JP6559022B2 - COMMUNICATION DEVICE, COMMUNICATION DEVICE CONTROL METHOD, COMPUTER PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device, a communication method, and a computer program.

  In recent years, near field communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication), IrDA (Infrared Data Association), and TransferJet (registered trademark) has been used in devices such as mobile phones. The user can perform data transmission / reception between devices simply by performing operations such as bringing the devices closer together. A technique has been proposed in which wireless connection setting information such as wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11 series) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) is transmitted using this close proximity wireless communication, so that handover from close proximity wireless communication to another wireless communication is performed. Yes. Here, handover refers to an act of switching from communication using the first communication method to communication using the second communication method.

  In Patent Document 1, a base station device writes connection setting information for communication by wireless LAN to an IC card by proximity wireless communication. Then, the terminal station device reads connection setting information from the IC card by proximity wireless communication, and connects to the base station device by wireless LAN using this connection setting information. Here, such a method of transferring connection setting information necessary for handover between stationary devices using a portable mediation device is referred to as mediation handover.

JP 2004-007351 A

  However, in the above-described intermediary handover, when connecting a plurality of terminal station apparatuses to a base station apparatus, first, close proximity wireless communication is performed between the base station apparatus and the intermediary apparatus, and then close proximity wireless communication is performed between the terminal station apparatus and the intermediary apparatus. It is necessary to perform the work of performing communication for the number of terminal station devices. That is, for example, the user brings the intermediary device close to the base station device and the terminal station device 1, and then brings the intermediary device close to the base station device and the terminal station device 2. The user's convenience is low because the user has to travel between the base station devices a plurality of times.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that enables intermediary handover with higher user convenience.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication apparatus according to the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is, a communication device, a first communication means for performing radio communication by the first wireless communication system, a communication method different from the first wireless communication system, the communication from the first wireless communication scheme second communication means for performing more wireless communication speed is fast or the communication distance longer second wireless communication system, when communication by the base station to build a network the first communication means, wherein from said base station A receiving means for receiving connection setting information for connecting to the network by a first communication means; a plurality of terminal stations connected to the network; and a plurality of terminal stations each communicating by the first communication means And connecting means connected by the second communication means, and after receiving the connection setting information by the receiving means after connecting to each of the plurality of terminal stations by the connecting means, Having a first transmission means for transmitting the connection setting information to each of said plurality of terminal stations by the second communication means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique that enables an intermediary handover with higher user convenience.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of a communication system. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a mediation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a terminal station apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a terminal station apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a base station apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a mediation apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a mediation apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a mediation apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a terminal station apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a base station apparatus. It is an operation | movement sequence diagram of a communication system. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a mediation apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a mediation apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the configurations shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configurations.

<< Embodiment 1 >>
(Communications system)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the entire communication system according to the first embodiment (Embodiment 1) of the present invention.

  The communication system in FIG. 1 includes a smartphone 101 having an NFC function, a monitoring camera 102 and a display 103 having a wireless LAN terminal station function and an NFC function, and an access point having a wireless LAN base station function and an NFC function (hereinafter, referred to as an “infrared point” (Referred to as AP) 104. In this embodiment, the smart phone 101 operates as an intermediary device, and wirelessly connects the monitoring camera 102 and the display 103 that operate as a terminal station device to the AP 104. When an abnormality is detected in the captured image, the monitoring camera 102 transmits the image to the display 103 via the wireless LAN for display. Note that each device of the communication system according to the present embodiment can execute the Mediad Handover defined by the NFC Forum. In the following, a description will be given of a communication system that performs a mediation handover using a Mediad Handover defined by NFC Forum. In the present embodiment, a case of handover to a wireless LAN will be described, but the communication method of the handover destination may be any method that has a higher communication speed or a longer communication distance than NFC.

  In Mediad Handover, when a mediation device is brought close to each of a base station device such as a wireless LAN and a terminal station device, the mediation device acquires connection setting information of a handover destination from the base station device by NFC communication, and the information is transmitted to the terminal station device. Notify Then, the terminal station device performs wireless connection to the base station device based on the connection setting information acquired from the mediation device.

  In this embodiment, in a mediated handover defined by NFC Forum, an operation for reducing a proximity operation between devices when a plurality of terminal station devices are connected to a base station device by a wireless LAN or the like will be described. To do.

(Intermediary device)
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the smart phone 101 as an intermediary device (communication device).

  Reference numeral 201 denotes an NFC communication unit. The NFC communication unit 201 performs wireless communication conforming to the NFC standard as a first wireless communication method, and automatically establishes NFC communication when a device capable of communication within the communication range is detected. In the present embodiment, the NFC communication unit 201 operates as a reader / writer and performs bidirectional data communication with the NFC communication unit of another device. Note that the NFC communication unit 201 may operate as an NFC tag, and a reader / writer serving as a communication partner may read and write data stored in a nonvolatile memory provided therein. Alternatively, when operating as an NFC tag, a predetermined area in the storage unit 204 may be read and written by a reader / writer serving as a communication partner.

  Reference numeral 202 denotes an antenna for performing NFC communication.

