JP5318048B2 - Wireless communication apparatus and wireless communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus and a wireless communication system.

  In recent years, systems for wirelessly transmitting and receiving video signals and the like have been considered. In wireless communication, authentication information is usually required to ensure safety. However, when such authentication information is transmitted as a radio signal, another device may acquire the authentication information. .

  Therefore, it is considered that authentication is exchanged by wire (for example, see Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, when wireless communication of a content signal is performed, identification information is exchanged via a wired interface so that registration and authentication of a partner device can be performed safely and reliably. Is disclosed.

  Here, in the method described in Patent Document 1, communication is performed using a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) wired interface, and identification information and key information transmission is performed using this DDC (Display Data Channel) or CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) line. Is disclosed.

JP 2005-244476 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 discloses that identification information and key information are communicated by a command for communication of identification information and key information or a mode switch. That is, unless the user intentionally inputs a command or presses a switch, communication of identification information and key information cannot be performed, and the user operation is complicated.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication apparatus and a wireless communication system capable of safely performing wireless communication authentication while suppressing the complexity of work.

In order to achieve the above object, a wireless communication device according to one embodiment of the present invention can be wired to a sink-side wired communication device and can be wired to a source-side wired communication device. A sink-side wireless communication device capable of performing wireless communication with a wireless communication device on the side, from a memory, a cable port, and an external device connected to the cable port via a cable, It means for obtaining a display device identification information used in the communication system in the cable, based on the obtained display device identification information, the external device, or a wired communication device of the sink-side or front Symbol source a determination unit which if it is a wireless communication device, to determine, if it is determined that the external device is a wired communication device of the sink side by said discrimination means, wired communication of the sink-side Means for performing wired communication with location, wherein when it is determined that the external device is a wireless communication device of the source side by the discriminating means, the source side of the wireless communication in a state of being connected by wire Means for performing authentication processing with the device and storing the authentication information obtained by the authentication processing in the memory; and the sink-side wired communication device is connected to the cable port in a wired manner. Wireless communication means for performing wireless communication with the source-side wireless communication device in a state where the source-side wired communication device is in a wired connection state based on the authentication information stored in And

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the radio | wireless communication apparatus and radio | wireless communications system which can perform authentication of radio | wireless communication safely can be provided, suppressing the complexity of an operation | work.

The figure which shows the structure of the radio | wireless communications system in which the radio | wireless communication apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is used. The figure which shows the structure of the radio | wireless communication apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the radio | wireless communication apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

The wireless communication apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, a configuration of a system including a WirelessHD reception adapter and a WirelessHD transmission adapter according to an embodiment of the wireless communication device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The communication system includes a WirelessHD reception adapter 1, a WirelessHD transmission adapter 2, a sink device 3, and a source device 4. FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a configuration at the time of video signal transmission. An HDMI cable 5 is used between the cable port 11 of the wireless reception adapter 1 and the cable port 3A of the sink device 3, and the source device 4 is connected to the cable port 11A. The HDMI cable 6 is connected between the cable port 4 </ b> A having the cable port 21 and the cable port 21 having the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2.

  The source device 4 is a video playback device such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) player or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) player. Video data stored in a storage medium such as a DVD or HDD is decoded, and an uncompressed video signal is output from the cable port 4A.

  The WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 has a function of transmitting a video signal received from the source device 4 via the HDMI cable 6 to the WirelessHD reception adapter 1 by wireless communication using WirelessHD without being compressed.

  The WirelessHD reception adapter 1 has a function of outputting the video signal received from the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 as an HDMI video signal without being compressed from the cable port 11 by wireless communication using WirelessHD. The WirelessHD receiving adapter 1 serves as a coordinator in WirelessHD communication.

The sink device 3 displays an image based on the video signal received at the cable port 11 on its own display.
Here, the cable ports 11, 21, 3A, and 4A are communication ports for wired communication based on the HDMI standard, into which an HDMI cable can be inserted and removed. In the HDMI communication standard, a TMDS (Transition Minimized Differential Signaling) data line for transmitting video / audio signals from the sink side to the source side without compression, a CEC line for mutual communication of control signals, and a source from the sink side device Various data communication channels such as a DDC line having a function of transmitting EDID (also referred to as display device identification information) to the side device.

