JP4317155B2 - Wireless communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication system suitable for application to a case where a plurality of people share one data processing apparatus that performs wireless communication. Examples of such use include when using a wireless keyboard for wireless communication with a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a personal computer) in a wide range (angle) with respect to the personal computer, or with the video conference terminal device itself. There is a case where communication between the keypads and the like is wireless communication and the operation keypads and the like are used in a wide range (angle) with respect to the video conference terminal main body.

  When the communication between the data processing device main body and its peripheral devices is made wireless, there are a method using radio waves and a method using infrared rays. Comparing the two methods, infrared has advantages such as lower cost of the product and lower power consumption because the circuit of the communication unit is simpler than radio waves. Therefore, infrared rays are widely used for television remote controllers and the like.

  In infrared communication, each manufacturer has used its own transmission method until IrDA (Infrared Data Association; established in June 1993), an industry group, standardizes the IrDA method, which is a standard method for infrared data communication. The IrDA system is widely used mainly for wireless communication between a personal computer and its peripheral devices because hardware such as a modulation / demodulation circuit, a light emitting element, and a light receiving element is inexpensive.

The maximum communication distance of this IrDA system and the angle of the emitted light are shown below.
・ Maximum communication distance is 1m, optional up to 3m.
・ The angle of synchrotron radiation is ± 15 degrees to ± 30 degrees.

  In recent years, personal computer / video conferencing systems that share personal computer applications between remote points via a communication line and that transmit and receive voice and moving images have become widespread. This personal computer / video conference system may be shared by a plurality of people participating in the conference. In this case, operation devices such as a keyboard and a drawing input device are also shared by a plurality of conference participants. When these operation devices are used alternately among a plurality of conference participants, there is a desire to move them to the hands of the person using these operation devices in order to improve operability. At this time, when the personal computer main body and the operation device are connected by a connection cord, the connection cord is also moved during the movement, and thus there is a disadvantage that the movement of the connection cord feels troublesome.

  Therefore, if this connection cord is eliminated and IrDA infrared communication is executed, the troublesome movement of the connection cord is eliminated.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a “data collection method using a handy terminal” in which a personal computer collects data from a handy terminal using infrared communication.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses “a control device with a wireless communication function and a TV conference device” in which a peripheral device and a terminal main body are made wireless, and various peripheral devices can be centrally operated from an operation panel of the main body. .
JP-A-4-55992 JP-A-7-67093

  However, as described above, when the connection cord is removed and IrDA infrared communication is performed, the troublesome movement of the connection cord is eliminated, but the operating device can be used with respect to the light emitting unit on the personal computer body side ( The angle is constrained by the angle of the emitted light. Therefore, there is a problem that the operating device cannot be used outside the infrared radiation range from the personal computer body. For example, when a personal computer / video conference system is shared by three people, there is a problem in that the people at both ends must always pay attention to the position where the operation device is used, and the convenience of the device is poor.

  Moreover, in the thing of the said patent document 1, the data transmitted by infrared communication are one direction like the remote control of a television, and data communication of both directions cannot be performed. Therefore, high quality data communication such as error correction cannot be realized.

  Further, the receiver on the information processing apparatus side such as a personal computer “receiver 1 performs control of data collision even when infrared signals are simultaneously transmitted from a plurality of handy terminals, and organizes and outputs the data to the RS232C interface. There is a description that `` data from multiple handy terminals can be received for a stand '', but there is no specific method for data collision control, and there is no guarantee that data will not be destroyed .

  On the other hand, in the thing of patent document 2, information transmission between the digitizer tablet and microphone in the hand of the conference attendant of a video conference system and the main body of a video conference system is performed by optical communications, such as infrared light. However, since the digitizer / tablet / microphone and the optical communication device are connected by a connection cord, the movement of the connection cord may be bothersome as described above when moving peripheral devices at hand of the conference attendee. There is a point.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the range (angle) in which an operation device such as a keyboard and a drawing input device and other peripheral devices can be used by wireless communication is widened. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication system that improves the convenience of the apparatus.

  Also, in a PC / video conference system that shares PC applications between remote locations via a communication line and transmits / receives voice and moving images, operating devices such as keyboards and drawing input devices are assigned to multiple conference participants. It is an object of the present invention to improve the convenience of the apparatus when the apparatus is used alternately between the two, and is moved to the hand of the person using the operation apparatus.

