JP5986597B2 - COMMUNICATION DEVICE, COMMUNICATION CONTROL PROGRAM, COMMUNICATION CONTROL METHOD, AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device that performs wireless communication with a connection target device, a control program thereof, and a control method, and more particularly to a control process and a control method for establishing a connection with a connection target device.

In recent years, communication using a wireless LAN such as the IEEE 802.11 standard has permeated in terminals such as notebook PCs and portable game machines. At that time, a function of searching for other stations such as an access point to be connected and a partner terminal is essential. Generally, client terminals such as notebook PCs and portable game machines have the same ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier) as the connection target.
) Is set, and a station to be connected having the same ESSID is searched by performing a passive scan or an active scan as described in Non-Patent Document 1, for example.

  The passive scan monitors (searches) signals (beacons) transmitted from other stations for each frequency band (channel) used in the wireless LAN. This signal is broadcast from each station at regular intervals, and includes an ESSID and a BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifier) that is an identifier unique to the station. The normal BSSID is the same as the MAC address of each station. The client terminal that has received the signal determines whether or not the ESSID set in itself matches the ESSID included in the signal. If they match, a connection request is transmitted using the BSSID included in the signal as a connection destination using the channel that received the signal, and a connection is established with the station that transmitted the signal.

  On the other hand, in the active scan, on the client terminal side, a signal (probe request) including the ESSID set in the client terminal is broadcast on each channel, and then a response from another station is waited on each channel. . When each station receives the signal, it determines whether the ESSID included in the signal matches the ESSID set in itself. If they match, a signal (probe response) including its own BSSID is transmitted to the client terminal. The client terminal that has received it transmits a connection request using the BSSID included in the probe response as a connection destination on the channel that has received this signal, and establishes a connection with the station that has transmitted the probe response.

Supervised by Masahiro Morikura / Shuji Kubota, “Revised 802.11 High-Speed Wireless LAN Textbook”, Impress, December 2004, p.105-106

However, in the connection establishment method as described above, the terminal waits for a signal from each station for each channel, regardless of whether the station is searched using the passive scan or active scan method described above. May be required and may take a lot of time. For example, when waiting for beacons or probe responses from other stations for 13 channels, if a waiting time of at least 100 ms is required per channel, 1 is required until the scan is completed and information necessary for connection is obtained. It takes about 3 seconds. Further, if processing such as retry is included, more time is required. Such a scanning method is useful for communication environments where the BSSID and communication channel of each AP are different, such as public wireless LAN services, but the ESSID is the same. When connecting only to the same access point at all times (such as on a network), there is little possibility that the BSSID to be connected or the channel to be used will change, and it is necessary to scan all 13 channels as described above each time. Poor nature. Therefore, for users who are often connected to an access point installed in the home, the waiting time as described above may cause stress.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that can reduce the time required for connection with another connection target device in wireless communication.

  The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems.

  A first invention is a communication device that performs wireless communication with a connection target device, and includes a first storage unit, a first determination unit, and a first connection unit. The first determination unit stores connection information including connection target device specifying information, which is information that can uniquely specify a predetermined connection target device, when the instruction for establishing a connection is issued, in the first storage unit. It is determined whether or not. The first connection means is the connection specified based on the connection target device specifying information stored in the first storage unit when the first determination unit determines that the connection information is stored in the first storage unit. Processing for establishing a connection by wireless communication with the target device is performed.

  According to the first invention, it is possible to reduce the time required for establishing a connection between the communication device and the connection target device.

  In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the communication device further includes a search unit, a second connection unit, and a connection information storage unit. When an instruction for establishing a connection is issued, the search means searches for a connection target device that can be connected and receives a signal including connection information. Here, examples of the search method include so-called active scan and passive scan. The second connection unit performs processing for establishing a connection for the connection target device searched by the search unit using the connection information included in the received signal. When the connection is established by the second connection unit, the connection information storage unit stores the connection information used for the connection in the first storage unit. Then, when an instruction for establishing a connection is issued, if the connection information is stored in the first storage unit as a result of the determination by the first determination unit, the connection establishment is performed by the first connection unit, and the connection information Is not stored in the first storage unit, the connection is established by the search means and the second connection means.

  According to the second invention, when the connection information is not stored in the first storage unit, a connectable connection target device is searched and the connection information is stored. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the time required for subsequent connection establishment with respect to the connection target device.

  In a third aspect based on the second aspect, the communication apparatus further includes connection result determination means for determining whether or not the connection by the first connection means is successful. When an instruction for establishing a connection is issued, a connection is established by the first connecting means, and when the connection result judging means determines that the connection by the first connecting means has failed, the searching means The connection is established by the second connection means. Further, the connection information storage unit stores the connection information used for the connection when the connection establishment by the second connection unit performed when the connection establishment by the first connection unit fails.

  According to the third invention, even when the connection cannot be established using the stored connection information, the connection information is newly received and stored, so that the reliability of the connection can be further improved. .

  According to a fourth aspect, in the second aspect, the connection information storage means stores the connection information stored in the first storage unit when the connection established by the second connection means is successful, after the established connection is disconnected. Also hold.

  According to the fourth invention, since the connection information when the connection is established by the second connection means can be held in the first storage unit even after the connection is cut off, when connecting to the same connection destination after this, A quick connection by one connection means is possible.

  In a fifth aspect based on the second aspect, the search means searches for connection target devices for all the available frequency bands.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, a search is performed on all available frequency bands, so that it is possible to more reliably find the connection target device.

  In a sixth aspect based on the first aspect, the connection target device specifying information is a BSSID.

  According to the sixth aspect, it is easy to specify the connection target device.

  In a seventh aspect based on the first aspect, the first storage unit can store a plurality of pieces of connection information corresponding to the plurality of connection target devices. In addition, the communication device includes a connection result determination unit that determines whether or not connection establishment by the first connection unit is successful, and a priority that sets connection priorities to a plurality of connection target devices in association with a plurality of pieces of connection information. Setting means. Then, the first determination unit determines whether or not the connection information of the connection target device having a higher connection priority is stored in the first storage unit. As a result of the determination, it is determined that the connection is stored, and as a result of the attempt to establish the connection by the first connection means, the result determination means causes the first connection to the connection target apparatus whose connection priority is set higher. When it is determined that the connection establishment by the means has failed, it is determined whether or not the connection information of the connection target apparatus having the next highest connection priority is stored in the first storage unit.

  In an eighth aspect based on the first aspect, the communication device further includes priority setting means for setting connection priorities to a plurality of connection target devices in association with a plurality of pieces of connection information. Further, the first determination unit determines whether or not the connection information of the connection target device having a higher connection priority is stored in the first storage unit, and the connection information is stored in the first storage unit. When it is determined that the connection priority is not determined, it is determined whether or not the connection information of the connection target apparatus having the next highest connection priority is stored in the first storage unit.

  According to the seventh to eighth inventions, when connection to a connection destination having a high connection priority fails or connection information of a connection destination having a high connection priority is not stored, connection information of the next order In order to check whether or not there is a plurality of connection destinations, the time required to establish a connection with any one of the connection destinations can be further shortened.

  In a ninth aspect based on the seventh or eighth aspect, the communication device further includes priority changing means for changing the connection priority to the plurality of connection target devices.

  According to the ninth aspect, the connection priority can be appropriately set according to the connection status (for example, connection frequency) with each of the plurality of connection target devices.

In a tenth aspect based on the second aspect, the communication apparatus further includes priority setting means for setting connection priorities to a plurality of connection target apparatuses in association with a plurality of connection information. Then, the first determination unit determines whether or not the connection information of the connection target device having a higher connection priority is stored in the first storage unit. When the first determination unit determines that the connection information is not stored in the first storage unit, the search unit searches for the connection target device for which the connection priority is set, and A signal including connection information is received. Then, the second connection unit establishes a connection to the connection target device searched by the search unit.

  According to the tenth aspect, when the connection information of the connection target device set with a higher connection priority is not stored, the connection information of the connection target device set with a higher connection priority. Try to retrieve (specific information) by searching. That is, for example, when the connection information of the first order connection target device is not stored, the search unit searches for the first order connection target device before attempting to connect to the second order connection target device. be able to. As a result, processing that more faithfully follows the set connection priority becomes possible.

  In an eleventh aspect based on the second aspect, the connection information storage means includes frequency band information indicating information on a frequency band used when the connection by the second connection means is established in the connection information. Save in 1 storage. Further, the first connection means performs processing for establishing a connection with respect to the connection target device specified based on the connection target device specifying information, using the frequency band indicated by the stored frequency band information.

  According to the eleventh aspect, when communication is performed using a part of the frequency band (typically, a radio channel) assigned to radio communication of a predetermined standard, once the connection is established, In the connection establishment process, the connection establishment process can be started in a state where the frequency band to be used is designated from the beginning. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the time required for establishing a connection as compared with a case where the entire frequency band is scanned every time connection establishment is attempted and a part of frequency bands used for communication is searched.

  In a twelfth aspect based on the eleventh aspect, the search means is identification information relating to a network to which the connection target device belongs, and includes network identification information and connection target device identification information that are different from the connection target device identification information. A signal including at least the signal is received. The communication device further includes a second storage unit and a second determination unit. The second storage unit stores network identification information. The second determination unit determines whether or not the network identification information included in the signal received by the search unit matches the network identification information stored in the second storage unit. Then, the second connection means searches when the network identification information included in the signal received by the search means matches the network identification information stored in the second storage unit as a result of the determination by the second determination means. The frequency band used when the means receives the signal is specified, and the connection specified by the connection destination apparatus specifying information included in the signal is specified as the connection destination.

  According to the twelfth aspect, only connection target devices having common network identification information (for example, ESSID) can be set as connection targets, and the connection target devices can be searched more efficiently.

In a thirteenth aspect based on the twelfth aspect, the first storage unit can store a plurality of pieces of connection information corresponding to the plurality of connection target devices. The communication device further includes priority setting means for setting connection priorities to a plurality of connection target devices in association with a plurality of connection information. Then, the first determination unit determines whether or not the connection information of the connection target device having a higher connection priority is stored in the first storage unit. When it is determined by the first determination unit that the connection information of the connection target device having a higher connection priority is not stored in the first storage unit, the search unit periodically retrieves from the predetermined connection target device. And a signal including network identification information and connection target device specifying information. Furthermore, the second discrimination means
Whether the network identification information included in the signal received by the search means matches the network identification information stored in the second storage unit for the connection target device set with a higher connection priority. Is determined. When the second determination unit determines that the two match, the second connection unit specifies the connection target device indicated by the connection target specifying information included in the signal received by the search unit as the connection destination and connects I do. The connection information storage means includes connection target specifying information included in the signal received by the search means when the connection by the second connection means is established, and frequency band information indicating the frequency band used for the connection Is stored in the first storage unit as connection information regarding the connection target device with which the connection is established.