  Reference numeral 203 denotes a control unit (CPU). The control unit 203 controls the operation of the smart phone 101 by executing a control program (computer program) stored in the storage unit 204.

  Reference numeral 204 denotes a storage unit. The storage unit 204 stores various information such as setting information necessary for communication with the control program executed by the control unit 203. Various operations described below are performed by the control unit 203 executing a control program stored in the storage unit 204.

  Reference numeral 205 denotes a display unit. The display unit 205 has a function capable of outputting visually recognizable information such as an LCD or LED, or outputting sound such as a speaker.

  Reference numeral 206 denotes an operation unit. The operation unit 206 includes a mechanical key for a user to operate the smart phone 101, a touch panel, or the like.

(Terminal station equipment)
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the monitoring camera 102 as the first terminal station apparatus.

  Reference numeral 301 denotes an NFC communication unit that performs wireless communication conforming to the NFC standard. When the NFC communication unit 301 detects a device that can communicate within the communication range, the NFC communication unit 301 automatically establishes NFC communication and operates as a reader / writer.

  Reference numeral 302 denotes an antenna for performing NFC communication.

  A wireless LAN terminal station 303 processes a wireless LAN terminal station function in the IEEE 802.11 series as a second wireless communication system. The wireless LAN terminal station unit 303 performs wireless LAN communication with a device having a wireless LAN base station function, for example, based on IEEE802.11b / g / n / ac.

  Reference numeral 304 denotes an antenna for performing wireless LAN communication.

  Reference numeral 305 denotes a control unit (CPU). The control unit 305 controls the operation of the monitoring camera 102 by executing a control program stored in the storage unit 306. In the present embodiment, the control unit 305 analyzes the image captured by the imaging unit 307 and operates to transmit the image to the display 103 when an abnormality is detected in the analysis image.

  Reference numeral 306 denotes a storage unit. The storage unit 306 stores various information such as setting information necessary for communication with the control program executed by the control unit 305. Various operations described below are performed by the control unit 305 executing a control program stored in the storage unit 306.

  Reference numeral 307 denotes an imaging unit. The imaging unit 307 includes a charge coupled device such as a CCD and an optical system.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the display 103 as the second terminal station apparatus.

  Reference numeral 401 denotes an NFC communication unit that performs wireless communication conforming to the NFC standard. When the NFC communication unit 401 detects a communicable device within the communication range, it automatically establishes NFC communication and operates as a reader / writer.

  Reference numeral 402 denotes an antenna for performing NFC communication.

  Reference numeral 403 denotes a wireless LAN terminal station unit 403, which processes a wireless LAN terminal station function in the IEEE 802.11 series. The wireless LAN terminal station unit 403 performs wireless LAN communication with a device having a wireless LAN base station function based on, for example, IEEE 802.11b / g / n / ac.

  Reference numeral 404 denotes an antenna for performing wireless LAN communication.

  Reference numeral 405 denotes a control unit (CPU). The control unit 405 controls the operation of the display 103 by executing a control program stored in the storage unit 406.

  Reference numeral 406 denotes a storage unit. The storage unit 406 stores various information such as setting information necessary for communication with the control program executed by the control unit 405. Various operations to be described later are performed by the control unit 405 executing a control program stored in the storage unit 406.

  Reference numeral 407 denotes a display unit. The display unit 407 is configured by a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence), or the like, and displays an image transmitted from the monitoring camera 102.

(access point)
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the AP 104.

  Reference numeral 501 denotes an NFC communication unit that performs wireless communication conforming to the NFC standard. When the NFC communication unit 501 detects a communicable device within the communication range, it automatically establishes NFC communication and operates as a reader / writer.

  Reference numeral 502 denotes an antenna for performing NFC communication.

  Reference numeral 503 denotes a wireless LAN base station unit 503 that processes a wireless LAN base station (parent station) function in the IEEE802.11 series. The wireless LAN base station unit 503 performs wireless LAN communication with a device having a wireless LAN terminal station function based on, for example, IEEE 802.11b / g / n / ac.

  Reference numeral 504 denotes an antenna for performing wireless LAN communication.

  Reference numeral 505 denotes a control unit (CPU). The control unit 505 controls the operation of the AP 104 by executing a control program stored in the storage unit 506.

  Reference numeral 506 denotes a storage unit. The storage unit 506 stores various information such as setting information necessary for communication with the control program executed by the control unit 505. Various operations to be described later are performed by the control unit 405 executing a control program stored in the storage unit 406.

(Operation of mediation device)
When the smart phone 101 acquires connection setting information for connecting to the wireless LAN from the base station device by proximity wireless communication, the smart phone 101 transmits the connection setting information to the first terminal station device by proximity wireless communication, and then the second terminal It is determined whether connection setting information is transmitted to the station apparatus. The determination whether to continue the connection setting information transmission is made based on whether or not a predetermined condition such as an elapsed time or an instruction from the user is satisfied. If it is determined to transmit, connection setting information is transmitted to the second terminal station device by the proximity wireless communication method. As described above, the smart phone 101 acquires connection setting information from the base station device by NFC touch, and after setting the terminal station device by NFC touch, continues to another terminal without performing NFC touch on the base station device. The connection setting information can be set in the station device. For this reason, the user connects these devices to the network constructed by the base station device by simply NFC touching each terminal station device in order without making a round trip between the base station device and each terminal station device. It becomes possible.