  Another object of the present invention is to realize high-quality communication with error detection, recovery functions, and the like, in which data transmitted by wireless communication is bidirectional.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a wireless communication system including one data processing device that performs wireless communication and a counterpart device, and the data processing device includes a plurality of light emission directions different from each other. When the wireless communication is started, the data processing device tries to establish a connection with the partner device using a predetermined light emitting / receiving unit, and when the connection with the partner device is established, Sending information indicating the number of usable light emitting / receiving units and the number for identifying the number of light emitting / receiving units among the light emitting / receiving units that can be used to the other device to the partner device, the counterpart device, the upon receiving the information from the data processing unit, and displays the reception of the said information or the information, using the current in the light receiving and emitting unit that can be used When using a light emitting / receiving unit other than the current light emitting / receiving unit, a light emitting / receiving unit switching command including information indicating the number of the light receiving / emitting unit among the usable light emitting / receiving units is included. the transmitted to the data processing apparatus, the data processing apparatus, wherein upon receiving the light receiving and emitting unit switching command from the remote device, light receiving and emitting unit for releasing the connection of ever used on the basis of the light receiving and emitting unit change command And performing wireless communication with the counterpart device.

According to the present invention, the data processing device includes a plurality of light emitting / receiving units having different light emission directions, and the data processing device uses a predetermined light emitting / receiving unit at the start of wireless communication to connect to the partner device. When the connection with the partner device is established, the number of usable light emitting / receiving units and the number of light emitting / receiving units among the usable light emitting / receiving units can be determined. The information indicating the number for identification is transmitted to the partner device, and when the partner device receives the information from the data processing device, the partner device displays the information or that the information has been received , When using a light emitting / receiving unit other than the currently used light emitting / receiving unit, information including a number indicating the number of light receiving / emitting units among the usable light emitting / receiving units is included. Light emitting part cut Send the e command to the data processing device, data processing device receives the light receiving and emitting unit switching command from the remote device, receiving and emitting light used on the basis of the light receiving and emitting unit switching command to release the connection to this By switching the unit and performing wireless communication with the counterpart device, there is an effect that the operating range such as a keyboard and a drawing input device, or other peripheral devices can be used (angle) and the convenience of the device is improved. . In addition, when an operation device such as a keyboard or a drawing input device is shared by a plurality of people, the convenience of the device is improved.

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

  Here, the above-described personal computer / video conference system will be described as an example of a system for executing wireless communication according to the present invention.

  FIG. 1 shows a device configuration diagram of the personal computer / video conference system. In the figure, 1 is a personal computer body, 2 is a display (CRT), 3 is a video camera, 4 is a microphone, 5 is a keyboard, 6 is a mouse, 7 is a drawing input device, and 8 is a character input to the drawing input device 7. An electronic pen that is sometimes used.

  FIG. 2 shows a system configuration diagram of the personal computer / video conference system. In the figure, CPU 11, main memory 12, clock 13, bus controller 14, ROM 15, keyboard controller 16, mouse I / F 17, RTC 18, PCI bridge 19, cache memory 20, hard disk 21, SCSI controller 22, CRT display controller 23, television Conference expansion board 24 (including video controller 25 and communication & audio controller 26), speaker 27, serial-parallel conversion circuit 28, switch circuit 29, infrared light receiving and emitting module (1) 30 (numbers in parentheses are circles in the figure) An infrared light receiving / emitting module (2) 31, an infrared light receiving / emitting module (3) 32, a CPU bus 33, a PCI bus 34, and an X bus (internal bus) 35 are mounted on the personal computer main body 1. ing.

  The CPU 11 executes and processes a control processing program, an OS (Operating System) and various application programs stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 15. The main memory 12 is composed of a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and is used as a work area of the CPU 11. The clock 13 includes a crystal oscillator and a frequency dividing circuit, and generates a clock for controlling the operation timing of the CPU 11 and the bus controller 14. The bus controller 14 controls data transfer via the CPU bus 33 and the X bus 35. The ROM 15 is preprogrammed with programs for starting up the system when the power is turned on and controlling various devices.