  According to the thirteenth aspect, the same effect as in the tenth aspect can be obtained.

  In a fourteenth aspect based on the thirteenth aspect, the second discriminating unit connects to the next of the network identification information stored in the second storage unit when the connection establishment by the second connecting unit fails. It is determined whether or not the network identification information corresponding to the connection target device set with a high priority matches the network identification information included in the received signal.

  According to the fourteenth invention, for example, when a plurality of pieces of connection information set with priorities are stored in the communication device and the connection to the connection target device with the highest priority fails, the next priority is given. It is possible to try to establish a connection to the connection target device. Thereby, it is possible to efficiently connect to the connection target device according to the connection priority.

  In a fifteenth aspect based on the thirteenth aspect, the second determination means is a network corresponding to the connection target apparatus having the next highest connection priority among the network identification information stored in the second storage unit. When it is determined that the identification information and the network identification information included in the received signal do not match, the connection having the next highest connection priority among the network identification information stored in the second storage unit It is determined whether or not the network identification information about the target device matches the network identification information included in the received signal.

  According to the fifteenth aspect, connection to the connection target device can be performed efficiently according to the connection priority.

  In a sixteenth aspect based on the first aspect, the identification information includes frequency band information indicating a frequency band for performing wireless communication with the connection target device. Then, the communication device specifies the frequency band indicated by the frequency band information stored in the first storage unit, searches for the connection target device, and receives a signal including information for time synchronization from the connection target device. And a synchronization means for performing time synchronization with the connection target device based on the time synchronization information.

  In a seventeenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the synchronization means searches for a connection target device by specifying a frequency band and performs time synchronization immediately before the connection by the first connection means is started.

  According to the sixteenth to seventeenth inventions, the reliability of connection with the connection target device can be further increased.

  In an eighteenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the communication apparatus further includes a third storage unit and a synchronized determination unit. The third storage unit stores information indicating whether or not time synchronization has been performed by the synchronization unit. The synchronized determination means refers to the information indicating whether or not the time synchronization stored in the third storage unit is performed before the connection by the first connection means is started, and whether or not the time synchronization has already been performed. Determine whether or not. And only when the synchronization determining means determines that the time synchronization has not yet been performed, the synchronization means searches for the connection target device by specifying the frequency band, performs the time synchronization, and performs the time synchronization. Is stored in the third storage unit.

  In a nineteenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the apparatus further comprises connection result determining means for determining whether or not the connection by the first connecting means is successful. Then, when the connection result determination unit determines that the connection by the first connection unit has failed, the synchronization unit searches the connection target device by specifying the frequency band and performs time synchronization.

  According to the eighteenth to nineteenth inventions, it is possible to further increase the certainty of connection with the connection target device while reducing the time required for establishing the connection.

  A twentieth aspect of the invention is a communication control program that is executed by a computer of a communication device that performs wireless communication with a connection target device, and causes the computer to function as a first determination unit and a first connection unit. The first discriminating unit is configured such that, when an instruction for establishing a connection is issued, connection information including connection target device specifying information that is information that can uniquely specify a predetermined connection target device is a predetermined storage medium. It is determined whether or not it is stored in one storage means. The first connection means connects to the connection target device specified based on the connection target device specifying information by wireless communication when the first determination means determines that the connection information is stored in the first storage means. Process to establish.

  A twenty-first invention is a communication control method for controlling a communication device that performs wireless communication with a connection target device, and includes the following steps. First, when an instruction for establishing a connection is issued, connection information including connection target device specifying information, which is information that can uniquely specify a predetermined connection target device, is stored in a first storage unit that is a predetermined storage medium. The step of determining whether or not it is stored is provided. Next, when it is determined in the determining step that the connection information is stored in the first storage means, a connection for wireless communication is established for the connection target device specified based on the connection target device specifying information. The step which performs a process is provided.

  A twenty-second invention is a communication system including a communication device and a connection target device, and the communication device includes a first storage unit, a first determination unit, and a first connection unit. The first determination means stores, when a command for establishing a connection with a connection target device is issued, connection information including connection target device identification information that is information that can uniquely identify the connection target device in a first storage. It is determined whether it is stored in the copy. The first connection means connects to the connection target device specified based on the connection target device specifying information by wireless communication when the first determination means determines that the connection information is stored in the first storage unit. Process to establish. Further, the connection target device includes a specific information storage unit in which connection target device specific information is stored.

  According to the twentieth to twenty-second inventions, the same effects as in the first invention can be obtained.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the time required for establishing a connection between a communication device and a connection target device.

The figure which shows the whole structure of the network assumed in 1st Embodiment. External view of game device 1 The block diagram which shows an example of the internal structure of the game device 1 The figure which showed typically the concept of the connection establishment process in 1st Embodiment The figure which shows the memory map of the main memory 32 of the game device 1 The flowchart which shows the connection relevant process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which showed the detail of the setting screen process shown by step S3 of FIG. Example of setting screen Example of setting screen The flowchart which showed the detail of the connection establishment process shown by step S5 of FIG. The flowchart which showed the detail of the connection establishment process shown by step S5 of FIG. The flowchart which showed the detail of the connection establishment process shown by step S5 of FIG. The figure which shows the memory map of the main memory 32 of the game device 1 concerning 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which showed a part of connection establishment process concerning 2nd Embodiment. The block diagram which shows an example of the internal structure of the game device 1 concerning 3rd Embodiment. The flowchart which showed a part of connection establishment process concerning 3rd Embodiment. The flowchart which showed a part of connection establishment process concerning 4th Embodiment

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this Example.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a network assumed in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, a so-called infrastructure mode network configuration is assumed, and a user who owns the communication terminal 1 has a wireless LAN access point (hereinafter referred to as AP) installed on the home network of the home 200. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the AP also has a router function.) The case where 100 and the communication terminal 1 are connected by wireless communication will be described as an example. In the present embodiment, as an example of the communication terminal 1, a portable game device (hereinafter simply referred to as a game device) as described below will be described as an example. In the present embodiment, as a wireless communication protocol between the AP 100 and the game apparatus 1, a protocol (for example, IEEE 802.11g) compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard is used.

  It is assumed that so-called ESSID and BSSID, and a frequency channel in which the AP 100 emits radio waves are set in advance and stored in a storage medium (for example, a flash memory) provided in the AP 100.

  FIG. 2 is an external view of the game apparatus 1. In FIG. 2, the game apparatus 1 is a foldable portable game apparatus, and shows the game apparatus 1 in an open state (open state). The game apparatus 1 is configured in such a size that the user can hold it with both hands or one hand even in an open state.

  The game apparatus 1 includes a lower housing 11 and an upper housing 21. The lower housing 11 and the upper housing 21 are connected so as to be openable and closable (foldable). In the example of FIG. 2, the lower housing 11 and the upper housing 21 are each formed in a horizontally-long rectangular plate shape, and are coupled so as to be rotatable at their long side portions. Normally, the user uses the game apparatus 1 in the open state. Further, when the user does not use the game apparatus 1, the user stores the game apparatus 1 in a closed state. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the game apparatus 1 is not limited to the closed state and the open state, and the angle formed by the lower housing 11 and the upper housing 21 is an arbitrary angle between the closed state and the open state. The opening / closing angle can be maintained by a frictional force generated in the connecting portion. That is, the upper housing 21 can be made stationary with respect to the lower housing 11 at an arbitrary angle.

The lower housing 11 is provided with a lower LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 12. The lower LCD 12 has a horizontally long shape, and is arranged such that the long side direction coincides with the long side direction of the lower housing 11. In the present embodiment, an LCD is used as the display device built in the game apparatus 1, but other arbitrary display devices such as a display device using EL (Electro Luminescence) are used. May be. The game apparatus 1 can use a display device having an arbitrary resolution. Although details will be described later, the lower LCD 12 is mainly used to display an image taken by the inner camera 23 or the outer camera 25 in real time.

  The lower housing 11 is provided with operation buttons 14A to 14K and a touch panel 13 as input devices. As shown in FIG. 2, among the operation buttons 14A to 14K, the direction input button 14A, the operation button 14B, the operation button 14C, the operation button 14D, the operation button 14E, the power button 14F, the start button 14G, and the select button 14H. Is provided on the inner main surface of the lower housing 11 which is the inner side when the upper housing 21 and the lower housing 11 are folded. The direction input button 14A is used for, for example, a selection operation. The operation buttons 14B to 14E are used for, for example, a determination operation or a cancel operation. The power button 14F is used for turning on / off the power of the game apparatus 1. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the direction input button 14 </ b> A and the power button 14 </ b> F are on the left and right sides (left side in FIG. 2) of the main surface with respect to the lower LCD 12 provided near the center of the inner main surface of the lower housing 11. Provided on top. Further, the operation buttons 14B to 14E, the start button 14G, and the select button 14H are provided on the inner main surface of the lower housing 11 that is on the other left and right side (right side in FIG. 2) with respect to the lower LCD 12. The direction input button 14A, the operation buttons 14B to 14E, the start button 14G, and the select button 14H are used for performing various operations on the game apparatus 1.

  In FIG. 2, the operation buttons 14I to 14K are not shown. For example, the L button 14I is provided at the left end portion of the upper side surface of the lower housing 11, and the R button 14J is provided at the right end portion of the upper side surface of the lower housing 11. The L button 14I and the R button 14J are used to perform, for example, a shooting instruction operation (shutter operation) on the game apparatus 1. Furthermore, the volume button 14K is provided on the left side surface of the lower housing 11. The volume button 14K is used to adjust the volume of the speaker provided in the game apparatus 1.

  Further, the game apparatus 1 further includes a touch panel 13 as an input device different from the operation buttons 14A to 14K. The touch panel 13 is mounted so as to cover the screen of the lower LCD 12. In the present embodiment, for example, a resistive film type touch panel is used as the touch panel 13. However, the touch panel 13 is not limited to the resistive film type, and any pressing type touch panel can be used. In the present embodiment, as the touch panel 13, for example, a touch panel having the same resolution (detection accuracy) as that of the lower LCD 12 is used. However, the resolution of the touch panel 13 and the resolution of the lower LCD 12 are not necessarily matched. Further, an insertion port (broken line shown in FIG. 2) is provided on the right side surface of the lower housing 11. The insertion opening can accommodate a touch pen 27 used for performing an operation on the touch panel 13. In addition, although the input with respect to the touch panel 13 is normally performed using the touch pen 27, it is also possible to operate the touch panel 13 not only with the touch pen 27 but with a user's finger | toe.

