JP4702944B2 - COMMUNICATION DEVICE, ITS CONTROL METHOD, AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus having a plurality of communication systems including, for example, a short-range wireless communication system.

Conventionally, there has been a communication apparatus that performs communication by switching a plurality of communication methods. Some communication apparatuses of this type select a communication method after confirming whether communication is possible with each of a plurality of communication methods (see, for example, Patent Document 1). There is also a communication device that acquires a list of protocols supported by a communication destination terminal using a short-range wireless communication method such as a non-contact IC interface. This communication device performs trial communication when the terminal supports the protocol, and performs communication using the protocol when successful (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In addition, there is one that exchanges information of a terminal that establishes synchronization by Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication using a short-range wireless communication method such as a non-contact IC interface (for example, Patent Document 3 or Patent Document 4 or (See Patent Document 5, etc.). Also, in communication security of information communication networks, a communication device that sets a security level for information to be communicated and performs communication only when the security level of the communication partner is equal to or higher than the security level of the information to be communicated. Yes (see, for example, Patent Document 6).
JP 2003-8861 A JP 2003-198568 A JP 2003-32175 A JP 2003-32176 A JP 2003-32261 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-244833

  The conventional technology described above has the following problems. In other words, when switching between multiple communication methods, confirming whether each communication method is communicable, or determining the communication method by performing trial communication, ensures that communication security is ensured. I can't confirm. By providing a plurality of wireless communication methods and acquiring information of the first wireless communication method by the second wireless communication method, there is no alternative communication means when communication by the second wireless communication method cannot be performed. If the security level is set for the information to be communicated and communication is performed only when the security level of the communication partner is equal to or higher than the security level of the information to be communicated, communication is an alternative when security is not ensured. There is no means.

It is an object of the present invention to improve the certainty of communication and to realize highly confidential communication.

In order to solve the above problems, an invention according to the present application has the following configuration. That is, a communication device capable of communicating with other communication devices having a plurality of communication methods,
First communication means for wireless communication according to a first communication method;
A second communication means for performing wireless communication according to the second communication method and the encryption method;
The communication using the first communication means, and obtain means preparative for acquiring communication and encryption schemes of the other communication apparatus,
Communication and encryption schemes of the said other communication device obtained by resulting unit preparative is, determining means for determining whether or not matching the communication and encryption schemes of the second communication means,
If it is determined by the determination means that the data matches, the second communication means communicates with the other communication device according to the second communication method and the encryption method, and if it is determined that they do not match And a communication control means for communicating with the other communication device in accordance with the first communication method by the first communication means.

Or a communication device,
First communication means for wireless communication according to a first communication method;
A second communication means for performing wireless communication according to the second communication method and the encryption method;
The other communication device has information capable of communicating with the communication device by the communication method and the encryption method of the second communication device through communication with the other communication device using the first communication device. Discriminating means for discriminating;
When the determining means determines that the other communication device has the information, the second communication means communicates with the other communication device according to the second communication method and the encryption method. Communication control means for performing communication with the other communication apparatus according to the first communication method by the first communication means when it is not determined that the other communication apparatus has the information. />.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the certainty of communication, and it is possible to realize highly confidential communication.

[First Embodiment]
<Configuration of communication system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The entire communication system includes a communication device 1 and a communication device 2. The communication device 1 has an NFC interface and an IEEE802.11b interface as communication means. The communication device 2 has an NFC interface, an IEEE802.11a interface, and an IEEE802.11b interface as communication means. Details are as follows.

  In the communication device 1, the CPU 101 controls the operation of the entire device. The ROM 102 stores a control program executed by the CPU 101 and the like. The ROM 102 stores a communication information table 501 described with reference to FIG. The communication information table stores parameters indicating the communication method and encryption method supported by the device. The RAM 103 stores control data. The NFC interface 104 performs communication by generating an electromagnetic field that can be communicated only at a short distance. The IEEE 802.11b interface 105 is one of wireless LAN (local area network) standards. These components are connected by a bus 106. A typical NFC interface is a non-contact IC interface configured by a combination of a non-contact IC card and a reader / writer as used in Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, Patent Document 4, and Patent Document 5. is there. The NFC interface is an international standard called ISO / IEC IS 18092.

  In the communication device 2, the CPU 107 controls the operation of the entire device. The ROM 108 stores a control program executed by the CPU 107 and the like. The ROM 108 stores communication information tables 501 and 502 described with reference to FIG. The RAM 109 stores control data. The NFC interface 110 performs communication by generating an electromagnetic field that can be communicated only at a short distance. The IEEE 802.11a interface 111 is one of wireless LAN (local area network) standards. The IEEE 802.11b interface 112 is one of wireless LAN (local area network) standards. These components are connected by a bus 113.