  The intermediary handover process according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow of an intermediary handover process of the smart phone 101 as an intermediary device. The flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is realized by executing a control program read from the storage unit 204 by the control unit 203 of the smart phone 101. In the present embodiment, an example is described in which the mediation handover process starts when the user performs application activation or UI operation with the operation unit 206, but is not limited thereto. For example, it may be started when the NFC communication unit 201 starts communication, or may be started when a specific vibration or voice is triggered.

  In step S <b> 601, the user operates the operation unit 206 to activate an application that executes mediated handover.

  In step S602, the control unit 203 activates the NFC communication unit 201 and controls to operate as a reader / writer.

  In step S <b> 603, the control unit 203 displays, on the display unit 205, information (image) that prompts an NFC touch to a device that has a wireless LAN base station function among devices to be wirelessly connected by mediated handover. In this embodiment, the user of the smart phone 101 touches the smart phone 101 to the AP 104 that is a device having a wireless LAN base station function based on this display information. Here, an example has been described in which a notification prompting acquisition of connection setting information from the base station apparatus is presented by image display in response to the start of connection mediation to the wireless LAN network. It is not limited to things. For example, notification may be made by voice output or vibration operation.

  In S604, the smart phone 101 performs an operation conforming to the mediation handover defined by the NFC standard or an operation equivalent thereto. In the intermediary handover process, connection setting information for connecting to a wireless LAN communication system network is acquired from the AP 104 having a base station function, and the NFC communication unit 201 is controlled to have a wireless LAN communication system terminal station function. The connection setting information is transmitted to the terminal station device. The details of this operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In S701 of FIG. 7, the NFC communication unit 201 determines whether or not NFC communication is detected. If NFC communication is not detected (NO in S701), the process proceeds to S702. If NFC communication is detected (YES in S701), the process proceeds to S704.

  In step S <b> 702, the control unit 203 determines whether to cancel the intermediary handover process. Here, when a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) elapses without the process proceeding to the next step, the control unit 203 determines to stop the intermediary handover process, but is not limited thereto. For example, the processing stop may be determined based on the detection of NFC communication disconnection or the presence / absence of a cancel instruction by a user operation. If the control unit 203 determines to stop the intermediary handover process (YES in S702), the process proceeds to S703, and if it is determined to continue (NO in S702), the process returns to S701.

  In step S703, the control unit 203 ends the mediation handover process. At this time, information indicating that the intermediary handover process is canceled and the reason for the cancellation may be displayed on the display unit 205. For example, if the process does not proceed from S701 to the predetermined time S704, information such as “processing is canceled because NFC is not detected” is displayed on the display unit 205, and the process is stopped.

  In step S704, the NFC communication unit 201 transmits a mediation handover request. The intermediary handover request transmitted here is a message in which an “Hm” record, which is information indicating intermediary handover, is stored in the network information in the Handover Request message defined by the NFC standard, for example.

  In step S705, the NFC communication unit 201 determines whether a response to the mediation handover request has been received. The mediation handover response received here is, for example, a Handover Median Response message defined by the NFC standard. If the NFC communication unit 201 receives a mediation handover request within a predetermined time (YES in S705), the process proceeds to S706, and if it does not receive a mediation handover response within the predetermined time (NO in S705), the process proceeds to S703. If the process proceeds to S703 and the process is to be stopped, for example, information such as “process canceled because the touch partner does not support mediated handover” is displayed on the display unit 205.

  In step S706, the NFC communication unit 201 determines whether network information is included in the received mediation handover response. Here, the network information is a network type, a supported function, setting information for connecting to the network, and the like. In the present embodiment, the network type “wireless LAN” and the support function “base station function” are transmitted from the AP 104 as network information, and SSID (Service Set ID), encryption method, authentication method, and encryption password are included as connection setting information. Sent. If the network handover response includes network information, the network type is “wireless LAN”, the support function is “base station function”, and the connection setting information includes SSID or the like (YES in S706), the process proceeds to S707. . Further, when the network information is not included in the intermediary handover response, the network type is not “wireless LAN”, or the support function in the network information is only “terminal station function” (NO in S706). The process proceeds to S703. Here, when the intermediary handover process is canceled in S703, information such as “process stop because the network type does not match” and “process stop because the touch partner does not have a base station function” are displayed on the display unit 205. indicate.

  In step S <b> 707, the control unit 203 stores the connection setting information of the AP 104 in the storage unit 204 based on the network information included in the received mediation handover response.

  In step S708, the control unit 203 displays, on the display unit 205, information that prompts the user to perform an NFC touch operation on a device that has a wireless LAN terminal station function among devices that are wirelessly connected by an intermediary handover. This information may be notified to the user by voice or the like. Based on this display information, the user of the smart phone 101 touches the smart phone 101 to the monitoring camera 102 or the display 103 which is a device having a wireless LAN base station function. In the present embodiment, the following description will be given for the case where the smart phone 101 is touched by the monitoring camera 102.