  Further, on the right side surface of the lower housing 11, an insertion slot (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2) for storing the memory card 28 is provided. A connector (not shown) for electrically connecting the game apparatus 1 and the memory card 28 is provided inside the insertion slot. The memory card 28 is, for example, an SD (Secure Digital) memory card, and is detachably attached to the connector. The memory card 28 is used, for example, for storing (saving) an image photographed by the game apparatus 1 or reading an image generated by another apparatus into the game apparatus 1.

  Further, an insertion port (indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 2) for accommodating the cartridge 29 is provided on the upper side surface of the lower housing 11. A connector (not shown) for electrically connecting the game apparatus 1 and the cartridge 29 is also provided inside the insertion slot. The cartridge 29 is a recording medium on which, for example, a game program is recorded, and is detachably attached to an insertion port provided in the lower housing 11.

  Three LEDs 15 </ b> A to 15 </ b> C are attached to the left portion of the connecting portion between the lower housing 11 and the upper housing 21. Here, the game apparatus 1 can perform wireless communication with other devices, and the first LED 15A is lit when the power of the game apparatus 1 is on. The second LED 15B is lit while the game apparatus 1 is being charged. The third LED 15C is lit when wireless communication is established. Therefore, the three LEDs 15A to 15C can notify the user of the power on / off status of the game apparatus 1, the charging status, and the communication establishment status.

  On the other hand, the upper housing 21 is provided with an upper LCD 22. The upper LCD 22 has a horizontally long shape and is arranged such that the long side direction coincides with the long side direction of the upper housing 21. As in the case of the lower LCD 12, instead of the upper LCD 22, a display device having any other method and any resolution may be used. A touch panel may be provided so as to cover the upper LCD 22. For example, the upper LCD 22 displays an operation explanation screen for teaching the user the roles of the operation buttons 14 </ b> A to 14 </ b> K and the touch panel 13.

  The upper housing 21 is provided with two cameras (an inner camera 23 and an outer camera 25). As shown in FIG. 2, the inner camera 23 is attached to the inner main surface near the connecting portion of the upper housing 21. On the other hand, the outer camera 25 is a surface on the opposite side of the inner main surface to which the inner camera 23 is attached, that is, the outer main surface of the upper housing 21 (the outer surface when the game apparatus 1 is in a closed state, It is attached to the rear surface of the upper housing 21 shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the outer camera 25 is indicated by a broken line. As a result, the inner camera 23 can shoot in the direction in which the inner main surface of the upper housing 21 faces, and the outer camera 25 can capture the direction opposite to the shooting direction of the inner camera 23, that is, the outer main surface of the upper housing 21. It is possible to photograph the direction in which the surface faces. As described above, in the present embodiment, the two inner cameras 23 and the outer cameras 25 are provided so that the shooting directions are opposite to each other. For example, the user can shoot a scene viewed from the game apparatus 1 with the inner camera 23 and shoot a scene viewed from the game apparatus 1 in the direction opposite to the user with the outer camera 25. Can do.

  Note that a microphone (a microphone 42 shown in FIG. 3) is accommodated as an audio input device on the inner main surface near the connecting portion. A microphone hole 16 is formed on the inner main surface near the connecting portion so that the microphone 42 can detect the sound outside the game apparatus 1. The position where the microphone 42 is accommodated and the position of the microphone hole 16 do not necessarily have to be the connecting portion. For example, the microphone 42 is accommodated in the lower housing 11, and the microphone 42 corresponds to the accommodation position in the lower housing 11. A microphone hole 16 may be provided.

  A fourth LED 26 (shown by a broken line in FIG. 2) is attached to the outer main surface of the upper housing 21. The fourth LED 26 is lit when the outer camera 25 has taken a picture (the shutter button has been pressed). Further, it is lit while a moving image is shot by the outer camera 25. The fourth LED 26 can notify the subject to be photographed and the surroundings that photographing by the game apparatus 1 has been performed (performed).

In addition, sound release holes 24 are formed in the main surfaces on both the left and right sides of the upper LCD 22 provided near the center of the inner main surface of the upper housing 21. A speaker is housed in the upper housing 21 behind the sound release hole 24. The sound release hole 24 is a hole for releasing sound from the speaker to the outside of the game apparatus 1.

  As described above, the upper housing 21 includes the inner camera 23 and the outer camera 25 that are configured to capture an image, and the upper LCD 22 that is a display unit that displays an operation explanation screen at the time of shooting, for example. Provided. On the other hand, the lower housing 11 is provided with an input device (touch panel 13 and buttons 14A to 14K) for performing an operation input to the game apparatus 1 and a lower LCD 12 which is a display means for displaying a game screen. It is done. Therefore, when using the game apparatus 1, the user grasps the lower housing 11 and performs input to the input device while viewing a captured image (image captured by the camera) displayed on the lower LCD 12. be able to.

  Next, the internal configuration of the game apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the game apparatus 1.

  3, the game apparatus 1 includes a CPU 31, a main memory 32, a memory control circuit 33, a storage data memory 34, a preset data memory 35, a memory card interface (memory card I / F) 36 and a cartridge I / F 44, wireless Electronic components such as a communication module 37, a local communication module 38, a real-time clock (RTC) 39, a power supply circuit 40, and an interface circuit (I / F circuit) 41 are provided. These electronic components are mounted on an electronic circuit board and housed in the lower housing 11 (or the upper housing 21).

  The CPU 31 is information processing means for executing a predetermined program. In the present embodiment, a predetermined program is stored in a memory (for example, the storage data memory 34) or the memory card 28 and / or 29 in the game apparatus 1, and the CPU 31 executes the predetermined program, thereby A connection establishment process to be described later is executed. Note that the program executed by the CPU 31 may be stored in advance in the memory in the game apparatus 1, may be acquired from the memory card 28 and / or the cartridge 29, or may be obtained by communication with other devices. May be obtained from other devices. For example, it may be obtained by downloading from a predetermined server via the Internet, or by downloading a predetermined program stored in the stationary game device by communicating with the stationary game device. You may get at.

  A main memory 32, a memory control circuit 33, and a preset data memory 35 are connected to the CPU 31. In addition, a storage data memory 34 is connected to the memory control circuit 33. The main memory 32 is a storage means used as a work area or buffer area for the CPU 31. In the present embodiment, for example, a PSRAM (Pseudo-SRAM) is used as the main memory 32. The storage data memory 34 is a storage unit for storing a program executed by the CPU 31, data of images taken by the inner camera 23 and the outer camera 25, and the like. The storage data memory 34 is configured by a nonvolatile storage medium, and is configured by, for example, a NAND flash memory in this embodiment. The memory control circuit 33 is a circuit that controls reading and writing of data with respect to the storage data memory 34 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 31. The preset data memory 35 is storage means for storing data (preset data) such as various parameters set in advance in the game apparatus 1. As the preset data memory 35, a flash memory connected to the CPU 31 via an SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) bus can be used.

The memory card I / F 36 is connected to the CPU 31. The memory card I / F 36 reads and writes data to and from the memory card 28 attached to the connector according to instructions from the CPU 31. In the present embodiment, image data captured by the outer camera 25 is written to the memory card 28, or image data stored in the memory card 28 is read from the memory card 28 and stored in the storage data memory 34. To do.

  The cartridge I / F 44 is connected to the CPU 31. The cartridge I / F 44 reads and writes data to and from the cartridge 29 attached to the connector according to instructions from the CPU 31. In the present embodiment, an application program that can be executed by the game apparatus 1 is read from the cartridge 29 and executed by the CPU 31, or data related to the application program (for example, game save data) is written to the cartridge 29. Or

  Note that the program related to the connection processing according to the present embodiment may be supplied not only to the computer system through an external storage medium such as the cartridge 29 but also to the computer system through a wired or wireless communication line. The program related to the connection process may be recorded in advance in a nonvolatile storage device inside the computer system. The information storage medium for storing the program related to the connection process is not limited to the nonvolatile storage device, but may be a CD-ROM, a DVD, or an optical disk storage medium similar to them.

  The wireless communication module 37 is, for example, IEEE 802.11. It has a function of connecting to a wireless LAN by a method compliant with the b / g standard. The local communication module 38 has a function of performing wireless communication with the same type of game device by a predetermined communication method. The wireless communication module 37 and the local communication module 38 are connected to the CPU 31. The CPU 31 transmits / receives data to / from other devices via the Internet using the wireless communication module 37, and transmits / receives data to / from other game devices of the same type using the local communication module 38. be able to.

  Further, the RTC 39 and the power supply circuit 40 are connected to the CPU 31. The RTC 39 counts the time and outputs it to the CPU 31. For example, the CPU 31 can calculate the current time (date) based on the time counted by the RTC 39. The power supply circuit 40 controls power supplied from a power supply (typically a battery, which is stored in the lower housing 11) of the game apparatus 1, and supplies power to each component of the game apparatus 1.

  In addition, the game apparatus 1 includes a microphone 42 and an amplifier 43. The microphone 42 and the amplifier 43 are each connected to the I / F circuit 41. The microphone 42 detects the voice of the user uttered toward the game apparatus 1 and outputs a voice signal indicating the voice to the I / F circuit 41. The amplifier 43 amplifies the audio signal from the I / F circuit 41 and outputs it from a speaker (not shown). The I / F circuit 41 is connected to the CPU 31.

The touch panel 13 is connected to the I / F circuit 41. The I / F circuit 41 includes a voice control circuit that controls the microphone 42 and the amplifier 43 (speaker), and a touch panel control circuit that controls the touch panel 13. The voice control circuit performs A / D conversion and D / A conversion on the voice signal, or converts the voice signal into voice data of a predetermined format. The touch panel control circuit generates touch position data in a predetermined format based on a signal from the touch panel 13 and outputs it to the CPU 31. For example, the touch position data is data indicating coordinates of a position where an input is performed on the input surface of the touch panel 13. The touch panel control circuit reads signals from the touch panel 13 and generates touch position data at a rate of once per predetermined time. The CPU 31 can know the position where the input is performed on the touch panel 13 by acquiring the touch position data via the I / F circuit 41.

  The operation button 14 includes the operation buttons 14A to 14K and is connected to the CPU 31. From the operation button 14 to the CPU 31, operation data indicating an input status (whether or not the button is pressed) for each of the operation buttons 14A to 14K is output. The CPU 31 obtains operation data from the operation button 14 to execute processing corresponding to the input to the operation button 14.