  The wireless LAN standards IEEE802.11a and IEEE802.11b are communication systems capable of ensuring communication security by encrypting communication. Using the NFC interface 104 of the communication device 1 and the NFC interface 110 of the communication device 2, the communication device 1 acquires the communication method and the encryption method of the communication interface implemented in the communication device 2.

<Communication procedure>
FIGS. 2 and 3 are operation sequences when the communication device 1 acquires the communication method and encryption method of the communication interface implemented in the communication device 2 and performs data communication. FIG. 2 shows a procedure for performing communication with IEEE802.11b as a result of obtaining the communication method and the encryption method. FIG. 3 shows a procedure for performing communication by NFC as a result of obtaining the communication method and the encryption method.

  In FIG. 2, communication is started between the NFC interfaces 104 and 110 by bringing the communication device 1 closer to the communication device 2 (step S200). A message requesting the communication method and the encryption method is transmitted from the communication device 1 to the communication device 2 (step S201). As a response, the communication method and the encryption method of the communication interface implemented in the communication device 2 are transmitted from the communication device 2 to the communication device 1 (step S202). Data examples of the communication method and the encryption method will be described later with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

  The communication device 1 that has acquired the communication method and encryption method of the communication interface implemented in the communication device 2 determines whether the communication method and encryption method match the communication method and encryption method supported by the communication device 1. Is determined (step S203). When the communication method and the encryption method match, communication using the NFC interfaces 104 and 110 is terminated as shown in FIG. 2 (step S204). Communication is started using the IEEE802.11b interfaces 105 and 112 (step S205), data communication is performed (step S206), and communication is terminated (step S207). Up to step S203 is the method determination phase for determining the communication method and the encryption method, and the transition to step S204 is the communication phase.

  In FIG. 3, steps S200 to S203 are of course common to FIG. However, in FIG. 3, it is determined in step S <b> 203 that the acquired communication method and encryption method do not match the communication method and encryption method supported by the communication device 1. Therefore, communication using the NFC interfaces 104 and 110 is continued, and after data communication is performed using the NFC interfaces 104 and 110 (step S301), the communication is terminated (step S302). Note that the determination in step S203 is made for each of the communication method and the encryption method. That is, the procedure shown in FIG. 2 is performed only when both the communication method and the encryption method match. The operation algorithms of the communication device 1 and the communication device 2 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, respectively.

<Example of communication information and communication information table>
FIG. 4 shows an example of the data structure of data (referred to as communication information) 401 indicating the communication method and the encryption method. This communication information is transmitted from the communication device 2 to the communication device 1 in step S202 of FIGS. In the communication information, a communication method, a communication parameter, and a communication parameter length are each represented by 1-byte data, and a communication parameter value corresponding to the length of the communication parameter length (for example, the number of bytes) follows. In addition, as encryption method information, the encryption method, encryption key type, and encryption key length are each represented by 1-byte data, and the encryption key value for the length of the encryption key length (for example, the number of bytes) Continue.

  Values for identifying the communication method, communication parameter, encryption method, and encryption key type are defined as shown in Table 402 of FIG. 4 as an example. According to Table 402, the value 0x01 described in the communication method field indicates that IEEE802.11a is supported, and the value 0x02 indicates that the transmission source of the communication information supports IEEE802.11b. “0x” means a hexadecimal number. A value 0x09 described in the communication parameter field indicates that the communication parameter is an ESSID in the IEEE 802.11 standard. If the value described in the communication parameter field is 0x09, the ESSID is indicated by the subsequent communication parameter length and communication parameter value. Also, the value 0x11 described in the encryption method field indicates WEP 64 bits, the value 0x12 indicates WEP 128 bits, the value 0x13 indicates that the transmission source of the communication information supports. The value 0x19 of the encryption key type field indicates that the key information following the field is a WEP key, and the value 0x1a indicates that the key information following the field is a Pre-Shared key. Following the encryption key type field, a key length and a key value are indicated.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of communication method and encryption method data transmitted from the communication device 2 to the communication device 1, that is, communication information. Note that the communication information itself is stored in the communication information tables 501 and 502 stored in the ROM 108 of the communication device 2. Accordingly, in step S202 of FIGS. 2 and 3, the communication information tables 501 and 502 are read by the communication device 2, and the contents are transmitted to the communication device 1 as a response to the request. Similarly, the ROM 102 of the communication device 1 also stores a communication information table (table 502 in this example) indicating the communication method and encryption method supported by the communication device 1, and receives the received communication information (that is, the table 501 and the table 501). 502). In this example, the tables 502 match. Of course, if the communication device 1 has a plurality of communication interfaces, a communication information table is stored for each interface. Therefore, each communication information table corresponding to each interface is collated (or compared) with the received communication information. If there is matching communication information, communication is started by the communication method and encryption method indicated by the communication information. When a plurality of communication methods and encryption methods match, a rule that defines which method to use may be determined in advance. Examples of the rules include a rule such as selecting a method with the highest communication speed or selecting a method with the strongest encryption strength. If a table with an order in advance is prepared from among the communication methods and encryption methods supported by each device, the communication method and encryption method can be selected according to the rules. In addition, when a plurality of methods can be used, the user may select them. In this case, a user interface showing options is displayed on the display unit, and a method according to the user's selection is used.