  The keyboard controller 16 performs conversion from serial data input from the keyboard 5 to parallel data. The mouse 1 / F (interface) 17 has a mouse port and is controlled by a mouse driver (control program). An RTC (Real Time Clock) 18 is a date clock and is backed up by a battery.

  A PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bridge 19 uses the cache memory 20 to transfer data between the PCI bus 34 and the CPU 11. The cache memory 20 is composed of a DRAM and is used by the PCI bridge 19.

  The hard disk 21 stores system software, various application programs, a lot of user data, and the like. A SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) controller 22 is an interface with the hard disk 21 and performs high-speed data transfer with the hard disk 21.

  The CRT display controller 23 performs D / A (Digital / Analog) conversion of character and graphic data or video data supplied from the video controller 25 and performs control for displaying these data on the CRT 2.

  The video conference expansion board 24 includes a video controller 25 and a communication & audio controller 26, and is installed in a PCI expansion bus slot. The video controller 25 performs A / D (Analog / Digital) conversion of the analog video signal input from the video camera 3 and supplies the analog video signal to the CRT display controller 23 or during A / D conference communication, the A / D converted video. ITU-T Recommendation H. H.261 is used to output the compressed data to the communication & audio controller 26, and to the compressed video data input from the communication & audio controller 26. Decoding according to H.261 is performed, and the decompressed data is supplied to the CRT display controller 23. The communication & audio controller 26 is connected to a microphone 4, a speaker 27, and the like, and also performs A / D conversion of an audio signal and ITU-T recommendation G.264. A speech codec that performs encoding such as 722; It includes a multiplex / separation control unit for various media data compliant with H.221, a D channel control unit for performing connection / disconnection of calls using the D channel, an ISDN interface, etc., and mainly handles the hardware part of communication control To do.

  The serial-parallel conversion circuit 28 is used in infrared data communication, and converts transmission data from parallel to serial and reception data from serial to parallel. The switch circuit 29 connects an arbitrary one of the infrared light receiving / emitting module (1) 30, the infrared light receiving / emitting module (2) 31, and the infrared light receiving / emitting module (3) 32 to the serial-parallel conversion circuit 28, and is used. Switch the infrared receiving / emitting module to be used. The infrared light receiving / emitting module (1) 30, the infrared light receiving / emitting module (2) 31, and the infrared light receiving / emitting module (3) 32 are circuits necessary for executing IrDA infrared communication. Shown in

  As shown in FIG. 3, these infrared light receiving and emitting modules include an asynchronous transmission / reception circuit 40, a modem circuit 41, an amplifier 42, an amplifier 43, an infrared light emitting diode 44, and a photodiode 45. The asynchronous transmission / reception circuit 40 is located between the switch circuit 29 and the modulation / demodulation circuit 41 and asynchronously transmits / receives data to / from the modulation / demodulation circuit 41. The modem circuit 41 modulates transmission data using an RZ (Return to Zero) code, outputs the modulated analog signal to the amplifier 42, demodulates the analog signal received from the amplifier 43, and asynchronously transmits the serial data. The data is output to the transmission / reception circuit 40. The RZ code is a method of emitting infrared light when data to be transmitted is “0” and not emitting when “1”. The infrared light emitting diode 44 emits or extinguishes infrared light having a peak wavelength of 850 nm to 900 nm and a radiation angle of ± 15 degrees to ± 30 degrees in accordance with current on / off. The photodiode 45 outputs a current when it receives infrared light.

  These three infrared light emitting / receiving modules are attached to the front side surface (front surface) of the personal computer main body 1 in different directions with the light emitting diode 44 and the photodiode 45 facing outward. Examples of attaching these infrared light emitting / receiving modules are shown in FIGS. 4 (a), 4 (b) and 4 (c). 4A shows a case when viewed from the front, FIG. 4B shows a case when projected from above, and FIG. 4C shows a case when projected from the right. FIG. 4B also shows the range of emitted light. The front surface of the personal computer main body 1 usually has a power switch, a flexible disk / diskette, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read 0n memory) insertion slot, etc., but these are not shown here. The infrared light receiving / emitting module (2) 31 is attached so that the center line of the emitted infrared light is at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the side surface. The infrared light receiving / emitting module (1) 30 and the infrared light receiving / emitting module (3 ) 32 is attached so that the center line of each light emission is at an angle of 30 degrees with respect to the center line of light emission of the infrared light receiving and emitting module (2) 31.

