JP2009135783A - Communication adapter and connection information setting method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily set corresponding connection information in a communication adapter even if information about connection to an access point is not set in the communication adapter. <P>SOLUTION: This communication adapter 10 connected to an access point 14 for radio communication is provided with a physical media communication section 32 for communicating between the access point with radio physical media 18 and a memory section 34 for storing information about connection for corresponding communication. When a power source of the communication adapter 10 is turned on, connection information stored in the memory section is referred, and in the case wherein there is no information about connection of the access point as an object of connection, connection from other radio equipment is temporally permitted in the physical media communication section 32, and information about connection from other radio equipment is set in the memory section 34. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication adapter connected to an access point so as to be capable of wireless communication, and to a method for setting connection information for connecting to the access point for the communication adapter.

  Recently, home appliances such as air conditioners, lighting and refrigerators are connected to an access point via a home network, and the operation of the home appliances can be controlled from a personal computer or a mobile phone via the external Internet. The development of technology that informs the outside of the situation has become active.

  In order to connect the home appliance to such a network, a communication adapter is connected to the home appliance and is connected to an access point on the network side via the communication adapter. And the signal from this access point is received with a communication adapter, and household appliances are controlled based on this signal.

  When a wireless physical medium is used as a physical medium that is a transmission medium for communication between such a communication adapter and an access point, it is necessary to set a parent-child relationship between the two. Conventionally, for example, in a specific low-power radio, a parent-child relationship is established by simultaneously pressing the setting switches of both the radio base station and the radio terminal and outputting signals. However, recent high-security devices cannot be authenticated just by pressing the setting switch, and it is necessary to store and set connection information in a communication adapter or access point.

  When setting connection information in a communication adapter, if the communication adapter has a wired input interface, it can be set using it, but with a communication adapter that does not have an input interface for setting such connection information, It is necessary to set connection information using wireless communication. Moreover, it is necessary to set connection information using wireless communication even when the home appliance and its communication adapter are installed in a place that is difficult to reach such as the ceiling.

Patent Document 1 below proposes a method for setting wireless connection information between a wireless terminal and an access point in a wireless LAN system. However, although the setting method of Patent Document 1 is setting of connection information using wireless communication, the user operates the wireless terminal to set connection information. It is not intended for installation.
JP 2007-189565 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points. When a connection between a communication adapter and an access point is newly constructed as in the case of installing a home appliance, connection information with the access point is set. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication adapter that can easily set the connection information in the communication adapter even if the connection information is not provided, and a connection information setting method thereof.

  A communication adapter according to the present invention is a communication adapter that is connected to an access point so as to be capable of wireless communication, and a communication unit for physical media that performs communication with the access point using a wireless physical medium; and A storage unit for storing connection information for performing communication with the access point; and a control unit for controlling the physical media communication unit and the storage unit. When the connection information stored in the storage unit is referenced and there is no connection information about the access point to be connected, another wireless device in the physical media communication unit The connection from is temporarily permitted.

  The communication adapter connection information setting method according to the present invention is a method for setting connection information for connecting to an access point for a communication adapter connected to the access point so as to be capable of wireless communication. The adapter includes a physical media communication unit that performs wireless physical communication with the access point, and a storage unit that stores the connection information, and the communication adapter is turned on. The communication adapter refers to the connection information stored in the storage unit, and if the storage unit does not have connection information about the access point to be connected, the communication adapter is connected to the physical medium. Temporarily permitting a connection from another wireless device in the communication unit, and in a state where the connection is temporarily permitted , To the communication adapter from the other wireless devices, is intended to include, and setting the connection information in the storage unit transmits the connection information for said access point is a connection target.

  With the communication adapter according to the present invention, referring to the connection information held by itself when the power is turned on, if there is no connection information regarding the access point to be connected, connection from another wireless device is established. Allow temporarily. Therefore, in this state, the connection information can be easily set in the communication adapter by transmitting the wireless information regarding the access point to be connected from the other wireless device to the communication adapter. Therefore, the workability at the time of newly establishing a connection between the communication adapter and the access point can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a system configuration of a home network incorporating a communication adapter 10 according to the embodiment. As shown, a plurality of communication adapters (“adapter 1”, “adapter 2” and “adapter 3” in the figure) 10 are wirelessly communicated to an access point (“AP1” in the figure) 14 on the network 12 side. A home appliance 16 is connected to each communication adapter 10.

  The access point 14 on the network 12 side is a communication control device that is connected to the network 12 and gives a predetermined command to the communication adapter 10 via the wireless physical medium 18, thereby controlling the home appliance 16. Also called. The network 12 may be connected to an external network such as the Internet. In this case, control via the external network is possible using a mobile phone or the like. The connection between the access point 14 and the network 12 may be either wired or wireless, but a wired example is shown in the figure.