  The inner camera 23 and the outer camera 25 are each connected to the CPU 31. The inner camera 23 and the outer camera 25 capture an image in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 31 and output the captured image data to the CPU 31. In the present embodiment, the CPU 31 issues a shooting instruction to one of the inner camera 23 and the outer camera 25, and the camera that has received the shooting instruction takes an image and sends the image data to the CPU 31.

  Further, the lower LCD 12 and the upper LCD 22 are each connected to the CPU 31. The lower LCD 12 and the upper LCD 22 display images according to instructions from the CPU 31, respectively.

  Next, an overview of connection establishment processing assumed in the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the following processing is executed when establishing a connection between various communication terminals (game device 1 in the present embodiment) and communication device (AP 100 in the present embodiment) in wireless communication. First, information that can uniquely identify the connection target device (AP 100 in the present embodiment), in other words, information that can individually specify the connection target device is stored in the game device 1. In addition, information on a wireless channel used for wireless communication (for example, channel number. In the case of IEEE802.11g as an example, channel 1 to channel 13) is also stored in the game apparatus 1 (a specific storage method will be described later). When the game device 1 issues an instruction for establishing a connection with the AP 100 (for example, included in the connection instruction to the Internet issued in the game program), the stored information is stored. The process of starting the connection establishment process from a state where the AP 100 (that is, the connection destination) and the channel to be used for communication are already specified is executed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the concept of the connection establishment process in the first embodiment in comparison with the conventional connection establishment process. In FIG. 4, the flow of time is indicated by an arrow heading from left to right (right arrow at the center of FIG. 4), the conventional connection establishment process is shown above the arrow, and the connection establishment in the present embodiment is shown below. The flow of processing is shown. In the conventional process, first, when a connection establishment request is issued in some form in the game apparatus 1, all available wireless channels are scanned by passive scan or active scan (ESSID designation). A search for AP100 is performed (processing F1 in FIG. 4).

  Next, in the case of passive scan, the BSSID and the used channel number are extracted from the beacon frame received by the game apparatus 1 and in the case of active scan, from the probe response frame received by the game apparatus 1 ( Process F2 in FIG. The BSSID is generally represented by a MAC address. That is, here, it is represented by the MAC address of the AP 100.

Then, various frames (association request frame or the like) in which the BSSID is set as a destination address are generated, and an authentication request or a connection request is transmitted to the AP 100 via the wireless channel indicated by the use channel number (processing) F3 to F4 are repeated as necessary) to establish a connection relationship with the AP 100. Such processing is performed every time a connection request is issued in the game apparatus 1. This is because, for public wireless LAN services, etc., the wireless channel and BSSID differ depending on the location of the AP, but there are multiple APs that have the same ESSID and are connected to any of them. This is because of this.

  On the other hand, in the first embodiment, once the connection with the home AP 100 is established (that is, the connection is successful) by the processing as described above, the BSSID of the AP 100 and the wireless used for the communication at that time. The channel number of the channel is stored in the game apparatus 1. After that, when the connection is disconnected and then a connection request is issued again in the game apparatus 1, the stored BSSID and channel number are read out without performing the above-described scanning process (process F1). (Process F11). Then, various frames specifying the read BSSID as a destination address are generated, and the frames are transmitted via the radio channel having the read channel number (processes F12 and F13), and connection with the AP 100 is attempted.

  The reason for adopting such a configuration is as follows. For example, in the case where only the same AP is always connected, such as a home network, there is little possibility that the BSSID and the channel used will change. Therefore, there is little need to respecify the BSSID and the used channel every time a connection request is issued. Further, when there are more scenes where the user connects to the AP 100 of the home network than the AP of the public wireless LAN service or the like, it is more convenient for the user to connect to the AP 100 of the home network in a shorter time. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the BSSID of the AP 100 once successfully connected and the channel number used at that time are stored in the game apparatus 1. In the subsequent connection establishment process, the connection establishment process is started from the state in which the channel used for communication with the AP 100 (that is, the destination address) as the connection destination is specified using the saved BSSID and the used channel number. To do. As a result, the time required for the passive scan or the active scan that has been conventionally performed is reduced, and the time for establishing the connection between the game apparatus 1 and the AP 100 can be reduced. In the following description, in order to distinguish from the conventional connection establishment method, the connection method for connecting to the AP 100 using the stored BSSID and the used channel number as described above is referred to as “direct connection”.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when performing the direct connection as described above, in order to connect with the AP 100 more reliably, an active scan process (probe request / response) specifying the used channel number is performed, so-called A TSF (Time Synchronization Function) timer is synchronized (a TSF timer is a counter used for time synchronization between the AP and the communication terminal). As a result, time synchronization is achieved on the transmission side / reception side, and more stable transmission / reception is possible. In the following description, this process is called “synchronous scanning”. Since the synchronous scan is performed by designating a radio channel based on the stored channel number, the time required to receive a probe response frame is shorter than the conventional active scan for scanning all channels.

Next, details of connection-related processing (processing including the connection establishment processing) executed by the game apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. First, data stored in the main memory 32 during connection-related processing will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a memory map of the main memory 32 of the game apparatus 1. In FIG. 5, the main memory 32 includes a program storage area 321, a data storage area 325, and a temporary storage area 327. Each program in the program storage area 321 is stored, for example, in the cartridge 29 or the storage data memory 34, and is transferred to the main memory 32 and stored when the program for connection-related processing is executed. The data in the data storage area 325 is stored in the storage data memory 34, and is transferred to the main memory 32 and stored when the program for connection-related processing is executed. These programs and data may be provided on a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk in addition to the cartridge 29 or the storage data memory 34, or may be provided on a predetermined server or game via a wired network or a wireless network. The program may be provided by downloading from a device or the like (that is, the downloaded program or data may be stored in the main memory 32). On the other hand, the data in the temporary storage area 327 is data that is appropriately generated and temporarily stored in the connection-related processing according to the present embodiment.

  The program storage area 321 stores a program executed by the CPU 31, and this program includes a main processing program 322, a setting processing program 323, a connection establishment processing program 324, and the like. The main processing program 322 is a program corresponding to the processing of the flowchart of FIG. The setting processing program 323 is a program for causing the CPU 31 to execute processing for setting information (profile) related to wireless connection in advance, and the connection establishment processing program 324 performs processing for establishing a connection with the AP 100. It is a program for causing the CPU 31 to execute.

  The data storage area 325 stores data such as first AP setting data 326a, second AP setting data 326b, and third AP setting data 326c. These data are connection information (profile) used for connection to a predetermined AP. In this embodiment, connection information for three APs can be stored. In addition, a priority order (connection priority) used when establishing a connection as described later is provided between these three pieces of data. In this embodiment, the first AP setting data 326a has the highest priority order. It is assumed that the third AP setting data 326c has the lowest priority. Hereinafter, these data may be collectively referred to simply as AP setting data 326. Moreover, in order to show any one of these data, it may be called "nth AP setting data" (n is an intention which shows either 1-3). Each AP setting data 326 includes a set ESSID 3261, a set BSSID 3262, and a set channel number 3263, respectively. The set ESSID 3261 is data indicating the ESSID of the wireless network to be connected. For example, taking the first AP setting data 326a as an example, it is data indicating the ESSID of the first AP. In the present embodiment, the set ESSID 3261 is set based on a user input operation in a setting process described later (that is, manually set).

  The set BSSID 3262 is data indicating the BSSID (generally a MAC address) of the AP to be connected. The set channel number 3263 is data indicating a wireless channel number used for wireless communication with the AP to be connected. The set BSSID 3262 and the set channel number 3263 are automatically set when a connection with a predetermined AP is established as part of a connection establishment process described later.

  Each AP setting data 326 stores a WEP key, a WPA key, and the like, which are information necessary for encrypted communication, as necessary, in addition to the above data.

  The AP setting data is stored in the storage data memory 34 by appropriately copying the AP setting data from the main memory 32 to the storage data memory 34.

  The temporary storage area 327 stores a connection success flag 328 and beacon data 329. The connection success flag 328 is a flag for indicating whether or not the connection with the AP is successful as a result of the connection establishment process. The connection success flag 328 is set to on when the connection is successful and off when the connection is unsuccessful.

The beacon data 329 stores the beacon frame received by the passive scan executed in the connection establishment process described later. Further, the beacon data 329 is added every time a beacon frame is received, and is indicated as “beacon data 1” to “beacon data m” in FIG. Each beacon data 329 is received ES
SID 3291, reception BSSID 3292, reception channel number 3293, and the like. The received ESSID 3291 is data storing the ESSID included in the received beacon frame. The reception BSSID 3292 is data in which the BSSID included in the received beacon frame is stored. The reception channel number 3293 is data that stores the number of the wireless channel included in the received beacon frame. That is, the reception channel number 3293 indicates the number of the wireless channel used for transmission of the received beacon. In other words, information indicating the number of the wireless channel used by the originating AP for wireless communication. It is.

  The temporary storage area 327 also stores various flags used in each process described later.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 12, connection related processing executed by the game apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of connection-related processing executed in the game apparatus 1. When the power of the game apparatus 1 is turned on, the CPU 31 of the game apparatus 1 executes a startup program stored in a boot ROM (not shown), and each unit such as the main memory 32 is initialized. Then, various programs stored in the cartridge 29 and AP setting data 326 stored in the storage data memory 34 are read into the main memory 32, and execution of the connection related processing program is started. As a result, a predetermined image is displayed on the lower LCD 12, and the processing according to the present embodiment is started. In the present embodiment, processing in situations other than connection-related processing (for example, specific contents of game processing, etc.) is not directly related to the present invention and will not be described.

  First, in step S1, the main screen of the game apparatus 1 is displayed. The main screen is, for example, a menu screen, and the user can start various applications such as “game processing” and “camera processing” from this menu, or can start “processing for communication setting”. Can do. And the predetermined operation input from a user is received.

  Next, in step S2, it is determined whether or not an input for starting the “processing for communication setting” is made from the player on the menu screen. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that an input for starting the “communication setting process” is made from the player (YES in step S2), a setting screen process is executed in step S3. In this process, a process for setting connection information used when connecting to the AP is executed based on a user input. Details of this processing will be described later. When the process ends, the process returns to step S1.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that an input for starting the “communication setting process” is not made by the player (NO in step S2), a “connection instruction” is issued in step S4. It is determined whether or not. The issuance of the “connection instruction” is issued, for example, in a process related to the communication game by starting a predetermined communication game from the menu screen. In addition, for example, it is issued when an Internet browser program is started from the menu screen.