  Here, EDID is identification information including information such as supported display resolution, model name, clock information, and the like, so that the source device 4 can know the capability of the sink device 3. The EDID also includes a physical address assigned to a device connected to each HDMI input port. By acquiring the physical address by each device connected by the HDMI cable, it is possible to construct an HDMI network composed of devices to which the physical address is assigned. In the HDMI network, a unique physical address is assigned to each device. Since this physical address is information that can uniquely identify the position of each device on the network topology, it is used for routing control for switching an active source device that transmits a video signal to the sink device 3. .

  Further, in the present embodiment, the unique EDID indicating the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 is held in the EDID (for example, all have a value such as “FF”), whereby the WirelessHD reception adapter 1 allows the partner device to transmit WirelessHD. The adapter 2 can be recognized.

  WirelessHD communication is a millimeter-wave wireless communication system using a 60 GHz band. WirelessHD is a communication method that enables non-compressed wireless communication. Normally, in WirelessHD communication, a receiving adapter called a coordinator waits first, and then the WirelessHD transmission adapter performs pairing for wireless connection. Follow the steps to establish a wireless communication link. At this time, the normal wireless link is established in the order in which the connection is established from the time the power is turned on earlier, and devices that are not intended by the user may be connected to each other.

  Therefore, in order to perform the pairing work necessary to start wireless communication, the WirelessHD reception adapter 1 and the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 are connected with an HDMI cable, and authentication information necessary for establishing the connection via the wire is provided. By exchanging, a wireless connection can be selected intuitively. FIG. 1B shows a configuration for exchanging authentication information for WirelessHD communication.

  In FIG. 1B, the sink device 3 and the source device 4 are not connected to any device, but the HDMI port between the cable port 11 of the WirelessHD reception adapter 1 and the cable port 21 of the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 is not connected. Connected with a cable 7.

  Since the WirelessHD receiving adapter 1 is normally connected to a sink-side device, when it is connected via the HDMI cable 7, it performs EDID reading processing. If the EDID contains information that can identify that the counterpart device is the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2, authentication information used in WirelessHD communication is exchanged. This exchange of authentication information can be performed using, for example, a CEC line.

  This authentication information includes, for example, information such as a station ID, a MAC address, a vendor ID, an encryption key, and a firmware version used in WirelessHD communication.

  After the exchange of the authentication information, when the cable 7 is disconnected, the WirelessHD reception adapter 1 performs a WirelessHD wireless connection with the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 using this as a trigger.

  Next, the configuration of the WirelessHD reception adapter 1 and the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the WirelessHD reception adapter 1 and the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2.

  The WirelessHD receiving adapter 1 includes a control unit 10, an HDMI cable port unit 11, a WirelessHD communication unit 12, an EDID storage unit 13, an EDID determination unit 14, and an authentication information storage unit 15.

The control unit 10 performs overall control of each configuration of the WirelessHD receiving adapter 1.
The HDMI cable port unit 11 is a communication port for performing HDMI wired communication. As described above, the HDMI cables 5 and 7 can be connected. Usually, in the case of a connection form capable of transmitting a video signal (see FIG. 1A), it is connected to a sink-side device. Therefore, when an HDMI cable is connected to the HDMI cable port unit 11, WirelessHD The receiving adapter 1 reads the EDID in order to acquire its own physical address.

The EDID storage unit 13 is a storage unit that stores the EDID read from the HDMI cable port unit 11.
The EDID determination unit 14 has a function of determining whether or not the EDID read from the HDMI cable port unit 11 and stored in the EDID storage unit 13 includes unique information indicating the WirelessHD transmission adapter. When the unique information is included, it is known that the communication partner is the WirelessHD reception adapter 2, and thus authentication processing for authentication information used in WirelessHD communication is performed via the HDMI cable port 11. This authentication information is stored in the authentication information storage unit 15.