  The home appliance 16 to be controlled is not particularly limited. For example, various home appliances such as an air conditioner, a water heater, a lighting fixture, a refrigerator, a washing / drying machine, a microwave oven, an AV device such as a video and an audio, and the like. Can be mentioned. The home appliance 16 and the communication adapter 10 are connected by a wired communication interface 20. Communication adapter 10 may be provided separately from home appliance 16 as described above and connected to home appliance 16 or may be provided integrally within home appliance 16.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the communication adapter 10 includes a home appliance interface unit 30 for connecting and communicating with the home appliance 16, a physical media communication unit 32 for connecting and communicating with the access point 14, and access. A storage unit 34 including a flash memory for storing and storing various data and programs including connection information for communicating with the point 14, and the home appliance interface unit 30, a physical media communication unit 32, And a control unit 36 composed of a CPU or the like for controlling the storage unit 34.

  The home appliance interface unit 30 can be configured by, for example, an open collector based on serial communication (UART). In this case, the communication adapter 10 and the home appliance 16 can communicate with each other via the communication interface 20 capable of serial transfer. Connected to.

  The physical media communication unit 32 is a device that communicates with the access point 14 via the physical medium 18 that is a transmission medium for wireless communication. Examples of such wireless physical media 18 include Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN, infrared rays, and low-power wireless. In this example, Bluetooth is used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, when the connection information about the access point 14 indicated as “AP1” is held in the storage unit 34, the communication adapter 10 connects to the access point 14 when the power is turned on. Can communicate with each other. However, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, the access point 14 is changed from “AP1” to “AP2” which is another model due to failure or repair, and each communication adapter 10 is connected to the access point 14 of “AP2”. When the connection information is not held, each communication adapter 10 cannot connect to the access point 14. In addition, as a case where connection with the access point 14 is not possible, in addition to the above, when the position of the home appliance 16 is changed to connect to a different access point 14, or the communication adapter 10 is newly installed or replaced There are some cases. The case of exchanging the communication adapter 10 includes the case of exchanging a home appliance having an integrated communication adapter, and the case of exchanging only the communication adapter as it is.

  Thus, when connection with the access point 14 becomes impossible, in this embodiment, in order to acquire the connection information of the new access point 14, the communication adapter 10 temporarily establishes wireless connection from other wireless devices. Thus, the connection information can be easily set. Hereinafter, a flow of processing for setting connection information in the communication adapter 10 will be described. The processing can be executed by storing a program for that purpose in the storage unit 34 and operating the control unit 36 in accordance with the program.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, the communication adapter 10 is turned on using a power switch or the like (step 100). Then, the control unit 36 refers to the wireless connection information with respect to the storage unit 34 (step 101). That is, an inquiry is made as to whether Bluetooth connection information is stored in the storage unit 34.

  As a result, if it is determined in step 102 that the connection information is stored in the storage unit 34, the Bluetooth connection process with the connection information is performed on the access point 14 using the physical media communication unit 32 in step 103. I do. Such connection processing is usually attempted several times. If the Bluetooth connection by the communication adapter 10 is successful in step 104, a start-up notification of the communication adapter 10 is transmitted to the access point 14 in step 105, and the communication adapter 10 is normally activated and is accessed by the access point 14. Transition to a normal control state (step 106). In this example, the start-up notification is performed in the echonet mode in order to control communication between the communication adapter 10 and the access point 14 using the Echonet (registered trademark) protocol.

  On the other hand, if the connection information is not stored in the storage unit 34 in step 102, the communication adapter 10 starts up in a stand-alone mode (ie, an isolated state that cannot communicate with the outside shown in FIG. 3) in step 107. In addition, when the Bluetooth connection by the communication adapter 10 fails in the above step 104 (in this case, the connection information is retained, but the connection cannot be made because there is no corresponding access point), similarly, the stand-up mode is started in the step 107. .

  As described above, when there is no connection information about the access point 14 to be connected, the physical media communication unit 32 temporarily establishes a connection from another wireless device so that the other wireless device can search and connect. The mode is shifted to the mode that is permitted (step 108). The other wireless device is not particularly limited as long as it is a wireless communication device capable of giving the communication adapter 10 wireless connection information of the access point 14 to be connected. For example, a personal computer having a wireless communication function And an access point (home gateway). In addition, the access point 14 itself that is the connection target may be used, that is, the other wireless device that transmits the connection information to the communication adapter in the present invention includes the access point 14 that is the connection target. In this way, the communication adapter 10 is temporarily placed in an open reception state where the communication partner is not limited.