  In step S709, the NFC communication unit 201 determines whether NFC communication has been detected. If NFC communication is not detected (NO in S709), the process proceeds to S710. If NFC communication is detected (YES in S709), the process proceeds to S712.

  In step S710, the control unit 203 determines whether to cancel the mediation handover process. Here, the control unit 203 determines that the mediation handover process is to be stopped when a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) elapses without proceeding to the next step, but is not limited thereto. For example, the processing stop may be determined based on the detection of NFC communication disconnection or the presence / absence of a cancel instruction by a user operation. If the control unit 203 determines to stop the intermediary handover process (YES in S710), the process proceeds to S711. If it is determined to continue (NO in S710), the process returns to S709.

  In step S711, the control unit 203 ends the mediation handover process. At this time, information indicating that the intermediary handover process is canceled and the reason for the cancellation may be displayed on the display unit 205. For example, if the process does not proceed from S709 to the predetermined time S712, information such as “processing is canceled because NFC is not detected” is displayed on the display unit 205.

  In S712, the NFC communication unit 201 transmits a mediation handover request. The intermediary handover request transmitted here is a message in which an “Hm” record that is information indicating intermediary handover is stored in the network information in the Handover Request message, similarly to the intermediary handover request transmitted in S704.

  In step S713, the NFC communication unit 201 determines whether a response to the mediation handover request has been received. If the NFC communication unit 201 has received a mediation handover request (YES in S713), the process proceeds to S714. If not received (NO in S713), the process proceeds to S711.

  In S714, the NFC communication unit 201 determines whether network information is included in the received mediation handover response. In this embodiment, when the network information is included in the mediation handover response, the network type is “wireless LAN”, and the support function is “terminal station function” (YES in S714), the process proceeds to S715. If the network information is not included in the mediated handover response, or if the support function is only the “base station function” (NO in S714), the process proceeds to S711.

  In S715, the NFC communication unit 201 transmits a handover start request. The handover start request transmitted here is an Initiation Request message defined in the NFC standard, for example, and is a message that specifies network information of a connection destination and requests the start of handover. In the present embodiment, the initiation request message includes connection setting information of the AP 104 that is the connection destination. The device (monitoring camera 102) that has received this message transmits an Initiation Response message as a handover start response to the smart phone 101, and uses this connection setting information to establish a wireless LAN connection to the AP 104.

  In S716, when receiving a handover start response (YES in S716), the control unit 203 ends the mediation handover process. Further, when the handover start response is not received for a predetermined time (NO in S716), information such as “processing is canceled because there is no response from the touch partner” is displayed on the display unit 205 in S711, and the intermediary handover process is canceled. To do.

  Returning to FIG. 6, when the intermediary handover process S604 described above is completed, the process proceeds to S605.

  In S605, it is determined whether or not to continue the intermediary handover process, that is, whether or not to continue the process of transmitting the connection setting information to another terminal station apparatus. In this embodiment, this determination is performed based on the operation of the operation unit 206 by the user by displaying information confirming to the user whether or not to continue the processing on the display unit 205. It is not limited. For example, after the intermediary handover process between the AP 104 and the monitoring camera 102, the intermediary handover process may be terminated when a predetermined time has elapsed. Further, a position / orientation sensor (not shown) such as a gyro sensor provided in the smart phone 101 is used to detect that the user of the smart phone 101 has stopped, and the processing is terminated when a predetermined time has elapsed since the stop. It may be. If it is determined in S605 that the intermediary handover process is to be continued (YES in S605), the smart phone 101 operates to distribute the connection setting information to the touched device as described later. If it is determined in S605 that the process is to be terminated (NO in S605), the stored connection setting information of the AP 104 is deleted and the process is terminated.

  That is, when the communication by the NFC communication unit 201 is started after determining that the process is ended in S605, the smart phone 101 transmits the mediation handover request described in S704 without transmitting the connection setting information of the AP 104. To do. In addition, when it is determined in S605 that the process is to be ended and the communication by the NFC communication unit 201 is started, the smart phone 101 may perform other communication.

  In step S <b> 606, the control unit 203 displays on the display unit 205 information that prompts an NFC touch operation to a device having a second wireless LAN terminal station function to be wirelessly connected by an intermediary handover. This information may be notified to the user by voice or the like. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the display 103 is wirelessly connected to the AP 104 as a second device having a wireless LAN terminal station function, and the user touches the display 103 with the smartphone 101.

  In step S <b> 607, the smartphone 101 operates to distribute the connection setting information of the AP 104 to the device (display 103) that has been NFC touched. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing details of the connection setting information distribution operation in S607.

  In step S <b> 801, the control unit 203 stops the reader / writer function of the NFC communication unit 201. In this embodiment, after it is determined in S605 that the intermediary handover process is to be continued, the reader / writer function is stopped. However, after the intermediary handover process in S604 is terminated, the reader / writer function is stopped. It may be.