  If the unique information is not included, the EDID determination unit 14 is known to be a normal sink device 3 such as a television or a projector. If the device is a sink-side device, the physical address of the source-side communication device connected to the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 is calculated based on the physical address included in the EDID, and the lower-level (source-side) communication device The WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 can be stored in a memory (not shown) so that the physical address can be read.

  The WirelessHD communication unit 12 is a communication module that receives a video signal transmitted from the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2. Here, in the case of WirelessHD communication with the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2, the authentication information stored in the authentication information storage unit 15 is used after the exchange with the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 in the HDMI cable port unit 11. .

  Next, the configuration of the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 will be described. The WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 includes a control unit 20, an HDMI cable port unit 21, a WirelessHD communication unit 22, an EDID storage unit 23, and an authentication information storage unit 24.

The control unit 20 performs overall control of each configuration of the WirelessHD receiving adapter 2.
The HDMI cable port unit 21 is a communication port for performing HDMI wired communication. As described above, the HDMI cables 6 and 7 can be connected. When connected to the source device 4, the video signal from the source device 4 can be received. When connected to the wireless HD receiving adapter 1, it is made to recognize that the wireless HD transmission adapter 2 by reading its own EDID. The authentication information used for the WirelessHD communication is exchanged with the WirelessHD receiving adapter 1 through the HDMI cable port unit 21 as a trigger.

The authentication information storage unit 24 is a storage medium that stores exchanged authentication information.
The WirelessHD communication unit 22 is a communication module that transmits a video signal to the WirelessHD receiving adapter 1. Note that the authentication information stored in the authentication information storage unit 24 is used for the WirelessHD communication.

  The EDID storage unit 23 is a storage medium that stores EDID read by the WirelessHD receiving adapter 1 from the HDMI cable port unit 21, and is, for example, an EEPROM.

Processing between the WirelessHD reception adapter 1 and the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the user connects the HDMI cable port 11 of the WirelessHD receiving adapter 1 and the HDMI cable port 21 of the WirelessHD transmitting adapter 2 with the HDMI cable 7 (steps A101 and B101).

  When the HDMI cable 7 is connected to the HDMI cable port unit 11, the WirelessHD receiving adapter 1 detects that the signal of the HPD (Hot Plug Detection) line is High (step A 102), and the HDMI cable port unit 11. However, it is possible to know that it is connected to another HDMI device.

Along with this, the EDID is read from the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 which is the connection partner device by the DDC line (step A103).
At this time, the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 transmits the EDID stored in the EDID storage unit 23 to the WirelessHD reception adapter 1 in response to a request from the WirelessHD reception adapter (step B102). In this EDID, there is a method of taking information unique to the fact that the device is the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 (that is, a device capable of transmitting a video signal through WirelessHD) (for example, taking the value of “FF”). Information that can be recognized by the wireless receiving adapter 1 is included.

  In the WirelessHD reception adapter 1, the EDID determination unit 14 determines whether the counterpart device is the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 based on the read EDID (step A104). If it is not the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 (No in step A104), it is determined that the device is a normal HDMI device, the partner device is recognized as a sink device (eg, the sink device 3), and normal HDMI communication is performed. (Step A105).

  When the EDID determination unit 14 determines that the counterpart device is the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 (Yes in Step A104), the EDID determination unit 14 uses the trigger as a trigger to exchange the WirelessHD authentication information with the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 (Steps A106 and B103). ). This exchange of authentication information can be performed using, for example, a CEC line.

  The authentication information includes information such as a MAC address, a vendor ID, an encryption key, and a firmware version, which are other authentication information, in which the WirelessHD receiving adapter 1 serving as a coordinator in WirelessHD wireless communication assigns a station ID to the WirelessHD transmitting adapter 2. It will be.

  After the authentication information is exchanged, when the user disconnects the HDMI cable 7 (step A107, step B104), the wireless connection of the wireless HD transmission is performed between the wireless HD transmission adapter 2 and the wireless HD reception adapter 1 using this as a trigger (step A108). , B105). Thus, by connecting the devices as shown in FIG. 1A, the video signal can be transmitted between the two devices.