  As a result of the determination in step S4, when it is determined that the “connection instruction” has not been issued (NO in step S4), the process returns to step S1 and the process is repeated (game processing or a predetermined application from the menu screen). If is activated, processing for the game or application is continued).

On the other hand, if it is determined as a result of the determination in step S4 that a “connection instruction” has been issued (YES in step S4), a connection establishment process for establishing a connection with the AP is executed in step S5. Details of this processing will be described later.

  Next, when the connection establishment process is completed, it is determined in step S6 whether or not the connection is successful as a result of the process. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the connection success flag 328 is set to ON. As a result, when it is determined that it is set to OFF (NO in step S6), the process returns to step S1 and the process is repeated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the connection success flag 328 is set to ON (YES in step S6), in step S7, a predetermined process using the network via the established AP is executed. For example, a communication battle game process or the like is executed. And if the said process is complete | finished, it will return to the process of step S1. For example, as a result of the user ending the communication game process, the menu screen is displayed.

  Next, details of the setting screen process shown in step S3 will be described. In this process, a setting screen is displayed, and the process of setting the ESSID of the AP to be connected is executed according to the user's input. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing details of the setting screen process. First, in step S <b> 11, a screen for communication setting is generated and displayed on the lower LCD 12. FIG. 8 shows an example of the screen. On this screen, setting buttons 111a, 111b, and 111c corresponding to each of the three AP setting data 326 are displayed (hereinafter, these buttons may be collectively referred to as a setting button 111). Each button also displays information indicating whether the corresponding AP setting data 326 has been set. FIG. 8 shows an example in which none of the AP setting data 326 is set. Therefore, the characters “not set” are displayed on each setting button 111. If the AP setting data 326 is the set button 111 that has been set, for example, “access point 1” or the set ESSID is displayed, for example, indicating that the setting has already been set.

  Also, in FIG. 8, it is assumed that AP setting data 326a, 326b, and 326c correspond to the setting buttons 111 in order from the top. In addition, on the left side of each setting button 111, characters “connection destination 1” to “connection destination 3” are displayed with the label-like intention of each setting button 111. Hereinafter, the connection destination AP in the AP setting data 326a corresponding to the setting button 111a is referred to as “connection destination 1”. Similarly, APs corresponding to the setting button 111b and the setting button 111c are also referred to as “connection destination 2” and “connection destination 3”. Then, the user can display a setting screen of the AP setting data 326 corresponding to the button by an operation of selecting one of the three setting buttons (for example, an operation of touching the button).

  Here, in FIG. 8, the arrangement of the setting buttons 111 also indicates the priority of connection to the AP, and the AP corresponding to the setting button 111 arranged above has a higher priority. More specifically, when a connection instruction is issued, first, connection to “connection destination 1” is attempted, and when connection to “connection destination 1” fails, connection to “connection destination 2” is attempted. When the connection to “connection destination 2” also fails, connection to “connection destination 3” is attempted. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the priority order can be changed by dragging the setting button 111 in the vertical direction. For example, in the example of FIG. 8, when the setting button 111 a is dragged to the position of the setting button 111 b, an animation is displayed in which the display positions of the setting button 111 a and the setting button 111 b are switched, and the priority order of both is set. Change. More specifically, the priority is changed by replacing the AP setting data 326a corresponding to the setting button 111a and the AP setting data 326b corresponding to the setting button 111b (that is, the AP setting data 326b before the change is changed). In accordance with the change operation, the AP setting data 326a is reset, and the AP setting data 326a before the change is reset as the AP setting data 326b).

  Returning to FIG. 7, in step S12, it is determined whether or not any of the three setting buttons 111 has been selected by the user. As a result, when it is determined that one of the setting buttons has been selected (YES in step S12), in step S13, the selected setting button 111 is a setting button in which “unset” as described above is displayed. Whether or not 111 is determined. That is, it is determined whether or not the setting button 111 corresponding to the unset AP setting data 326 has been selected. As a result, when it is determined that the “unset” setting button 111 has been selected (YES in step S13), it is considered that the setting operation is performed on the unset AP setting data. Processing proceeds.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the “unset” setting button 111 is not selected (NO in step S13), next, in step S14, the AP setting data 326 corresponding to the selected setting button 111 is updated. A screen showing the settings at that time is displayed. At the same time, input from the user is accepted. FIG. 9 shows an example of the screen. In the screen shown in FIG. 9, ESSID, BSSID, and used channel number are respectively displayed as the setting contents of “connection destination 1”. In addition, a “setting change” button 112 and a “return” button 113 are also displayed. The user can change the setting contents of the ESSID by selecting the “change setting” button 112. Further, the user can return to the screen of FIG. 8 by selecting the “return” button 113. In FIG. 9, the BSSID and the used channel number are displayed only when the data exists in the AP setting data 326. As will be described below, in the setting screen process, only the ESSID is input by the user. Therefore, only the ESSID is stored in the AP setting data 326, and the BSSID and the used channel number remain unset.

  Returning to FIG. 7, in the subsequent step S <b> 15, it is determined whether or not the “setting change” button 112 has been selected by the user on the screen showing the setting contents. As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the “setting change” button 112 has been selected (YES in step S15), a setting input screen is displayed in the next step S16, and input from the user is accepted. . Although not shown, this setting input screen is a screen on which ESSID can be input. For example, the display color of the field portion where the value of ESSID in FIG. A screen with a cursor in the field is displayed. At this time, an “input completion” button is also appropriately displayed on the setting input screen. Then, when the user completes the ESSID input operation, by selecting the “input complete” button, the input content is confirmed, and the process proceeds to the next step S17. Here, the beacon is scanned in each channel, all the received beacons that contain the ESSID are displayed in a list, and the user is allowed to select any one of the beacons that are displayed in a list. May be input.

  In step S17, the AP setting data 326 is updated based on the content input by the user. More specifically, the set ESSID 3261 of the corresponding AP setting data 326 (first AP setting data 326a in the example of FIG. 9) is updated with the value of the ESSID input by the user on the setting input screen. (At this timing, the updated AP setting data 326 on the main memory 32 is copied to the storage data memory 34). Thereafter, the process returns to step S11 and the process is repeated.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S15 that the “setting change” button has not been selected (NO in step S15), whether or not the “return” button 113 has been selected in step S18. If it is determined that the “return” button 113 has been selected (YES in step S18), the process returns to step S11, and if it is determined that the “return” button 113 has not been selected. (NO in step S18), the process returns to step S14.

  Next, a process when it is determined that none of the three setting buttons 111 corresponding to the AP setting data 326a to 326c has been selected as a result of the determination in step S12 (NO in step S12) will be described. At this time, in step S19, it is determined whether or not a priority change operation has been performed. The priority order changing operation is an operation of dragging one of the setting buttons 111 in the vertical direction so as to change the arrangement order of the setting buttons 111 as described above. Here, as an example, a case where the setting button 111a is dragged to the position of the setting button 111b in FIG. 8 will be described as an example. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that an operation for changing the priority order has been performed (YES in step S19), the content of the AP setting data 326 is exchanged in accordance with the content of the drag operation in step S20. In this example, processing for exchanging the contents of the first AP setting data 326a and the second AP setting data 326b is executed. In the subsequent step S21, the display content is changed in accordance with the drag operation, that is, the display position of the setting button 111 is also changed. In this example, a process of switching the display position of the setting button 111a and the display position of the setting button 111b is executed. Thereafter, the process returns to step S11.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S19 that the priority changing operation has not been performed (NO in step S19), next, in step S22, whether or not an operation for ending the setting screen has been performed. Is determined. As a result, when it is determined that the end operation has not been performed (NO in step S22), the process returns to step S11, and when it is determined that the end operation has been performed (YES in step S22). The setting screen process ends.

  Next, details of the connection establishment process according to step S5 in FIG. 6 will be described. 10 to 12 are flowcharts showing details of the connection establishment process. First, in step S41, “1” is set to the variable n. This variable is a variable for designating any one of the above three “connection destinations” (any one of the AP setting data 326a to 326c). For example, if n = 1, the first AP setting data 326a is designated.

  Next, in step S42, the n-th AP setting data (n is a number indicated by the variable n) is referred to and it is determined whether the set ESSID 3261 is stored. That is, it is determined whether it is an unset state or an ESSID is set (by the setting screen process described above). As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the set ESSID 3261 is not stored in the nAP setting data (NO in step S42), the process proceeds to step S49 described later. On the other hand, when it is determined that the set ESSID 3261 is stored in the nAP setting data (YES in step S42), the set BSSID 3262 and the set channel number 3263 are stored in the nAP setting data in the next step S43. It is determined whether or not it has been done. That is, it is determined whether there is a track record of successful connection in the past. As described above, in this embodiment, when the connection with the AP is successful, the BSSID and the used channel number are saved.

As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the set BSSID 3262 and the set channel number 3263 are not stored in the nth AP setting data (NO in step S43), the process proceeds to step S49 described later. On the other hand, when it is determined that the set BSSID 3262 and the set channel number 3263 are stored in the nAP setting data (YES in step S43), the radio channel indicated by the set channel number 3263 in the subsequent step S44. Then, the above “synchronous scan” is executed. More specifically, a probe request frame is transmitted to the radio channel indicated by the set channel number 3263. In the probe request frame, the set ESSID 3261 is set as the network to be searched (its ID). On the AP side, when the probe request frame is received, the AP 100 determines whether the ESSID stored in its own storage medium matches the ESSID included in the probe request frame. In the case, a probe response frame including a TSF timer value is transmitted.

  Next, in step S45, it is determined whether a probe response frame for the probe request frame has been received within a predetermined time (for example, a preset channel monitoring time). As a result, when it is determined that the probe response frame has not been received within the predetermined time (NO in step S45), the process proceeds to step S49 described later. On the other hand, when it is determined that the probe response frame has been received within the predetermined time (YES in step S45), the TSF timer synchronization process as described above is executed in the next step S46. Specifically, first, the value of the TSF timer included in the probe response frame is extracted. Then, a process of adjusting the timer on the game apparatus 1 side to the value of the TSF timer is executed.

  When the synchronization of the TSF timer is finished, next, in step S47, a process of attempting the above-mentioned “direct connection” with respect to the AP 100 is executed. More specifically, first, the set BSSID 3262 stored in the nth AP setting data is acquired. Next, various frames (for example, an authentication request frame, a connection request frame, etc.) for establishing a connection are generated by setting the value of the set BSSID 3262 as a destination address. Then, the generated frame is transmitted using the radio channel indicated by the set channel number 3263 stored in the n-th AP setting data. Thereafter, if there is a response from the AP 100, various frames for establishing connection with the AP 100 are transmitted and received, and processing for establishing a connection with the AP 100 is executed.

