitting the communication connection request is not transmitted. This step is an example of processing by the connection request response means. Thus, when the first communication means is NFC, after the NFC communication up to S603 is completed, preparation for the second communication (wireless LAN) in S604 is started.

  Next, a processing sequence when the NFC-HO setting of the digital camera 100 is “1: Impossible” will be described with reference to FIG. Steps S601 to S603 and S605 are the same as in FIG. In step S608, since the mobile phone 200 determines in step S605 that information indicating that the NFC-HO setting of the digital camera 100 is “1: impossible” has been obtained, the mobile phone 200 ends the handover process without issuing a communication connection request.

  The details of the handover process when NFC is used for the first communication procedure executed between the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200 in the present embodiment have been described above with reference to FIG.

  Thus, when the first communication means for acquiring the setting information of the wireless LAN as the second communication means is NFC, it is not until after the NFC communication up to S603 in FIG. 6A is completed. Preparation for the second communication (wireless LAN) in S606 is started. As a result, since the digital camera 100 activates the wireless LAN after the acquisition of the setting parameters for performing the wireless LAN communication is completed, the wireless LAN activation processing ends in vain due to the failure of the NFC communication. And waste of resources can be prevented.

  In this description, as described above, it is assumed that the wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) is stored in the tag memory 110 in advance. You may make it write in memory. Alternatively, the setting menu screen may be displayed on the display unit 106, and the wireless LAN parameter information on the tag memory may be updated when the wireless LAN network setting is changed by a user input operation via the operation unit 105. Good.

<BLE handover processing>
A handover process when BLE is used for the first communication means will be described with reference to FIG. As a premise of this processing, it is assumed that the communication device 100 and the mobile terminal 200 have completed pairing processing.

  FIG. 7A shows a processing sequence when the BLE-HO setting of the digital camera 100 is “permitted” for BLE handover. The BLE-HO setting is necessary for the digital camera 100 to transition to a state where it can communicate with an external device using the communication unit 111 (that is, wireless LAN) via the short-range wireless communication unit 113 (that is, handed over). This is information indicating whether or not such information can be acquired, and is indicated by either “0: possible” or “1: impossible”. The BLE-HO setting is transferred from the digital camera 100 to the mobile phone 200 in S703 of FIG. 7, and immediately after that, it is referred to by the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200, and handover from BLE- to the wireless LAN is possible or not possible. Is determined. Therefore, the processing sequence when the BLE-HO setting of the digital camera 100 is “permitted” is not statically determined, and the result of determining the BLE-HO setting received in S703 by the control unit 201. If BLE-HO setting is possible, the sequence of FIG. On the other hand, if the result of determination is that BLE-HO setting is not possible, the sequence of FIG.

In step S701, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 detects the start of the BLE handover process in response to a user operation. For example, it may be detected that a predetermined button of the operation unit 205 is pressed.
In step S <b> 702, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 transmits a BLE handover start request signal through the short-range wireless communication unit 213. The BLE handover start request is a handover start request from the BLE to the wireless LAN. This step is executed when the user performs a start operation of the mobile phone 200 in S701.
At the same time, a preparation process for enabling the access point function of the communication unit 111 in S708 is started, and the wireless LAN communication function is activated. In FIG. 7A, it is expressed as S708 including the preparation process.

  In step S <b> 703, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 transmits a response to the BLE handover start request to the mobile phone 200 via the short-range wireless communication unit 113. The information transmitted here includes a BLE-HO setting indicating whether or not the BLE handover process can be used. FIG. 7A shows that the transmitted BLE-HO setting is “permitted”. When the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 receives the response of S703, the process proceeds to S704.

  In step S704, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 determines the BLE-HO setting information received in step S703 and determines whether to continue the BLE communication. Specifically, if the acquired BLE-HO setting is “permitted”, the control unit 201 further determines whether or not the BLE communication setting that the mobile phone 200 has in advance is “communication permitted”, and communication is possible. If it is determined, the process proceeds to S705. If it is determined that at least one of them is “impossible”, the communication ends there and the procedure shown in FIG.