  The mounting location of the infrared light emitting / receiving module is not limited to the side surface of the personal computer main body 1. For example, a dedicated box is provided outside the personal computer main body 1, and the light emitting diode 44 and the photodiode 45 are directed outward. It can also be stored in it.

  Next, the drawing input device 7 that performs infrared communication with the personal computer main body 1 will be described. A block diagram of the drawing input device 7 is shown in FIG. In the figure, the CPU 50 controls the entire apparatus according to a control processing program stored in the ROM 51. In the ROM 51, a program for controlling the entire apparatus and a program for executing an IrDA infrared communication protocol are written in advance. The RAM 52 is used not only as a work area for the CPU 50 but also as a transmission data buffer and a reception data buffer during infrared communication.

  The LCD display controller 53 controls the display screen of the LCD 54. The touch panel controller 55 detects a portion where the pen tip of the electronic pen 8 contacts on the touch panel 56 and takes in the position information. The touch panel 56 is in close contact with the LCD 54. The infrared communication controller 57 is composed of a serial-parallel conversion circuit and an infrared light receiving / emitting module, which are respectively the serial-parallel conversion circuit 28 of the personal computer main body 1 and the infrared light receiving / emitting modules (1) 30 to (3). ) 32. The bus 58 is used for transferring data between the above components.

  When the drawing input device 7 is set to the handwritten character input mode, when the electronic pen 8 writes on the touch panel 56, the handwriting is displayed on the LCD 54. It is also possible to display a list of alphanumeric characters on the LCD 54 and input kana and kanji characters using kana-kanji conversion in addition to alphanumeric characters. Further, a cursor movement key is displayed on the LCD 54, and by pointing to this, the cursor displayed on the CRT 2 of the personal computer / video conference system main body can be moved. Characters and drawing data input from the drawing input device 7 are displayed on the LCD 54, transmitted to the personal computer main body 1 by infrared communication, and also displayed on the CRT 2. When the personal computer / video conference system is in conference communication and is in the shared blackboard mode, the personal computer main body 1 displays the display data received from the drawing input device 7 on the CRT 2 and transmits it to the other personal computer / video conference system, It is also displayed on the other party's CRT. The drawing input device 7 can also display the display data received from the personal computer main body 1 on the LCD 54.

  Next, an IrDA infrared communication protocol will be described. The protocol configuration of the IrDA system is shown in FIG.

  In the figure, an application 60 is an application that transmits characters, drawing data, cursor movement instruction data, and the like in this embodiment. The TP entity (Entity) 61 is an entity that executes a transport protocol (layer 4) of an OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model, and this entity is optional. Note that TP is an abbreviation for “transport”. An LM-IAS (Link Management Information Service Service) 62 exchanges information indicating what device is in communication. The LM-IAS 62 and the TP entity 61 are located in the same layer, and one of them is selected and used in one inter-application connection. In the present embodiment, the LM-IAS 62 is used and the TP entity 61 is not used.

  An LM-MUX (Link Management Multiplexer) 63 can have a plurality of service access points and processes data transmission of a plurality of applications simultaneously. IrLAP (Infrared Link Access Protocol) 64 is defined based on an unbalanced procedural class of HDLC (High level Data Link control procedures). An unbalanced procedural class is one in which one station has full responsibility for control, and is configured by connecting a primary station and a secondary station. In this case, there is a single primary station, but there can be a plurality of secondary stations. In the case of this embodiment, the personal computer main body 1 is a primary station, and the drawing input device 7 is a secondary station. An IrDA-SIR (IrDA Serial Infrared Physical Layer) 65 defines physical specifications of infrared communication such as a modulation method.

  In the present embodiment, characters, drawing data, cursor movement instruction data, and the like are transmitted using an IrDA infrared communication protocol. All protocols except for IrDA-SIR65 are executed by software. Hereinafter, basic operations common to each invention will be described.