  Next, in step S48, it is determined whether or not a connection with the AP 100 has been established (whether or not the connection has been successful) as a result of attempting the “direct connection”. As a result, when it is determined that a connection has been established (YES in step S48), the process proceeds to step S62 described later, and the connection establishment process ends.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the connection has not been established (NO in step S48), it is determined in step S49 whether or not the value of the variable n is “3”. That is, it is determined whether or not direct connection is attempted to all three “connection destinations”. As a result, when it is determined that the variable n is not “3” (NO in step S49), 1 is added to the variable n in step S50. And it returns to said step S42 and a process is repeated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the variable n is “3” as a result of the determination (YES in step S49), it is considered that direct connection has failed in all three APs (connection destinations). In the process, a process of searching for an AP using passive scan and attempting connection is executed. Specifically, first, in step S51 of FIG. 1, it is determined whether or not all the available radio channels have been passively scanned. As a result, when it is determined that all the radio channels are not yet passively scanned (NO in step S51), in step S52, a radio channel that has not yet been passively scanned is selected. Here, the selection order (scanning order) is arbitrary. For example, scanning may be performed in the order of channels 1, 2, 3,..., Or odd numbers such as channels 1, 3, 5,... 13, 2, 4, 6. The wireless channels of the even number may be scanned after the first wireless channel is scanned first.

Next, in step S53, processing for starting standby for receiving a beacon frame in the selected wireless channel is executed (that is, waiting for a beacon frame is started).

  Next, in step S54, it is determined whether a beacon frame is received. As a result, when it is determined that a beacon frame has not been received (NO in step S54), it is determined in step S55 whether a predetermined standby time (for example, 200 ms) has elapsed. As a result, when it is determined that the standby time has not elapsed (NO in step S55), the process returns to step S54 and continues to wait for a beacon frame.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the beacon frame has been received as a result of the determination in step S54 (YES in step S54), in step S56, the received beacon frame is the beacon data m (m is a number starting from 1, Is incremented one by one) and stored in the temporary storage area 327. Then, the process returns to step S51, and the process of passively scanning other radio channels that have not been scanned yet is repeated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S51 that all radio channels have been passively scanned (YES in step S51), next, in step S57 of FIG. 12, "1" is set to the variable n. The In subsequent step S58, it is determined whether or not beacon data 329 including the same ESSID as the already set ESSID 3261 stored in the nth AP setting data is stored in the beacon data group stored in the temporary storage area 327. The As a result, when it is determined that it is stored (YES in step S58), in step S581, a process for synchronizing the TSF timer is executed. Specifically, first, the value of the TSF timer included in the beacon data 329 including the same ESSID as the set ESSID 3261 is extracted. Then, a process of adjusting the timer on the game apparatus 1 side to the value of the TSF timer is executed.

  Next, in step S59, the received BSSID 3292 included in the beacon data 329 is acquired, and a connection request frame in which the received BSSID 3292 is set as a destination is generated. Then, a connection request is made to the AP by transmitting the generated frame using the wireless channel indicated by the reception channel number 3293 included in the beacon data 329. Thereafter, transmission and reception of various frames for establishing a connection with the AP is performed.

  Next, in step S60, it is determined whether or not the connection with the AP has been established (successful). As a result, when it is determined that the connection with the AP has not been established (NO in step S60), the process proceeds to step S63 described later. On the other hand, when it is determined that the connection with the AP has been established (YES in step S60), in the next step S61, the radio channel number and BSSID used for the connection with the current AP are stored in the nth AP setting data. save. That is, the number of the radio channel used for connection with the current AP is stored as the set channel number 3263 of the nth AP setting data, and the BSSID used for connection with the current AP is set as the set BSSID 3262 of the nth AP setting data. save. In subsequent step S62, the connection success flag 328 is set to ON, and this connection establishment process is terminated.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S58, when it is determined that the beacon data 329 including the same ESSID as the set ESSID 3261 stored in the nth AP setting data is not stored in the temporary storage area 327 (NO in step S58). ) Alternatively, if it is determined in step S60 that the connection with the AP has failed (NO in step S60), it is determined in step S63 whether or not the variable n is “3”. As a result, when it is determined that the variable n is not “3” (NO in step S63), 1 is added to the variable n in step S64, and the process returns to step S58 and is repeated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the variable n is “3” (YES in step S63), it is considered that none of the three APs set as “connection destinations” has been found. In this case, in step S65, a process for displaying on the screen an error message indicating that connection to the network is not possible is executed. In subsequent step S66, the connection success flag 328 is set to OFF, and the connection establishment process is terminated. This is the end of the detailed description of the connection establishment process according to the first embodiment.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, when the wireless connection between the game apparatus 1 and the AP 100 is successful, the BSSID (of the AP 100) used for the wireless communication at that time and the used channel information are stored in the game apparatus 1. Keep it. In the subsequent connection establishment process, connection establishment with the AP 100 is attempted using the stored information without performing active scan or passive scan for each channel. Thereby, the time required for the connection with the AP 100 and other connection target devices can be reduced.

  Further, when attempting to establish a connection with the AP 100 using the stored information, the TSF timer is synchronized by performing the synchronous scan as described above. Thereby, the certainty of connection is further improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the number of saved AP settings as connection destinations is three as an example (first AP setting data 326a to 326c). However, the number of saves is limited to only three. Instead, four or more may be stored. Further, only one with the highest priority (that is, only the first AP setting data 326a) may be stored. When the number of saved items is only one, when the direct connection using the first AP setting data fails (NO in step S48), the process may proceed to step S51 in FIG. In addition, as a result of the passive scan, when the beacon including the ESSID of the first AP setting data 326a is not found in the processing after step S57 (NO in step S58) and is included, the connection is established. If it fails (NO in step S60), the process may proceed to step S65.

  In the above-described embodiment, a so-called infrastructure mode network configuration is given as an example of the network configuration. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to a so-called ad hoc mode network configuration. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a case where game devices 1 respectively owned by brothers are connected to each other in an ad hoc mode at home. This is because the above-described beacon frame and probe response frame are transmitted even in the ad hoc mode.

  In the above-described embodiment, the IEEE 802.11 standard is described as an example of the communication standard. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to the case where another wireless communication method is used. In this case, the above-described elements such as ESSID, BSSID, and used channel may be replaced with elements having an equivalent meaning and elements indicating frequency bands.

  In the above embodiment, a portable game device is taken as an example of the game device 1, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to a stationary game device capable of wireless communication. In addition, the present invention can also be applied to personal computers capable of wireless communication, personal digital assistants (PDAs), various portable information terminals represented by smartphones, and the like that can perform wireless communication.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the passive scan is used in the processing of steps S51 to S56 in FIG. 11 is described as an example. However, in the processing, active scanning may be used instead of passive scanning. In this case, a probe response frame is used instead of the beacon frame.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, three AP settings are stored, and priorities are set for them. In the example of FIG. 8 described above, when connection to “connection destination 1” fails, connection to “connection destination 2” and further to “connection destination 3” is attempted. Not limited to such a control method, when connection with “connection destination 1” fails, connection with other set APs (here, “connection destination 2” and “connection destination 3”) is not attempted. In addition, an error may be displayed at this time (for example, if NO in step S60 of FIG. 12, the process proceeds to step S65), and the connection establishment process may be terminated.

  In addition, regarding the priority order, as an operation for changing the priority order of each setting on the setting screen (see FIG. 8), in the above-described embodiment, the case of the drag operation is given as an example. The priority order may be switched according to the input in the up and down direction with the input button 14A, or the priority order number may be directly input or designated.

  In the above-described embodiment, for example, when the ESSID is stored for “connection destination 1” but the BSSID and the channel used are not stored (NO in step S43 in FIG. 10), “ A process of attempting a direct connection to “connection destination 2” was performed. Not limited to this, in such a case, before attempting a direct connection to “connection destination 2” which is the next priority, a passive scan or an active scan is performed on the “connection destination 1”. Also good. That is, an AP having the ESSID of “connection destination 1” may be searched (for example, the processes in steps S51 to S61 in FIG. 11 are performed). As a result, if the AP can be searched and a connection is established, the BSSID and the used channel may be stored at that time. For example, it is assumed that for “connection destination 1”, all of the ESSID, BSSID, and used channel have been set, and for “connection destination 2”, only the ESSID has been set. Then, when the priorities of the “connection destination 1” and “connection destination 2” are switched, only the ESSID is set for the “connection destination 1” having a higher priority. In such a case, even if the connection to the “destination 1” cannot be made directly, the connection to the “destination 1” can be established by performing a passive scan or an active scan using the set ESSID. It becomes possible. Thereby, even when the setting of “connection destination 1” is insufficient, it is possible to prevent unnecessarily connecting to a lower-order AP.

  Further, regarding the timing for storing the BSSID and the channel number used, for example, when an ESSID is set on the setting screen, connection with an AP having the ESSID may be attempted. If the connection is successful at this point, the BSSID and the used channel number may be saved at this point. That is, in the setting screen process, in addition to ESSID, BSSID and used channel number may be acquired and stored. As a result, after the setting using the setting screen, the “direct connection” can be performed at the time of the first connection establishment process.

  In the setting screen, the case where the BSSID and the used channel number are displayed in addition to the ESSID is taken as an example (see FIG. 9), but the BSSID and the used channel number may not be displayed.

  Further, as a determination of whether or not the AP setting has already been performed, in the process of step S42 in FIG. 10, it is determined whether or not the ESSID is stored in the AP setting data 326, and the process of step S43 is performed. Had determined whether the BSSID and the used channel number were stored. That is, the determination is made based on the presence or absence of data. However, other than this, for example, a predetermined flag such as a “set flag” may be provided, and when the AP setting is stored, the flag may be set to ON and stored in the storage data memory 34. In the determination in step S42 and / or step S43, it may be determined whether the AP setting has already been performed based on whether the flag is set to ON.

  In the above embodiment, the used channel number is included in the AP setting data 326 and stored. However, it is not always necessary to store this, for example, the used band used for wireless communication is fixed in advance. In such a case (when there is only one used channel number in advance), the used channel number may not be stored.