  In step S <b> 802, the control unit 203 stores the AP 104 connection setting information stored in the storage unit 204 in step S <b> 707 of FIG. 7 in a nonvolatile memory provided in the NFC communication unit 201. In the present embodiment, an example is described in which the reader / writer serving as the communication partner uses the internal memory of the NFC communication unit 201 as the data read / write area as the NFC tag, but the present invention is not limited to this. The reader / writer may read / write data when the predetermined area of the storage unit 204 operates as an NFC tag.

  In step S803, the control unit 203 activates the NFC communication unit 201 as a tag.

  In step S804, the NFC communication unit 201 determines whether NFC communication has been detected. If NFC communication is not detected (NO in S804), the process proceeds to S805. If NFC communication is detected (YES in S804), the process proceeds to S807.

  In step S805, the control unit 203 determines whether to cancel the connection setting information distribution process. Here, the control unit 203 determines to stop the connection setting information distribution process when a predetermined time has passed without the process proceeding to the next step, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the processing stop may be determined based on the detection of NFC communication disconnection or the presence / absence of a cancel instruction by a user operation. If the control unit 203 determines to cancel the connection setting information distribution process (YES in S805), the process proceeds to S806, and if it is determined to continue (NO in S805), the process returns to S804.

  In step S806, the control unit 203 stops the connection setting information distribution process. For example, in this case, information such as “processing is canceled because NFC is not detected” is displayed on the display unit 205, and the processing is stopped.

  In step S <b> 807, the NFC communication unit 201 transmits a handover selection message to the display 103 that is an NFC-touched device. This message is, for example, a Handover Select message defined by the NFC standard, and transmits connection setting information of the AP 104 that is a connection destination. When the display 103 receives the handover selection message, the display 103 operates to establish a wireless LAN connection to the AP 104 based on the connection setting information included in this message. That is, the operation of the smart phone 101 in the connection setting information distribution process according to this embodiment is a message sequence similar to that of the static handover defined in the NFC standard. Thus, in the connection setting information distribution process, the smart phone 101 distributes the connection setting information with low power consumption by switching the operation from the NFC reader / writer communicating in the P2P mode to the NFC tag communicating in the card emulation mode. be able to.

  In the connection setting information distribution process of S606 in the present embodiment, the smart phone 101 may operate in the P2P mode that performs communication in the bidirectional communication mode instead of the card emulation mode that operates as a tag. For example, the connection setting information distribution process of S606 may be performed by transmitting an Initiation Request message including the connection setting information of the AP 104. Further, the connection setting information distribution process of S606 may be performed as S709 to S716, which are part of the intermediary handover process. Further, the connection setting information distribution process may use a negotiated handover defined in the NFC standard. In this case, a Handover Request message is transmitted from the display 103 to the smart phone 101. Then, by transmitting a Handover Select message from the smart phone 101 to the display 103 and notifying the connection setting information of the AP 104 by this message, the display 103 can be connected to the AP 104 by wireless LAN.

  Returning to FIG. 6, when the connection setting information distribution process in S <b> 607 ends, the process returns to S <b> 605, and the process is continued until it is determined to stop the intermediary handover process. That is, when there is a device having another wireless LAN terminal function in the system, connection setting information for wireless LAN connection to the AP 104 can be transferred to the device.

(Operation of terminal station equipment)
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow of the monitoring camera 102 as the terminal station apparatus. Note that the display 103 operates in the same manner as the monitoring camera 102, and a description thereof will be omitted. In the operation flow of FIG. 9, an example in which an application related to handover is always activated is described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the application activation stop operation may be performed in response to an application activation stop operation by the user or the communication start or end of the NFC communication unit 301. The flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is realized by executing the control program read from the storage unit 306 by the control unit 305 of the monitoring camera 102.

  In step S901, the NFC communication unit 301 determines whether NFC communication is detected. If NFC communication is not detected (NO in S901), the process returns to S901. If NFC communication is detected (YES in S901), the process proceeds to S902.

  In step S902, it is determined whether a mediation handover request is received from the smart phone 101. If a mediation handover request is received (YES in S902), the process proceeds to S903, and if another message is received (NO in S902), the process proceeds to S904.

  In step S903, the monitoring camera 102 performs an intermediary handover process defined by the NFC standard. More specifically, a mediation handover response is transmitted to the smart phone 101. Then, when a handover start request transmitted from the smart phone 101 is received thereafter, a handover start response is transmitted to the smart phone 101. Then, a wireless LAN connection request is transmitted to the AP 104 based on the connection setting information included in the handover start request message. The monitoring camera 102 ends the process when the wireless LAN connection with the AP 104 is established.

  In step S904, it is determined whether the message transmitted from the smart phone 101 is a handover selection message. If it is a handover selection message (YES in S904), the process proceeds to S905, and if it is another message (NO in S904), the process ends.

  In step S <b> 905, the monitoring camera 102 establishes a wireless LAN connection with the AP 104 using the connection setting information included in the handover selection message transmitted from the smart phone 101.