  Note that the BLE-HO setting is set in the digital camera 100 and indicates that handover from BLE to the wireless LAN is not permitted, and is not information for prohibiting the use of BLE for other purposes. On the other hand, the BLE communication setting is a setting that is set in the mobile phone 200 and indicates whether communication by the BLE of the mobile phone 200 is possible. If the communication is disabled, the BLE is used regardless of the application. I can't. For example, when “impossible” is set in the BLE communication setting, if the mobile phone 200 is configured not to output the BLE carrier wave, the procedure of FIG. 7 itself is not started. In that case, the determination of the BLE communication setting in S704 becomes unnecessary.

  In step S705, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 requests wireless LAN parameter information from the digital camera 100. In step S706, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 responds to the mobile phone 200 including wireless LAN parameter information. Send. The information transmitted here includes wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) for connecting to the wireless LAN network generated by the access point function of the wireless communication unit 111 of the digital camera 100.

  After obtaining all necessary wireless LAN network information, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 transmits a wireless LAN communication switching request to the digital camera 100 in S707. In response to this, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 determines that sharing of the wireless LAN network information with the mobile phone 200 has been completed, and transmits a response to the wireless LAN communication switching request to the mobile phone 200 in S708.

  In response to the completion of the processing of S708, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 disconnects the BLE communication. This is to avoid interference caused by using the same frequency band for BLE communication as for wireless LAN communication, as described above.

  In step S709, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 starts signal transmission by the access point function of the communication unit 111. The wireless LAN communication function of the digital camera 100 is activated without waiting for a request to switch communication to the wireless LAN immediately after or after S703 after receiving the BLE handover start request in S702. Thereby, preparation for signal transmission by the access point function is started without waiting for the completion of sharing of the wireless LAN network information with the mobile phone 200. If all the preparation processes have been completed before the completion of S708, the transmission of a signal by the access point function of the communication unit 111 is awaited until the completion of S708.

  In step S <b> 710, the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 controls the communication unit 211 to send a communication connection request to the digital camera 100 in order to connect to the wireless LAN network generated by the access point function of the connection unit 111 of the digital camera 100. Send to. Here, the wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) acquired in S706 is used.

  In step S711, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 determines whether or not the wireless LAN parameter information (SSID and encryption key) transmitted in step S710 is valid. Control is performed and a response permitting the communication connection request is transmitted to the mobile phone 200. Thereby, a wireless LAN communication connection is established between the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200.

  In FIG. 7A, S709 is conventionally performed after completion of communication by BLE after S708, but in this embodiment, is started before handover. That is, in FIG. 7A, S709 is started before and after S703. Thus, the time required for the handover can be shortened by starting the wireless LAN preparation process before the completion of the communication by BLE.

Next, a processing sequence when the BLE-HO setting set in the digital camera 100 is “impossible” will be described with reference to FIG. Steps S701 to S703 and S704 are the same and will not be described.
Since the control unit 201 of the mobile phone 200 determines that the BLE-HO setting of the digital camera 100 is “impossible” in S704, the communication connection request is not issued in S712, and the handover process ends.

As described above, when the first communication means for acquiring the setting information of the wireless LAN as the second communication means is BLE, before the BLE communication up to S708 in FIG. Preparation for the second communication (wireless LAN) is started. Note that the earlier the timing of starting the preparation process, the higher the possibility that the wireless LAN communication preparation is completed before the completion of the BLE communication. Therefore, in the above example, the execution of S703 is performed when S702 is received. At the same time, the preparation process has started. However, the timing is not limited to this. For example, giving priority to a certain degree of certainty, the preparation process may be started after the sharing of wireless LAN communication parameter information by the processes of steps S705 to S706 is completed. Even in this case, it is possible to shorten the time until the wireless LAN connection is established, rather than starting the preparation process after at least S708 is completed. That is, at least the wireless LAN preparation process should be started before disconnecting the BLE communication.
The details of the handover process when BLE is used as the first communication means executed between the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200 in the present embodiment has been described above with reference to FIG.