  The communication device 2 is provided with two communication interfaces 111 and 112 in addition to the NFC interface. Therefore, two pieces of data of communication information 501 and 502 in FIG. 5 are transmitted to the communication device 1. The communication information 501 indicates that the communication method is IEEE802.11a, ESSID is “wlan0”, the encryption method is 128-bit WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), the encryption key type is the WEP key, and the encryption key value is “sampleweekkey0”. ing. This information can be obtained by reading each code included in the communication information 501 in FIG. 5 according to the table 402 in FIG. Communication information 502 indicates that the communication method is IEEE802.11b, the ESSID is “wlan1”, the encryption method is 128-bit WEP, the encryption key type is a WEP key, and the encryption key value is “samplewepkey1”.

  4 and 5 show the information of the communication method and the encryption method as binary data, but as another example, they can also be expressed as a tagged text. An example is shown in FIG. In this case, the communication apparatus 2 has the text data 601 and 602 in FIG. 6 instead of the tables 501 and 502. Further, the communication device 1 has text data 602 instead of the table 502. Therefore, in the communication device 1 that has received the communication information, the communication information is compared in units of text with tags in the highest tag (<802.11a> and <802.11b> in the example of FIG. 6). Specifically, the text data 602 possessed by the communication device 1 is compared with the received text data 601 and 602, respectively.

  If there is matching text data (for example, text data 602), the text data is analyzed to obtain information on the communication method and the encryption method. Then, communication is performed according to the obtained information.

<Control procedure by communication device 1>
FIG. 7 shows an operation algorithm of the communication device 1. In step S <b> 701, communication using the NFC interface 104 is started by bringing the communication device 1 closer to the communication device 2.

  In step S <b> 702, a message requesting a communication method and an encryption method is transmitted to the communication device 2 by communication using the NFC interface 104.

  In step S703, data (communication information) related to the communication method and the encryption method as shown in the examples of FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 is received from the communication device 2.

  In step S704, it is determined whether or not the communication method and encryption method indicated by the communication information received from the communication device 2 in step S703 matches the communication method and encryption method installed in the communication device 1. . This determination can be performed by collating the received communication information with the communication information table held by the communication device 1 as described above. If the communication method and the encryption method match, the process proceeds to step S705. If the communication method and the encryption method do not match, the process proceeds to step S709 and the processing is continued.

  Assume that the communication information received from the communication device 2 is, for example, communication information 501 and communication information 502 (or 601 and 602) as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. In this embodiment, since the communication device 1 is equipped with the IEEE802.11b interface, the communication information table possessed by the communication device 1 is the communication information 502 (or 602). Therefore, the communication information table 502 matches the received communication information. Therefore, the communication device 1 and the communication device 2 can communicate using the communication method and the encryption method indicated by the matched communication information. That is, in this example, it can be seen that the communication device 1 and the communication device 2 support a common communication method called an IEEE802.11b interface. Further, it can be seen that the communication device 1 and the communication device 2 support a common encryption method of 128-bit WEP. On the other hand, for example, when the encryption method of the communication apparatus 1 is WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) or 64-bit WEP, it is determined that the communication method and the encryption method do not match because the encryption method does not match. The encryption method here includes the contents of the encryption key. That is, even if the methods are the same, if the keys do not match, it is not determined that the methods match.

  In step S705, the communication using the NFC interface 104 is terminated. In step S706, communication is started in accordance with the common communication method and encryption method determined by the determination in step S704 that the communication device 1 and the communication device 2 match. In this embodiment, communication is started with IEEE 802.11b, 128-bit WEP. In step S707, data communication is performed using the communication method started in step S706. In step S708, communication using the communication method started in step S706 is terminated.