  At this time, the WirelessHD transmission adapter 2 and the WirelessHD reception adapter that have performed the wired authentication establish a single wireless link. For example, even if another WirelessHD transmission adapter or WirelessHD reception adapter exists in the vicinity. The wireless link is not established with them. Thereby, the WirelessHD transmission adapter and the WirelessHD reception adapter that the user wants to connect to can be selected in advance, and the establishment of a wireless link between unintended wireless adapters can be prevented.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a video signal is transmitted wirelessly, the authentication information is performed by pairing via HDMI wired communication. Accordingly, authentication information can be exchanged safely and intuitively, and the user can clearly recognize the communication partner device, which can be realized by an intuitive operation.

  Furthermore, the exchange of the authentication information is performed with the reading of the EDID as a trigger. Since EDID is read when HDMI communication starts, by embedding information indicating that it is a WirelessHD communication adapter in EDID, it is recognized that the user should exchange authentication information without pressing a switch or the like. The authentication process can be started. If such information is not included in the EDID, HDMI communication may be performed as usual, and the user's work is simple.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... WirelessHD reception adapter 2 ... WirelessHD transmission adapter 3 ... Sink device 3A, 4A, 11, 21 ... HDMI cable port part 4 ... Source device 5, 6, 7 ... HDMI cable DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Control part 12 ... WirelessHD communication part 13 ... EDID memory | storage part 14 ... EDID judgment part 15 ... Authentication information memory | storage part 22 ... WirelessHD communication part 23 ... EDID memory | storage part 24 ... Authentication information storage

Claims (4)

The sink-side wired communication device can be connected to the sink-side wired communication device and can perform wireless communication with the source-side wireless communication device that can be wired-connected to the source-side wired communication device. A wireless communication device,
Memory,
A cable port;
Means for acquiring display device identification information for use in a communication method with the cable from an external device connected to the cable port via a cable;
Based on the obtained display device identification information, the external device, a determining unit operable either a sink side of the wired communication device, or a pre-Symbol source-side radio communication apparatus, determines,
Means for performing wired communication with the sink-side wired communication device when the determining means determines that the external device is the sink-side wired communication device;
When the determination unit determines that the external device is the source-side wireless communication device, the authentication unit performs authentication processing with the source-side wireless communication device in a wired connection state, and Means for storing authentication information obtained by authentication processing in the memory;
The wireless communication on the source side in which the wired communication device on the source side is in a wired connection state based on the authentication information stored in the memory with the wired communication device on the sink side in a wired connection state with the cable port Wireless communication means for performing wireless communication with a communication device;
A wireless communication apparatus comprising:   The wireless communication means performs wireless communication with the source-side wireless communication device that has performed the authentication processing in a state where it is connected to the cable port in a wired manner, and the authentication processing is connected in a wired manner to the cable port. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication apparatus does not perform wireless communication with another wireless communication apparatus that is not performed by the wireless communication apparatus.   The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the authentication process, identification information used in the wireless communication is assigned to the wireless communication apparatus on the source side. As well as a possible wire connected to the sink side of the wired communication device, the row cormorants sink side radio communication with the radio communication apparatus of a wired connection possible source side of the source over the scan side wired communication device wirelessly a radio communications system having a communication device,
Memory,
A cable port;
Means for acquiring display device identification information for use in a communication method with the cable from an external device connected to the cable port via a cable;
Determining means for determining whether or not the external device is the source-side wireless communication device based on the acquired display device identification information;
Based on the obtained display device identification information, the external device, a determining unit operable either a sink side of the wired communication device, or a pre-Symbol source-side radio communication apparatus, determines,
Means for performing wired communication with the sink-side wired communication device when the determining means determines that the external device is the sink-side wired communication device;
When the determination unit determines that the external device is the source-side wireless communication device, the authentication unit performs authentication processing with the source-side wireless communication device in a wired connection state, and Means for storing authentication information obtained by authentication processing in the memory;
Based on the authentication information stored in the memory, establish a wireless communication link between the source-side wireless communication device, means for receiving a video signal from a radio communications device of the source side,
Display means for displaying an image based on the received video signal;
A wireless communication system comprising:

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