  In this description, the sequence of notifying the wireless LAN parameter information after receiving the BLE handover start request has been described. However, the wireless LAN parameter information is notified in advance at the stage of the BLE pairing process, and the BLE hand is notified. The notification of the wireless LAN parameter information after the over start request may be omitted.

<Digital camera 100 handover processing flowchart>
A handover process of the digital camera 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 shows a procedure of processing executed by the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100. First, the NFC handover process will be described. The processing in FIG. 8 is started when the control unit 101 detects the reception of a signal by the close proximity wireless communication unit 112 or the short distance wireless communication unit 113. The signal is, for example, an NFC read request received by a user operation that brings the close proximity wireless communication unit 112 of the digital camera 100 close to the close proximity wireless communication unit 212 of the mobile phone 200. Alternatively, the signal is a BLE handover start request transmitted when a predetermined button of the operation unit 205 of the mobile phone 200 is pressed.

  In step S <b> 801, the control unit 101 determines whether the received signal is an NFC read request signal transmitted from the close proximity wireless communication unit 212 of the mobile phone 200 and received by the close proximity wireless communication unit 112. If it is determined that the signal is an NFC read request signal, the control unit 101 reads the information stored in the tag memory in step 802 and transmits the information stored in the tag memory to the mobile phone 200 together with the response signal of the read request signal. To do. In step 803, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 determines whether the NFC-HO setting of the digital camera 100 is “0: possible” or “1: impossible”. If it is determined that “0: Allowed”, the control unit 101 starts NFC handover processing from step 804 onward. If it is determined that “1: not possible”, the control unit 101 does not perform the NFC handover process.

In step 804, the control unit 101 changes the BLE-HO setting to “impossible”. This is to prevent the BLE handover process from starting during the NFC handover process.
Next, in step 805, the control unit 101 starts preparation for wireless LAN communication. Specifically, preparation for wireless LAN communication includes performing firmware download of a wireless module to the communication unit 111, setting wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) in a wireless driver, and the like.

  In step 806, the control unit 101 activates the access point function of the communication unit 111. In step 807, the control unit 101 activates the DHCP server function. As a result, transmission of a wireless LAN beacon is started and a network is generated. When the process up to step 807 is completed, the digital camera 100 waits for a wireless LAN communication connection request from the mobile phone 200. In step 808, when the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 detects a wireless LAN communication connection request from the mobile phone 200, the control unit 101 determines whether the wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) is valid, and is valid. If it is determined, in step 809, the connection unit 111 is controlled to transmit a response permitting the wireless LAN communication connection request to the mobile phone 200. Thereby, wireless LAN communication is established between the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200, and the NFC handover process is completed. If it is determined that the wireless LAN parameter information is not valid, S809 is not performed.

On the other hand, when determining in step S801 that the received signal is not an NFC read request, the control unit 101 determines in step 810 whether the received signal is a BLE handover start request.
If it is determined in step S810 that the received signal is a BLE handover start request, in step 811, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 carries information including the BLE-HO setting as a response to the BLE handover request. Send to phone 200.
In step 812, the control unit 101 determines whether the BLE-HO setting is “permitted” or “not permitted”. If the BLE-HO setting is “permitted”, the control unit 101 starts the BLE handover process from step 813 onward. If “impossible”, the BLE handover process is terminated.
In step 813, the control unit 101 changes the BLE-HO setting to “1: Impossible”. This is to prevent the NEC handover from starting during the BLE handover process.

  Next, in step 814, the control unit 101 starts preparation for wireless LAN communication. Specifically, preparation for wireless LAN communication includes performing firmware download of a wireless module to the connection unit 111, setting wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) in a wireless driver, and the like. In preparation for communication of the second communication means in step 814, the activation time of the access point function is shortened by performing in parallel with BLE communication in steps 815 to 818 described later.