(Access point operation)
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow of the AP 104. The operation flow in FIG. 10 will be described assuming that an application related to handover is always activated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the application start / stop may be performed in response to an application start / stop operation by the user or the communication start / end of the NFC communication unit 501. The flowchart shown in FIG. 10 is implemented by executing a control program read from the storage unit 506 by the control unit 505 of the AP 104.

  In step S1001, the NFC communication unit 501 determines whether NFC communication has been detected. If NFC communication is not detected (NO in S1001), the process returns to S1001, and if NFC communication is detected (YES in S1001), the process proceeds to S1002.

  In step S1002, it is determined whether a mediation handover request is received from the smart phone 101. If a mediation handover request is received (YES in S1002), the process proceeds to S1003, and if another message is received (NO in S1002), the process ends.

  In S1003, the AP 104 performs an intermediary handover process defined by the NFC standard. More specifically, a mediation handover response including its own connection setting information is transmitted to the smart phone 101. Thereafter, when a wireless LAN connection request is received from another device (the monitoring camera 102 or the display 103), the wireless LAN connection is established by permitting the request.

(Operation sequence)
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation sequence of the communication system in the present embodiment.

  In S1101, when the user activates an application that executes an intermediary handover, the smart phone 101 starts processing and presents information prompting the user to perform an NFC touch between the smart phone 101 and the wireless LAN base station (AP 104).

  In S1102, when the user NFC touches the smart phone 101 to the AP 104, the mediation handover is started. The smart phone 101 acquires the connection setting information of the AP 104 by the mediation handover message exchange of the mediation handover request in S1103 and the mediation handover response in S1104. In addition, the smart phone 101 presents information prompting the user to perform an NFC touch between the smart phone 101 and the first wireless LAN terminal station (monitoring camera 102).

  In S1105, when the user NFC touches the smart phone 101 to the monitoring camera 102, messages are exchanged in S1106 to S1109. That is, a mediation handover request is transmitted from the smart phone 101 to the monitoring camera 102 in S1106, and a mediation handover response is returned in response to this in S1107. Next, a handover start request is transmitted from the smart phone 101 to the monitoring camera 102 in S1108, and a handover start response is returned in response to this in S1107. In step S <b> 1110, the monitoring camera 102 establishes a wireless LAN connection with the AP 104.

  In S1111, when the user instructs the continuation of the intermediary handover process, the smart phone 101 presents information prompting the user to perform an NFC touch between the smart phone 101 and the second wireless LAN terminal station (display 103).

  In S1112, when the user NFC touches the smart phone 101 and the display 103, a handover selection message is transmitted from the smart phone 101 to the display 103 in S1113. In step S <b> 1113, the display 103 establishes a wireless LAN connection with the AP 104.

  In S1115, when the user selects to end the application, the process ends.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the smart phone 101 presents information prompting the user to perform an NFC touch with the wireless LAN base station device at the start of mediation handover. Thereby, it is possible to execute an intermediary handover without performing NFC touches for the same wireless LAN terminal station device a plurality of times. Also, when establishing a wireless LAN connection between a plurality of wireless LAN terminal station devices with the same wireless LAN base station device, the smart phone 101 operates to distribute connection setting information. For this reason, it is possible to realize a handover technique with high user convenience without performing NFC touches on the wireless LAN base station device a plurality of times.

  The smart phone 101 can also make the display 103 participate in the network of the AP 104 without establishing NFC with the AP 104 and the monitoring camera 102 again after establishing the wireless connection between the AP 104 and the monitoring camera 102 by the intermediary handover.

  Further, the smart phone 101 starts the NFC communication with the display 103 after establishing a wireless connection between the apparatuses by the intermediary handover and before the predetermined period elapses or when there is an instruction to transmit connection setting information. Send connection setting information to. On the other hand, the smart phone 101 starts the NFC communication with the display 103 after establishing a wireless connection between the devices by an intermediary handover, after a predetermined period has elapsed, or when there is no connection setting information transmission instruction. 103 does not transmit connection setting information. Further, when the smart phone 101 is connected to the display 103 after a predetermined period has elapsed or when there is no connection setting information transmission instruction, the smart phone 101 transmits a mediation request message to connect the display 103 to another device. Can do. For this reason, user convenience is improved.

  In the present embodiment, the NFC communication is used and the devices are connected by the wireless LAN of IEEE802.11b / g / n. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied when establishing a wireless connection such as IEEE802.11ad or Bluetooth Low Energy. Further, infrared communication, transfer jet, or the like, which is a proximity wireless communication method other than NFC, may be used.

<< Embodiment 2 >>
In the first embodiment, the smart phone 101 has described an operation example in which the process ends when the first NFC touch partner does not have the wireless LAN base station function after the start of the intermediary handover process (NO in S706). S703). In the second embodiment (Embodiment 2) of the present invention, when the smart phone 101 has a wireless LAN base station function and the NFC touch partner is a device having a wireless LAN terminal station function, the smart phone 101 itself is a wireless LAN base station. The touch partner is accommodated in the network formed by itself. Then, the device group that has been accommodated in its own network is transferred to the network of the device having the wireless LAN base station function touched by the subsequent NFC touch.