  Further, when the connection with the already set AP fails, the already set BSSID 3262 and the set channel number 3263 that are stored in association with the AP may be deleted. In the case of erasing, preferably, the number of connection failures is counted, and erasing is preferably performed when the failure count reaches a predetermined number.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a game device and its processing according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. A functional block diagram and a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the game apparatus according to the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The network configuration is also the same (see FIG. 1). However, in the present embodiment, the main memory 32 stores a program that is partially different from that of the first embodiment, and the CPU 31 executes the program to realize functions different from those of the first embodiment. To do.

  Next, an outline of processing in the second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the “synchronous scan” (see steps S44 to S46 in FIG. 10) in the connection establishment process as described above is executed every time. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, for example, after the power of the game apparatus 1 is turned on, the “synchronized scan” is executed for the first time, and the TSF timers of the AP and the game apparatus 1 are synchronized. After that, until the game apparatus 1 is turned off, the “synchronous scan” in the connection establishment process is omitted. This is because once the TSF timer is synchronized, it is considered that the TSF timer does not shift between the AP and the game apparatus 1 for a while, and therefore, the process related to the synchronous scan is omitted during this period. It is something to try.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a memory map of the main memory 32 according to the second embodiment. Note that the memory map according to this embodiment corresponds to the memory map temporary storage area 327 described with reference to FIG. 5 in the first embodiment described above and the synchronous scanned flag 330 added. In addition, as will be described later, the connection establishment processing program 324 is partly different from that of the first embodiment. Other programs and data are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, programs and data other than the synchronously scanned flag 330 are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

The synchronous scan completed flag 330 is a flag for indicating whether or not the TSF timer has been synchronized by executing the “synchronous scan” as described above. When the flag is set to OFF, it indicates that “synchronous scan” has never been executed. When it is set to ON, “synchronous scan” is performed, and the TSF timer is also synchronized. Indicates success. In other words, the flag is also a flag indicating whether or not the “synchronous scan” and the TSF timer need to be synchronized.

  Here, in the present embodiment, an area for storing the flag is secured on the main memory 32 when the power of the game apparatus 1 is turned on, and until the power of the game apparatus 1 is turned off. In the following description, it is assumed that the area is held. In other words, the holding period of the synchronously scanned flag 330 will be described as an example from the time when the game apparatus 1 is turned on until the time when the game apparatus 1 is turned off. It should be noted that the holding period of the synchronously scanned flag 330 may be a period from when the game apparatus 1 is turned on to off, for example, from when the predetermined game process is started to when it is ended. That is, when a predetermined game process is executed from the initial menu when the game apparatus 1 is activated, the area of the synchronously scanned flag 330 is secured and initialized as part of the initialization process of the game process, and the game process ends. In this case, the synchronously scanned flag 330 may be deleted from the main memory 32. Then, when another game process is activated, the area of the synchronously scanned flag 330 as described above may be secured or the initial setting may be performed again.

  Next, details of the connection-related processing according to the second embodiment will be described. The connection-related processing in this embodiment is a partial modification of the processing in the flowchart of FIG. 10 described above in the first embodiment, and the other processing is the same as in the first embodiment (however, As described above, when the game apparatus 1 is activated, the process of securing and initializing the area of the synchronously scanned flag 330 is executed).

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a part of the connection establishment processing according to the second embodiment. In this flowchart, steps S41 to S43, S44 to S46, and S47 and subsequent steps are the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 in the first embodiment described above, and the same steps are the same in both flowcharts. The code | symbol is attached | subjected. Below, it demonstrates centering on the process concerning step S201, S202 in this embodiment.

  In FIG. 14, after the process of step S43 (when YES in step S43), it is determined in step S201 whether or not the synchronously scanned flag 330 is set to ON. As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the game apparatus 1 is set to OFF (NO in step S201), the synchronous scan has never been executed after the game apparatus 1 is turned on. Therefore, by executing the processing of step S44 to step S46 as described above in the first embodiment, a synchronous scan is performed, and processing for synchronizing the TSF timer is executed. When the synchronization of the TSF timer is finished, next, in step S202, the synchronization scanned flag 330 is set to ON. Thereafter, the processing after step S47 as described above in the first embodiment is executed.

  On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S201, when it is determined that the synchronous scan completed flag 330 is set to ON (YES in step S201), “synchronous scan” is performed once after the game apparatus is turned on. , The TSF timer is already synchronized. That is, since it is not necessary to synchronize the TSF timer at this time, the processes in steps S44 to S46 and S202 are skipped and the process proceeds to step S47. Thereafter, basically the same processing as that described in the first embodiment is executed. However, after the time synchronization is performed in step S581, the synchronous scan completed flag 330 is set to ON, and the connection request to the AP 100 as described above is performed.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the “synchronous scan” is not performed every time the connection establishment process is performed, and during a predetermined period (power on / off of the game device, start / end of the game process, etc.). When the TSF timer is synchronized once by “synchronous scan” for the first time, the process related to “synchronous scan” is omitted until the end of the period. As a result, in the second and subsequent connection establishment processes in the predetermined period, it is possible to further shorten the time required for the connection establishment.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a game apparatus and its processing according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the above-described second embodiment, the presence / absence of the necessity of synchronous scanning is determined using the synchronous scanned flag 330 in units of a predetermined period. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, by adopting a configuration in which the value of the TSF timer can be held in hardware, the processing related to the synchronous scan as described above is unnecessary.

  FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the game apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment. The game apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment is equivalent to the functional configuration of the game apparatus 1 described with reference to FIG. 3 in the first embodiment described above, and the TSF counter 51 is added. This is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, components other than the TSF counter 51 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The TSF counter 51 is a counter for holding the value of the TSF timer as described above, and is realized, for example, by a chip dedicated to timing. Further, the TSF counter 51 can operate by receiving power from the built-in battery while the game apparatus 1 is powered off. In the present embodiment, when three APs as described above are set as connection destinations, the connection destination with the highest priority, for example, the AP indicated by “connection destination 1” in FIG. 8 is targeted. Only the value of the TSF timer is stored. For this reason, once the TSF timer is synchronized with the AP indicated by “Destination 1”, the TSF timer is counted in hardware thereafter, and the same value as the TSF timer of the AP is held. It is possible to continue. The values of the TSF timer may be held for the APs indicated by “connection destination 2” and “connection destination 3”. In this case, the difference value between the value of the TSF timer obtained from the beacon of each AP and the value of the TSF counter 51 is stored for each AP. Synchronization is possible by calculating the value of the TSF timer from the difference value and the value of the TSF counter 51 for each connection process.

  Next, a connection establishment process in the third embodiment will be described. By using the TSF counter 51 as described above, in the third embodiment, it is possible to omit the processing related to the “synchronous scan”. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a part of the connection establishment processing according to the third embodiment. The flowchart is a content in which steps S44 to S46 are omitted from the flowchart of FIG. 10 described above in the first embodiment. That is, when YES is determined in step S43 in FIG. 16, next, in the process of step S47, the value of the TSF counter 51 is acquired, thereby adjusting the transmission / reception timing of various frames and performing direct connection. Try. Further, in the third embodiment, after time synchronization is performed in step S581, processing for storing the TSF timer value included in the received beacon in the TSF counter 51 is also executed.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, the TSF counter 51 as described above is provided in hardware, so that the process related to the “synchronous scan” becomes unnecessary. This configuration is particularly useful when applied to a communication terminal in an environment where power can be supplied constantly (including a so-called power saving mode), such as a stationary game apparatus.

In the above example, the TSF counter 51, which is a timekeeping chip, is provided as an example separately from the RTC39, which is also a timekeeping chip. However, for example, by using the value of the RTC39, for example. The value of the TSF timer may be calculated. For example, the time when synchronized with the AP is acquired from the RTC 39 and stored in the storage data memory 34 as the “initial synchronization time”. Then, when attempting to establish a connection with the AP after the next time, first, the current time (current time) is acquired from the RTC 39. Next, a difference between the acquired time and the “initial synchronization time” (that is, an elapsed time from the initial synchronization time) may be calculated, and the value of the TSF timer may be determined based on this value. .

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a game apparatus and its processing according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The network configuration, the functional block diagram of the game device, and the block diagram showing the hardware configuration according to the fourth embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1, 2, and 3). However, in the present embodiment, the main memory 32 stores a program that is partially different from that of the first embodiment, and the CPU 31 executes the program to realize functions different from those of the first embodiment. To do.

  Next, an outline of processing in the fourth embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the “synchronous scan” (see steps S44 to S46 in FIG. 10) in the connection establishment process as described above is executed every time. On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, the order of the process related to the “synchronous scan” and the process related to the direct connection is switched, and the direct connection is attempted first. As a result, when the connection fails, the “synchronous scan” is performed to synchronize the TSF timer, and the direct connection is attempted again.

  Note that the memory map according to the fourth embodiment includes a part of the processing contents of the connection establishment processing program 324 in the memory map described with reference to FIG. 5 in the first embodiment described above. Is different. Other programs and data are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  Next, details of the connection-related processing according to the fourth embodiment will be described. The connection-related process in the present embodiment is a partial modification of the process in the flowchart of FIG. 10 described above in the first embodiment. More specifically, the processing order of steps S44 to S48 in FIG. 10 is changed. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a part of the connection establishment processing according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 17, first, in steps S <b> 41 to S <b> 43, processing similar to that in the first embodiment is executed. Next to step S43, in the fourth embodiment, in step S301, a direct connection designating a radio channel and a BSSID is attempted. In subsequent step S302, it is determined whether or not the connection is successful. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the connection is successful (YES in step S302), the process proceeds to step S62 described above. On the other hand, when it is determined that the connection has failed (NO in step S302), in the fourth embodiment, the processing related to the “synchronous scan” as described above is executed. That is, in step S303, a synchronous scan (transmission of a probe request frame) specifying a channel to be used is executed, and in step S304, it is determined whether a probe response frame has been received within a predetermined time. As a result, when it is determined that the probe response frame has been received within the predetermined time (YES in step S304), the TSF timer is synchronized in step S305, and then the process returns to step S301 and direct connection is attempted again. become. On the other hand, when it is determined that the probe response frame has not been received within the predetermined time (NO in step S304), the processing from step S49 described above in the first embodiment is executed.

As described above, in the fourth embodiment, when a direct connection is attempted first and the connection fails (for example, when synchronization cannot be achieved), a process related to “synchronous scanning” is performed, The processing configuration is such that a direct connection is attempted again. As a result, once the TSF timer is synchronized, if the connection establishment process is instructed again without much time, the process for “synchronous scan” can be omitted. It is possible to reduce the time required for establishing a connection.