  In parallel with step 814, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 waits for a request for wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key) from the mobile phone 200. The communication method at this time is BLE. In step 815, when the wireless LAN parameter information request (SSID, encryption key) from the mobile phone 200 is detected by the short-range wireless communication unit 113, the control unit 101 controls the short-range wireless communication unit 113 in step 815. The mobile phone 200 transmits a response including a request for wireless LAN parameter information (SSID, encryption key). The cellular phone 200 requests the digital camera 100 to switch the communication method from BLE to wireless LAN communication. In step 817, when the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 detects a wireless LAN communication switching request from the mobile phone 200, it returns a response to the wireless LAN communication switching request to the mobile phone 200 in step 818. The communication by the BLE between the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200 ends in step 818, and the wireless LAN communication is switched from step 806. Here, the BLE communication between the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200 is disconnected. Note that BLE communication may be continued in a time-sharing manner in order to avoid interference with the wireless LAN. Note that the control unit 101 may perform S807 immediately after S814 and execute it in parallel with S815 to S818.

  Since step 806 and subsequent steps are processing common to NFC handover, description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, the BLE handover start request has been described using a user operation on the operation unit 205 of the mobile phone 200 as a trigger, but a user operation on the operation unit 105 of the digital camera 100 may be used as a trigger. Further, in this embodiment, the flow in which the wireless LAN parameter information is notified after receiving the BLE handover start request in step 815 and step 816 has been described. Information may be notified, and notification of wireless LAN parameter information after a BLE handover start request may be omitted.

  As described above, in the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment, when the handover from the first communication to the second communication is performed, the preparation process for the second communication is started before the first communication is completed. . Thereby, the time taken to establish the second communication can be shortened.

  In addition, when any one of a plurality of communication methods with different eases of communication failure can be used for the first communication, the first communication prepares for the second communication depending on the communication method used. Whether it starts before completion or after the first communication is completed is different. This makes it possible to perform appropriate processing according to the characteristics of the first communication and improve usability.

Note that the NFC-HO setting or BLE-HO setting set to “impossible” is written back to “possible” after the communication via the wireless LAN is established, for example, after step S809, so that the next hand. Over is possible. When BLE is called first communication and wireless LAN is called second communication, NFC may be called third communication.
[Other Embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the connection request for the wireless LAN communication from the mobile phone 200 is started as soon as the first communication is completed has been described. However, depending on the specifications of the OS installed in the mobile phone 200, there may be a waiting period until the request is retransmitted when there is no response to the connection request once transmitted. In such a case, since the digital camera 100 issues a request before generating the network, the first connection request is not accepted, and it takes time for the waiting period until retransmission. Therefore, in addition to the above-described embodiment, in order to wait for the mobile phone 200 to issue a connection request at an appropriate timing, the mobile phone 200 may be notified of the standby time using the first communication. . For example, in the case of handover using NFC for the first communication, an area for recording a standby time is provided in the tag memory as shown in FIG. 9, and a set value of the standby time is recorded in that area. The recorded set value is notified by transmitting it to the mobile phone 200 as a response to the NFC read request in step 802 of FIG.

  Further, in the case of handover using BLE for the first communication, notification is made by transmitting the response to the request for wireless LAN parameter information in step 818 of FIG. 8 including the set value of the standby time. Based on the received standby time, the cellular phone 200 determines the start timing of transmitting the wireless LAN communication connection request in step 808 of FIG.

  Note that the set value of the standby time is determined according to the state of the digital camera 100, whether to advance the preparation process, or the communication method used for the first communication. For example, when the preparation process is advanced, the standby time is determined to be shorter than when the preparation process is not advanced in consideration of the fact that a network can be generated earlier than the preparation process is advanced. When NFC is used, the preparation process is started after the NFC communication is completed. Therefore, the time calculated by setting the advance time of the preparation process to zero is set as the standby time.