  In step S709, communication using the NFC interface 104 is continued and data communication is performed. In step S710, communication using the NFC interface 104 is terminated.

<Control procedure by communication device 2>
FIG. 8 shows an operation algorithm of the communication device 2. In step S <b> 801, communication using the NFC interface 110 is started by bringing the communication device 1 closer to the communication device 2.

  In step S802, it is determined whether a message requesting a communication method and an encryption method has been received from the communication device 1. If a message is received, the process proceeds to step S803. If no message is received, the process proceeds to step S802 again to wait for the message to be received.

  In step S803, in response to the request for the communication method and the encryption method, data as shown in the examples of FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, that is, communication information is transmitted from the communication device 2 to the communication device 1.

  In step S804, it is determined whether communication using the NFC interface 110 is terminated and communication is started using a communication method other than NFC installed in the communication device 2. If communication is started by a communication method other than NFC, the process proceeds to step S805. If communication is continued by NFC, the process proceeds to step S807, and the process is continued. Note that step S804 may not be performed in actual processing. In other words, the processing may be terminated once in step S803, and then the communication device 2 may execute data communication from either step S805 or step S807 according to the communication method started by the communication device 1.

  In step S805, communication is performed using the communication method started by the communication device 1. In step S806, communication using the communication method started in step S804 is terminated.

  On the other hand, in step S807, communication using the NFC interface 110 is continued to perform data communication. In step S808, communication using the NFC interface 110 is terminated.

  With the configuration and procedure described above, the communication apparatus according to the present embodiment can acquire information on the communication method and the encryption method while ensuring the confidentiality of communication. Even when communication is performed according to the acquired communication method, confidentiality of communication can be ensured. In addition, even when communication cannot be performed using the acquired communication method, there is an effect that communication can be performed reliably and communication confidentiality can be ensured.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration and an operation outline of a communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment of the present invention, a digital camera (DSC) 901 is used as the communication device 1 in the first embodiment of the present invention, and a printer 902 is used as the communication device 2. .

  Communication is started by NFC by bringing the DSC 901 closer to the printer 902, and a message requesting the communication method and encryption method installed in the printer 902 is transmitted from the DSC 901 to the printer 902 (S911).

  If the communication method implemented in the printer 902 is IEEE 802.11b and the encryption method is 128-bit WEP, the information is transmitted from the printer 902 to the DSC 901 (S912).

  It is determined whether or not the communication method and encryption method installed in the printer 902 are installed in the DSC 901.

  When IEEE802.11b is implemented as the DSC 901 communication method and the encryption method is 128-bit WEP, the communication method and the encryption method match. Therefore, communication with IEEE 802.11b as the communication method and 128-bit WEP as the encryption method is started between the DSC 901 and the printer 902, and image data is transmitted from the DSC 901 to the printer 902.

  For example, when IEEE802.11b is installed as a communication system of the DSC 901 and the encryption system is WPA, since one of the communication system and the encryption system does not match, communication by NFC is continued and image data is transferred from the DSC 901 to the printer 902. Sent to.

  FIG. 10 shows an operation algorithm of the DSC 901. Steps S1001, S1002, S1003, S1004, S1005, S1006, S1007, S1008, S1010, and S1011 are steps S701, S702, and S703 shown in the operation algorithm (FIG. 7) of the communication apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. , S704, S705, S706, S707, S708, S709, and S710, respectively.

  However, in step S1009 in FIG. 10, the user of the DSC 901 is notified that communication is continued with NFC. For example, an instruction to keep the DSC 901 close to the printer 902 so that NFC communication can be performed is displayed on the display unit of the DSC 901. As an example, a message such as “Please contact the printer” is displayed on the display unit of the DSC 901.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, by applying the communication system of the first embodiment to the digital camera and the printer, information is transmitted between the digital camera and the printer. Secret communication can be realized. Further, when communication is performed by NFC, a message indicating that is displayed on the digital camera, thereby prompting the user to establish a reliable communication environment.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention, NFC is used as the short-range wireless communication system. On the other hand, infrared communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or UWB (Ultra Wide Band) can be used as other short-range wireless communication methods.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention, IEEE802.11a and IEEE802.11b are used as wireless communication schemes that secure security by encrypting communication. The present invention is not limited to this, and any other communication method or a communication method that will be standardized in the future can be used as long as the communication method has a communication distance of several tens of meters and can secure communication by encrypting communication.