  A communication device, a communication control program, a communication control method, and a communication system according to the present invention can reduce a time required for establishing a connection between a communication terminal and a connection target device, and can be a portable game device capable of wireless communication. It is useful for stationary game devices, portable information terminals, personal computers, home electric appliances capable of wireless communication, and the like.

1 ... Game device 11 ... Lower housing 12 ... Lower LCD
13 ... Touch panel 14 ... Operation buttons 15, 26 ... LED
16 ... Microphone hole 21 ... Upper housing 22 ... Upper LCD
23 ... Inner camera 24 ... Sound release hole 25 ... Outer camera 27 ... Touch pens 28, 29 ... Memory card 31 ... CPU
32 ... Main memory 33 ... Memory control circuit 34 ... Storage data memory 35 ... Preset data memory 36 ... Memory card I / F
37 ... Wireless communication module 38 ... Local communication module 39 ... RTC
40 ... power supply circuit 41 ... I / F circuit 42 ... microphone 43 ... amplifier

Claims (25)

A communication device that performs wireless communication with a connection target device,
A first storage unit that stores connection target device identification information that is information that can uniquely identify a connection target device;
Prior to other connection establishment processing, the first connection for performing processing for establishing a connection by wireless communication to the connection target device using the connection target device specifying information stored in the first storage unit Means and
The first connection processing using the connection target apparatus specifying information by the connection means is performed without passing through the connection processing by the types of identification information that can be provided with the same things to multiple connection target unit, the communication apparatus.   The first connection means uses the connection target device specifying information stored in the first storage unit to perform processing for establishing a connection by wireless communication with the connection target device. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device is not based on communication performed after the unit stores the connection target device specifying information. Second connection means for performing processing for establishing a connection by wireless communication with a connection target device without referring to the connection target device identification information in the first storage unit;
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a specific information storage unit that stores connection target device specifying information capable of uniquely specifying the connection target device in a first storage unit when a connection is established by the second connection unit. The communication device described.   The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first storage unit is a nonvolatile storage medium. The first storage unit further stores frequency band information related to a frequency band for performing wireless communication with a connection target device,
The said 1st connection means performs the process for establishing the connection by wireless communication with respect to a connection object apparatus in the frequency band shown by the frequency band information memorize | stored in the said 1st memory | storage part. Communication equipment. The second connection means includes
When an instruction for establishing the connection is issued, the connection target device that can be connected is searched, a signal including the connection target device specifying information is received, and the received signal is transmitted to the connection target device. Processing for establishing a connection using the connection target device specifying information included in
When the connection is established by the second connection unit, the specific information storage unit stores the connection target device identification information used for the connection in the first storage unit,
When the connection establishment instruction is issued, when the connection target device specifying information is stored in the first storage unit, the connection is established by the first connection means, and the connection target device specification is performed. 4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein connection is established by the second connection means when information is not stored in the first storage unit. The communication apparatus further includes a connection result determination unit that determines whether or not the connection establishment by the first connection unit is successful,
When the connection establishment instruction is issued, connection establishment by the first connection unit is performed, and when the connection result determination unit determines that the connection establishment by the first connection unit has failed, A connection is established by the second connection means;
The specific information storage means stores the connection target apparatus specific information used for the connection when the connection establishment by the second connection means performed when the connection establishment by the first connection means fails. The communication apparatus according to claim 3 or 6.   The specific information storing unit stores the connection target device specifying information stored in the first storage unit even after the established connection is disconnected, when the connection establishment by the second connection unit is successful. Item 7. The communication device according to Item 3 or 6.   The communication device according to claim 3, wherein the second connection unit searches for a connection target device for all available frequency bands.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection target apparatus specifying information is a BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifier). The first storage unit can store a plurality of connection target device specifying information corresponding to a plurality of connection target devices,
The communication device
Connection result determination means for determining whether or not connection establishment by the first connection means is successful;
A priority setting means for setting a connection priority to the plurality of connection target devices in association with the plurality of connection target device specifying information;
The first connection means determines whether or not connection target device identification information of a connection target device for which the connection priority is set higher is stored in the first storage unit, and determines that it is stored As a result of an attempt to establish a connection by the first connection means, the result determination means causes the first connection means to connect to a connection target device having a higher connection priority. When it is determined that the connection establishment has failed, it is determined whether or not the connection target device specifying information of the connection target device having the next highest connection priority is stored in the first storage unit. Item 4. The communication device according to Item 1. The communication device further includes priority setting means for setting a connection priority to the plurality of connection target devices in association with the plurality of connection target device specifying information,
The first connection means determines whether connection target device specifying information of a connection target device having a higher connection priority is stored in the first storage unit, and the connection target device specifying information Is determined to be stored in the first storage unit, the connection target device specifying information of the connection target device having the next highest connection priority is stored in the first storage unit. The communication device according to claim 1, which determines whether or not.   The communication device according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising priority changing means for changing a connection priority to the plurality of connection target devices. The communication device further includes priority setting means for setting a connection priority to the plurality of connection target devices in association with the plurality of connection target device specifying information,
The first connection means determines whether or not connection target device identification information of a connection target device for which the connection priority is set higher is stored in the first storage unit,
When it is determined that the connection target device specifying information is not stored in the first storage unit, the second connection unit searches for the connection target device for which the connection priority is set, and the connection target The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the communication apparatus receives a signal including connection target apparatus specifying information of the apparatus and establishes a connection to the searched connection target apparatus. The specific information storage means stores frequency band information indicating a frequency band used when the connection by the second connection means is established in the first storage unit in addition to the connection target apparatus specific information,
The first connection means uses the frequency band indicated by the stored frequency band information to perform processing for establishing a connection to the connection target device using the connection target device specifying information. The communication apparatus according to claim 3 or 6. The second connection means receives identification information relating to a network to which the connection target device belongs, and includes a signal including at least network identification information and information different from the connection target device specification information and the connection target device specification information. ,
The communication device
A second storage unit for storing the network identification information;
A second discriminating unit that discriminates whether or not the network identification information included in the received signal matches the network identification information stored in the second storage unit;
As a result of determination by the second determination unit, the second connection unit is configured to output the signal when the network identification information included in the received signal matches the network identification information stored in the second storage unit. The communication according to claim 15, wherein a frequency band that was used when receiving the signal is designated, and a connection is established in which the device indicated by the connection target device identification information included in the signal is designated as a connection destination. apparatus. The first storage unit can store a plurality of connection target device specifying information corresponding to a plurality of connection target devices,
The communication device further includes priority setting means for setting a connection priority to the plurality of connection target devices in association with the plurality of connection target device specifying information,
The first connection means determines whether or not connection target device identification information of a connection target device for which the connection priority is set higher is stored in the first storage unit,
When the second connection means determines that the connection target device identification information of the connection target device with the higher connection priority set is not stored in the first storage unit, the predetermined connection target device A signal periodically emitted from the network including the network identification information and connection target device specifying information,
The second determination unit includes the network identification information included in the received signal and the network for the connection target device stored in the second storage unit and set to have a higher connection priority. Determine whether the identification information matches,
The second connection means designates a connection target device indicated by the connection target specifying information included in the received signal as a connection destination when the second determination means determines that the network identification information matches. To establish a connection,
When the connection by the second connection unit is established, the specific information storage unit includes the connection target specific information included in the received signal and the frequency band information indicating the frequency band used for the connection. The communication apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the first storage unit is stored.   When the second connection means fails to establish connection by the second connection means, the connection having the next highest connection priority among the network identification information stored in the second storage unit The communication device according to claim 17, wherein it is determined whether or not network identification information corresponding to a target device matches network identification information included in the received signal.   The second discriminating unit includes, in the network identification information stored in the second storage unit, network identification information corresponding to a connection target device that has the next highest connection priority, and the received signal. When it is determined that the included network identification information does not match, out of the network identification information stored in the second storage unit, the network identification information for the connection target device that has the next highest connection priority, The communication device according to claim 17, wherein it is determined whether or not network identification information included in the received signal matches. A communication control program to be executed by a computer of a communication device that performs wireless communication with a connection target device,
The computer,
A first storage unit that stores connection target device specifying information, which is information that can uniquely specify a connection target device, and a connection target device using the connection target device specifying information stored by the first storage unit. Function as a first connection means for performing processing for establishing a connection by wireless communication,
Prior to the other connection establishment process, connected by the first connection processing using the connection target apparatus specifying information by the connecting means, the type of identification information that can be provided with the same things to multiple connected device A communication control program that is performed without processing. A communication control method for controlling a communication device that performs wireless communication with a connection target device,
Storing connection target device specifying information, which is information that can uniquely specify a connection target device, in a first storage means that is a predetermined storage medium;
Prior to other connection establishment processing, using the connection target device specifying information stored in the first storage means, performing a process for establishing a connection by wireless communication with the connection target device. Prepared,
The connection target apparatus specifying information connection processing using the step of performing a process for establishing the connection, via connection processing by the type of identification information that can be provided with the same things to multiple connected device A communication control method performed without A communication system comprising a communication device and a connection target device,
The communication device
A first storage unit that stores connection target device identification information that is information that can uniquely identify a connection target device;
Prior to other connection establishment processing, the first connection for performing processing for establishing a connection by wireless communication to the connection target device using the connection target device specifying information stored in the first storage unit Means and
The connection target device includes a specific information storage unit in which the connection target device specifying information is stored,
The first connection processing using the connection target apparatus specifying information by the connection means is performed without passing through the connection processing by the types of identification information that can be provided with the same things to multiple connection target unit, the communication system. A communication device that performs wireless communication with a connection target device,
A first storage unit that stores connection target device identification information that is information that can uniquely identify a connection target device;
Using the connection target device specifying information stored in the first storage unit, the first storage unit performs processing for establishing a connection by wireless communication with the connection target device. And a first connection means for performing without being based on the communication performed after storing the information. A communication control method for controlling a communication device that performs wireless communication with a connection target device,
Storing connection target device specifying information, which is information that can uniquely specify a connection target device, in a first storage means that is a predetermined storage medium;
Using the connection target device specifying information stored in the first storage unit, the first storage unit performs processing for establishing a connection by wireless communication with the connection target device. And a step of performing without being based on the communication performed after storing. A communication system comprising a communication device and a connection target device,
The communication device
A first storage unit that stores connection target device identification information that is information that can uniquely identify a connection target device;
Using the connection target device specifying information stored in the first storage unit, the first storage unit performs processing for establishing a connection by wireless communication with the connection target device. First connection means for performing without being based on communication performed after storing
The said connection object apparatus is a communication system provided with the specific information storage means in which the said connection object apparatus specific information was memorize | stored.

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