  In this state, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a Bluetooth connection is attempted to the communication adapter 10 using the personal computer 20. The communication adapter 10 determines whether or not there is a wireless connection from the personal computer 20 with a time limit (step 109), and when there is no wireless connection and a predetermined time elapses and a timeout occurs (step 110), The communication adapter 10 finishes the state in which connection from other wireless devices is permitted, and enters a stand-alone mode in which connection from other wireless devices is not possible (step 111). Here, the predetermined time for allowing connection from another wireless device is not particularly limited and can be set as appropriate.

  On the other hand, if there is a wireless connection from the personal computer 20 in step 109, an authentication process is performed with respect to the personal computer 20 as to whether or not the wireless device may be connected (step 112). The authentication process is performed using, for example, key exchange or a password. If the authentication with the personal computer 20 is successful in step 113, the Bluetooth connection information for the access point 14 to be connected is transmitted from the personal computer 20 to the communication adapter 10. The connection information is received via the media communication unit 32 and stored in the storage unit 34 (step 114).

  Thereafter, the communication adapter 10 disconnects the Bluetooth connection (step 115) and restarts. That is, after the communication adapter 10 is turned off in step 116, the process returns to step 100 and the power is turned on. Then, since the Bluetooth connection information about the access point 14 to be connected is stored in the storage unit 34, the communication adapter 10 is started up in step 105 after steps 101, 102, 103, and 104. A notification is transmitted to the access point 14 and the normal control state is entered (step 106).

  On the other hand, when authentication with the personal computer 20 fails in step 113, the communication adapter 10 responds an error signal to the personal computer 20 (step 117), disconnects the Bluetooth connection (step 118), and other wireless communication is performed. A stand-alone mode that cannot be connected from the device is set (step 119).

  As described above, in this embodiment, after referring to the connection information held by itself when the communication adapter 10 is turned on, there is no connection information regarding the access point 14 to be connected. Connections from other wireless devices are temporarily allowed. Therefore, setting of connection information can be easily performed by wireless communication, and workability can be improved.

  In addition, when connection information is stored in the storage unit 34, connection processing is performed on the access point 14 using the connection information. As a result, even when the connection information cannot be connected to the access point 14, other wireless devices Since the connection information from the communication adapter 10 is temporarily permitted, it can be determined whether or not the connection information of the communication adapter 10 can be normally set. If the connection information is not normal, the connection information is correctly reset. be able to.

  If the storage unit 34 has connection information about the access point 14 to be connected, and the physical media communication unit 32 is connected to the access point 14, the connection from the other wireless device The connection is not permitted, and the device reference (that is, an inquiry about whether a wireless device exists) is not responded (steps 100 to 106). Therefore, when the connection is normally set, for example, it is possible to avoid problems such as being controlled from another network such as a neighbor or the presence of which is visible from another network.

  Furthermore, with this communication adapter 10, by providing a time limit for permitting connection from other wireless devices (step 110), problems such as device reference and connection from other networks can be prevented. be able to.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the home network in embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a communication adapter. It is a block diagram which shows the state which has permitted the connection from another radio | wireless apparatus temporarily. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process for setting the wireless connection information in a communication adapter.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Communication adapter 14 ... Access point 16 ... Home appliance 18 ... Wireless physical media 20 ... Personal computer (other wireless devices)
32 ... Physical media communication unit 34 ... Storage unit 36 ... Control unit

Claims (4)

A communication adapter that is connected to an access point so that wireless communication is possible,
A communication unit for physical media that performs wireless physical media communication with the access point, a storage unit for storing connection information for communication with the access point, and the physical media A communication unit and a control unit for controlling the storage unit,
The control unit refers to the connection information stored in the storage unit when the communication adapter is turned on, and if there is no connection information about the access point to be connected, the physical unit Temporarily allow connection from other wireless devices in the media communication unit,
Communication adapter. When connection information is stored in the storage unit, the control unit performs connection processing using the connection information using the physical media communication unit, and as a result, the access that is a connection target in the connection information. When it is not possible to connect to the point, temporarily permit connection from another wireless device in the physical media communication unit,
The communication adapter according to claim 1. The control unit does not permit connection from another wireless device when the storage unit has connection information about the access point to be connected and the connection to the access point is established. And does not respond to device references,
The communication adapter according to claim 1 or 2. A method of setting connection information for connecting to an access point for a communication adapter connected to the access point so that wireless communication is possible,
The communication adapter includes a physical media communication unit that performs wireless physical media communication with the access point, and a storage unit that stores the connection information.
When the communication adapter is turned on, referring to the connection information stored in the storage unit in the communication adapter;
The communication adapter temporarily allowing connection from another wireless device in the physical media communication unit when there is no connection information about the access point to be connected in the storage unit;
In a state where the connection is temporarily permitted, connection information about the access point to be connected is transmitted from the other wireless device to the communication adapter, and the connection information is set in the storage unit. Steps,
Connection information setting method of communication adapter including

Images