  With the above processing, since the mobile phone 200 transmits the first connection request after the digital camera 100 generates the network, the first connection request from the mobile phone 200 can be accepted. That is, it is possible to reduce the possibility of waiting for a waiting time for resending the connection request of the mobile phone 200, and it is possible to realize a smoother handover.

  In the above-described embodiment, for example, in S801 of FIG. 8, the control unit 101 determines an NFC read request from the mobile phone 200. For this, the proximity wireless communication unit 112 may determine and respond to a read request.

  In addition, as described above, the NFC communication path is greatly affected by the user's actions, and thus the response to the read request in S802 is not always correctly received by the mobile phone 200. In addition, according to the NFC protocol, the control unit 101 and the proximity wireless communication unit 112 cannot confirm that the response is correctly received by the mobile phone 200. Therefore, when the mobile phone 200 receives a response, the mobile phone 200 may be designed to transmit a write request to the tag memory, and the write request may be used as a handover request. In this way, the mobile phone 200 transmits the handover request after receiving the information necessary for the handover. This prevents only the digital camera 100 from starting the handover process even though the mobile phone 200 has failed to receive the information necessary for the handover and has not started the handover process. Can do.

Further, when the digital camera 100 uses a multi-core processor as the control unit 101, a thread for performing the first communication called BLE communication or NFC communication and a thread for performing the preparatory preparation process are executed by different cores. By doing so, the effect of further time reduction by parallel processing can be expected.
In the above embodiment, NFC is used as the proximity wireless communication. However, for example, infrared communication can be used instead of the wireless communication. In this case, the network construction may be started ahead of time before acquiring information related to the wireless LAN, but it may not be brought forward in the same way as NFC to prevent waste of resources.

  In the embodiment, both the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200 have two types of first communication interfaces, NFC and BLE, in addition to a second communication interface called a wireless LAN. However, if the digital camera 100 and the mobile phone 200 have a common communication interface of either NFC or BLE in addition to the wireless LAN, the invention according to this embodiment is applicable. In that case, the process is not branched according to the NFC or BLE communication interface. Only processing corresponding to one of the communication interfaces is executed.

  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.

100 ... mobile phone, 200 ... digital camera, 101,201 ... control unit, 111,211 ... communication unit, 112,212 ... close proximity wireless communication unit, 113,213 ... near Distance wireless communication unit

Claims (10)

A first communication means;
A second communication means;
When a request for handover to communication by the second communication means is received from an external device via communication by the first communication means, communication by the first communication means for handover according to the request And a control means for starting a communication preparation process by the second communication means before stopping the communication.   When the control means receives the request, if the handover to the communication by the second communication means is permitted, the control means transmits a response to the request, and the communication preparation process by the second communication means The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device is started.   3. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit includes information indicating whether or not to allow handover to communication by the second communication unit in the response.   The control unit, after transmitting the response, transmits a parameter for communication by the second communication unit to the external device using communication by the first communication unit. 2. The communication device according to 2 or 3.   5. The communication system of the first communication unit is Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy, and the communication system of the second communication unit is a wireless LAN. 6. The communication apparatus as described in. A third communication means;
When the control unit receives a request for handover to communication by the second communication unit from the external device through communication by the third communication unit, the control unit performs the third request for handover according to the request. 6. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after the communication by the communication unit is stopped, the communication preparation process by the second communication unit is started.   The communication apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a communication method by the third communication unit is proximity wireless communication.   The control means further includes, in the response, time information for controlling a timing for transmitting a connection request from the external device according to a communication method of the second communication means. The communication device according to any one of the above. By the communication device having the first communication means and the second communication means,
When a request for handover to communication by the second communication means is received from an external device via communication by the first communication means, communication by the first communication means for handover according to the request Before the communication is stopped, the communication preparation process by the second communication means is started.   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the communication apparatus of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 8.

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