  In the first and second embodiments of the present invention, WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) are used as encryption methods for encrypting communication. However, other encryption methods and encryption methods that will be standardized in the future can also be used.

  Note that the present invention can be applied to a system (for example, a copier, a facsimile machine, etc.) consisting of a single device even if it is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (eg, a host computer, interface device, reader, printer, etc.) You may apply. Another object of the present invention is to supply a recording medium recording a program code for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the system or apparatus computer reads out and executes the program code stored in the storage medium. Is also achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  Further, according to the present invention, the operating system (OS) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. This is also included. Furthermore, the present invention is also applied to the case where the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. In that case, based on the instruction of the written program code, the CPU of the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. .

The figure which shows the structure of the communication apparatus 1 and the communication apparatus 2 which concern on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the operation | movement sequence and operation | movement concept of the communication apparatus 1 and the communication apparatus 2 which concern on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the operation | movement sequence and operation | movement concept of the communication apparatus 1 and the communication apparatus 2 which concern on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the data structure of the communication system and encryption system which concern on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the data of the communication system and encryption system which concern on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the data of the communication system and encryption system which concern on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the operation | movement algorithm of the communication apparatus 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the operation | movement algorithm of the communication apparatus 2 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the operation | movement concept of the communication performed with the digital camera and printer which concern on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the operation | movement algorithm of the digital camera which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 NFC interface 105 IEEE802.11b interface 106 Bus 107 CPU
108 ROM
109 RAM
110 NFC interface 111 IEEE 802.11a interface 112 IEEE 802.11b interface 113 Bus 901 Digital camera (DSC)
902 Printer

Claims (11)

A communication device capable of communicating with other communication devices having a plurality of communication methods,
First communication means for wireless communication according to a first communication method;
A second communication means for performing wireless communication according to the second communication method and the encryption method;
Obtaining means for obtaining a communication method and an encryption method of the other communication device by communication using the first communication means;
A determination unit that determines whether a communication method and an encryption method of the other communication device acquired by the acquisition unit match a communication method and an encryption method of the second communication unit;
If it is determined by the determination means that the data matches, the second communication means communicates with the other communication device according to the second communication method and the encryption method, and if it is determined that they do not match A communication apparatus comprising: a communication control means for communicating with the other communication apparatus according to the first communication method by the first communication means. A communication device,
First communication means for wireless communication according to a first communication method;
A second communication means for performing wireless communication according to the second communication method and the encryption method;
The other communication device has information capable of communicating with the communication device by the communication method and the encryption method of the second communication device through communication with the other communication device using the first communication device. Discriminating means for discriminating;
When the determining means determines that the other communication device has the information, the second communication means communicates with the other communication device according to the second communication method and the encryption method. Communication control means for performing communication with the other communication apparatus according to the first communication method by the first communication means when it is not determined that the other communication apparatus has the information. A communication apparatus comprising:   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first communication method is a short-range wireless communication method.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first communication method is any one of non-contact IC card communication, infrared communication, Bluetooth, and UWB (Ultra Wide Band).   5. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising output means for outputting a message to the user that the communication device is brought close to the other communication device when communication is performed by the first communication method. The communication apparatus as described in.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication apparatus is an imaging apparatus that transmits image data to the other communication apparatus.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication apparatus is an image output apparatus that receives image data from the other communication apparatus.   A communication system comprising the communication device according to claim 1 and the communication device according to claim 2. A method for controlling a communication apparatus having first and second communication means having different communication methods,
An acquisition step of acquiring a communication method and an encryption method of another communication device by communication using the first communication unit;
A determination step of determining whether the communication method and the encryption method of the other communication device acquired by the acquisition step match the communication method and the encryption method of the second communication unit,
If it is determined by the determination step that the two communication means match, the communication with the other communication device is performed according to the communication method and the encryption method of the second communication means. A communication device control method, wherein communication is performed with the other communication device according to a communication method of a communication means. A control method for a communication apparatus having first and second communication means having different communication methods,
The other communication device has information capable of communicating with the communication device by the communication method and the encryption method of the second communication device through communication with the other communication device using the first communication device. A discriminating step for discriminating;
In the determination step, when it is determined that the other communication device has the information, the second communication unit communicates with the other communication device according to the second communication method and the encryption method. And a communication control step of communicating with the other communication device according to the first communication method by the first communication means when it is not determined that the other communication device has the information. A control method characterized by comprising:   A program that causes a computer to execute each step of the communication device control method according to claim 9.

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