  That is, in this embodiment, even when the intermediary device starts proximity wireless communication with the base device before starting the proximity wireless communication with the base station device, the mediation device and the base device are not brought closer again, An operation for connecting the terminal station apparatus and the base station apparatus will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the smart phone 101 according to the present embodiment. The smart phone 101 of the first embodiment is different from the smart phone 101 in that it includes a wireless LAN communication unit 1201 and an antenna 1202 as second communication means for performing wireless LAN communication. The wireless LAN communication unit 1201 processes both the wireless LAN terminal station function and base station function in the IEEE 802.11 standard. The wireless LAN communication unit 1201 performs wireless LAN communication with a device having a wireless LAN base station function or a wireless LAN terminal station function, for example, based on IEEE802.11b / g / n. As described above, the smart phone 101 of the present embodiment has both the base station function and the terminal station function, and can operate with either of them. Since the other blocks are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow of the mediation handover of the smart phone 101 according to the present embodiment. In the flowchart of FIG. 13, the same operation steps as those in the flowchart of FIG. 6 are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. The flowchart shown in FIG. 13 is realized by the control unit 203 of the smart phone 101 executing the control program read from the storage unit 204.

  The smart phone 101 determines whether or not the external device has a base station function of the wireless LAN communication method by communicating with the external device by the NFC communication method. If it is determined that the smart phone 101 does not have a base station function, connection setting information for connecting to a network based on a wireless LAN communication system built by the smart phone 101 as a base station is transmitted to the external device using the NFC communication system. Send. Thereby, the smart phone 101 is temporarily accommodated in a network constructed as a base station. Then, each external device that has transmitted the connection setting information of the smart phone 101 is transferred to a device having a base station function of a wireless LAN communication system. For this reason, even before the NFC touch to the base station device, the user can touch each terminal station device to connect these devices to the wireless LAN network constructed by the base station device.

  In step S <b> 1301, the control unit 203 causes the display unit 205 to display information that prompts an NFC touch to a device to be wirelessly connected by the mediated handover.

  In step S1302, the control unit 203 starts network information acquisition processing. Here, in this embodiment, in order to acquire the network information of the NFC touch partner, a mediation handover request is transmitted to the touch partner. And network information is acquired by receiving a mediation handover response.

  In step S1303, the acquired network information is referred to and it is determined whether or not the wireless LAN is included in the network type supported by the touch partner. If a wireless LAN is included (YES in S1303), the process proceeds to S1304. If not included (NO in S1303), the process ends.

  In step S1304, it is determined whether the touch partner is a device having a wireless LAN terminal station function. If the device has a wireless LAN terminal station function (YES in S1304), the process proceeds to S1305. On the other hand, if the touch partner is a device that does not have a wireless LAN terminal station function (NO in S1304), that is, if the touch partner is a device that has a wireless LAN base station function, the process proceeds to S1306.

  In S1305, a handover selection message is transmitted to the wireless LAN terminal station that is the touch partner. Here, the handover selection message includes connection setting information when the smart phone 101 operates as a base station. Accordingly, the touch partner that has received this handover selection message operates to request the smart phone 101 to establish a wireless LAN connection. The smart phone 101 is accommodated in a network in which the touch partner having received the connection request is the base station. The connection setting information is set in advance in the smart phone 101, but if not set in advance, it is newly generated. When generating connection setting information, connection setting information may be generated at random, or beacons transmitted by surrounding base station devices are scanned to be different from connection setting information of base station devices existing in the surroundings. Connection setting information may be generated. When the process of S1305 is completed, the process proceeds to S1307.

  If the touch partner is a device having a wireless LAN base station function in S1306, the connection setting information of the device is stored in the storage unit 204. Then, the process proceeds to S1307.

  In step S1307, it is determined whether the user has instructed the continuation of the intermediary handover process. If an instruction to continue the intermediary handover process is given (YES in S1307), the process returns to S1301. On the other hand, if the user instructs the end of the intermediary handover process (NO in S1307), the process proceeds to S1308.

  In step S1308, after the application is activated, it is determined whether there is a device having a wireless LAN base station function in the touched partner. If there is a device having a wireless LAN base station function (YES in S1308), the process proceeds to S1310. If there is no device having the wireless LAN base station function (NO in S1308), the process proceeds to S1309.

  In step S1309, the control unit 203 displays on the display unit 205 that there is no wireless LAN base station (error) on the touched partner, and ends the process.

  In step S1310, the control unit 203 displays the connection setting information added to the storage unit 204 after the application is activated on the display unit 205, and prompts the user to select which device is the base station in the system. When there is only one device having a base station function in the system, this step may be omitted and the device may be set as a base station in the system.

  In S1311, the terminal station group accommodated in its own network is transferred to the base station device selected in S1310. The terminal station group can be transferred by any method. For example, as a first method for transferring a terminal station group accommodated in its own network, there is a method of setting its own connection setting information in a selected base station device. In this case, the smartphone 101 operates the wireless LAN communication unit 1201 as a terminal station, and performs a wireless LAN connection with the wireless LAN base station having the connection setting information stored in S1306. Then, the wireless LAN base station is instructed to change connection setting information using wireless LAN communication. At this time, if the wireless LAN base station is compatible with the WPS standard, it is possible to change connection setting information such as SSID by using an EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) message. As a second method, there is a method in which connection setting information of a selected base station device is transmitted to a terminal station group accommodated in its own network to instruct a change of a connection destination. In this case, when the accommodated terminal station group is compatible with the WPS standard, it is possible to change the connection destination by the EAP message in the same manner.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the wireless LAN terminal station in the system is temporarily accommodated in the network having the smart phone 101 as the base station. Then, when the end of processing is instructed by the user, a device to be a base station is determined, and a terminal station device already accommodated in the base station device is transferred. As a result, it is possible to establish a wireless LAN connection with high user convenience by simply touching a group of devices to be connected to the wireless LAN one by one without any restriction on the order of NFC touch.

  In this embodiment, the operation is performed so that all wireless LAN terminal station devices in the system are temporarily accommodated in a network in which the smart phone 101 is a wireless LAN base station. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when a device having a base station function is touched, information prompting the user to designate whether or not the device is set as a base station in the system is displayed on the display unit 205. Then, when the user selects the device as a base station, the terminal 101 that has been accommodated at this time operates to be transferred, and thereafter the smartphone 101 operates to distribute the connection setting information of this base station. May be. In this case, after the user selects a base station, the smart phone 101 only needs to operate as an NFC tag as in the first embodiment, so that power consumption of the smart phone 101 can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the user selects a device to be a base station when there are a plurality of devices having a base station function in the system has been described. However, the smartphone 101 may automatically select the device. . At this time, selection of a device for which the smart phone 101 serves as a base station can be performed by a method according to the application. For example, the smart phone 101 may randomly select a device to be a base station. Alternatively, when an NFC touch is made with a device having a base station function, the device notifies the smart phone 101 of its own device information, and the smart phone 101 selects a device that serves as a base station based on this device information. You may make it do. Here, the device information is, for example, information indicating whether the device is connected to a power source and is always activated, or whether the device is driven by a battery, and the like, and notifies information suitable for selection of the base station. Is desirable. As described above, when there are a plurality of external devices having a base station function as a transfer destination, the power is stably supplied by determining the external device as the transfer destination based on the power supply status to the external device. Can automatically operate as a base station.

  As described above, according to each of the above-described configurations, it is possible to execute an intermediary handover without performing NFC touch multiple times for the same wireless LAN terminal station device. Further, when a plurality of wireless LAN terminal stations are connected to a single wireless LAN base station by wireless LAN, an intermediary handover can be executed without performing NFC touches on the wireless LAN base station multiple times. it can. Therefore, it is possible to provide a handover technique with high user convenience.

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

101: Smartphone, 102: Surveillance camera, 103: Display, 104: Access point

Claims (11)

A communication device,
A first communication means for performing radio communication by the first wireless communication system,
A communication method different from the first wireless communication method, and second communication means for performing more wireless communication to the first fast or communication distance communication speed from the wireless communication system is long second wireless communication system ,
A receiving means for receiving connection setting information for connecting to the network by the first communication means from the base station when communicating with a base station constructing a network by the first communication means;
When communicating with a plurality of terminal stations connected to a network by the first communication means, connection means for connecting with each of the plurality of terminal stations by the second communication means,
When the connection means receives the connection setting information after connecting to each of the plurality of terminal stations by the connection means, the connection setting information is transmitted to each of the plurality of terminal stations by the second communication means. First transmitting means to:
A communication apparatus comprising:   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit configured to determine whether or not the counterpart apparatus communicated by the first communication unit is the base station.   When communicating with the plurality of terminal stations by the first communication means, performing handover processing for handing over each of the plurality of terminal stations from the first wireless communication method to the second wireless communication method The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second transmission unit configured to transmit information to be indicated by the first communication unit. The communication apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the information is information indicating that the communication apparatus mediates the handover process. Communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by further comprising notification means for performing notification to prompt a predetermined user operation for performing wireless communication by the second communication means. The communication apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the notification unit performs the notification by displaying a predetermined image on a display unit. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless communication method is a communication method compliant with NFC (Near Field Communication) standard .   The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the second wireless communication method is a communication method compliant with the IEEE802.11 series standard.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second wireless communication method is a communication method compliant with a Bluetooth standard.   First communication means for performing wireless communication by a first wireless communication method;
  A second communication unit that is different from the first wireless communication method and performs wireless communication by a second wireless communication method having a communication speed faster than that of the first wireless communication method or a longer communication distance; A method for controlling a communication device having
  A reception step of receiving connection setting information for connecting to the network by the first communication means from the base station when communicating with a base station constructing a network by the first communication means;
  When communicating with a plurality of terminal stations connected to a network by the first communication means, a connection step of connecting each of the plurality of terminal stations with the second communication means;
  When the connection setting information is received in the receiving step after connecting to each of the plurality of terminal stations in the connection step, the connection setting information is transmitted to each of the plurality of terminal stations by the second communication means. A transmission process to
  A method for controlling a communication apparatus, comprising: The computer program for functioning a computer as each means with which the communication apparatus of any one of Claim 1 to 9 is provided.

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