  In this personal computer / video conference system, the switch circuit 29 is used to connect the serial-parallel conversion circuit 28 and one of the three infrared light emitting / receiving modules. That is, as shown in the operation flow of FIG. 7, when the switch circuit 29 receives the selection signal from the CPU 11 (YES in determination 101), the switch circuit 29 is disconnected and the infrared light receiving and emitting module designated by the selection signal is directly connected. -Connect the parallel conversion circuit 28 (process 102). Then, using the connected infrared light emitting / receiving module, infrared communication is performed with the drawing input device 7 (process 103).

  As described above, the personal computer main body 1 of the personal computer / video conference system includes the three infrared light receiving / emitting modules having different light emission directions, and the drawing input device 7 and the wireless communication device are wirelessly connected using one of the infrared light receiving / emitting modules. Since communication is performed, the usable range (angle) of the drawing input device 7 is expanded, and the convenience of the device is improved. In addition, as wireless communication, the use of infrared rays whose hardware is inexpensive reduces the manufacturing cost of the device.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 shows an operation flow on the personal computer main body 1 side in this embodiment, and FIG. 9 shows an operation flow on the drawing input device 7 side.

  This personal computer / video conference system starts infrared communication when a communication start key with the drawing input device 7 is selected on the main body (YES in decision 201 in FIG. 8). First, the infrared communication module (2) 31 at the center is used to establish an infrared communication connection with the drawing input device 7 (process 202). Then, the personal computer main body 1 transmits the number of usable infrared light emitting / receiving modules, that is, “3”, and the number of the currently used infrared light emitting / receiving module, that is, “2” (process 203).

  On the other hand, when the drawing input device 7 receives an SNRM command to be described later, it returns a UA response and establishes an infrared communication connection (YES in decision 301 in FIG. 9 → processing 302). When “3” is received as the number of infrared light emitting / receiving modules and “2” is received as the number of the currently used infrared light receiving / emitting modules (processing 303), three icons of the infrared light receiving / emitting modules are displayed on the LCD 54 ( Process 304). At this time, the icon corresponding to the currently used infrared light emitting / receiving module, that is, the center icon is displayed in reverse.

  A display example of the icon of the infrared light receiving and emitting module on the LCD 54 is shown in FIG. The icon 70 in the drawing corresponds to the infrared light receiving / emitting module number “1”, that is, the infrared light receiving / emitting module (1) 30, and the reverse-display icon 71 indicated by diagonal lines is the infrared light receiving / emitting module number. The icon 72 corresponds to the infrared light receiving / emitting module (2) 31, and the icon 72 corresponds to the infrared light receiving / emitting module number “3”, that is, the infrared light receiving / emitting module (3) 32.

  After the icon of the infrared light emitting / receiving module is displayed, the drawing input device 7 is ready to transmit characters, drawing data, cursor movement data, and the like to the PC main body 1 (YES in the determination 305 in FIG. 9 → processing 306, or Judgment 307 YES → processing 308). Now, when the position of the non-reverse icon 70 displayed on the LCD 54 is pointed with the electronic pen 8 (YES in decision 311), the drawing input device 7 includes the infrared light receiving / emitting module number “1”. An infrared light emitting / receiving module switching command is transmitted to the personal computer 1 (process 312).

  Upon receipt of this command (YES at decision 208 in FIG. 8), the personal computer main unit 1 releases the infrared communication connection so far and switches the infrared light receiving / emitting module used by the switch circuit 29 to the infrared light receiving / emitting module (1). 30 (process 209). Then, using this infrared light emitting / receiving module, an attempt is made to establish a connection with the drawing input device 7 (process 210).

  Here, FIG. 11 shows an example of a protocol sequence from the establishment to the release of the connection between the personal computer main body 1 and the drawing input device 7 using the infrared light receiving and emitting module (2) 31, and the operation will be described. . Illustration of RR (Receive Ready) between the IrLAP connection ends is omitted.

  The operation up to the establishment of the connection between the infrared communication applications will be described separately for the personal computer main body 1 and the drawing input device 7. First, the operation of the personal computer main body 1 will be described.

  When the communication start key with the drawing input device 7 is selected in the personal computer / video conference system main body, the infrared communication application 60 issues a connection establishment request to the LM-IAS 62, and this message is sent to the lrLAP 64 via the LM-MUX 63. Be notified. When receiving the connection establishment request (IrLAP_CON.req), the IrLAP 64 transmits an SNRM (Set Normal Response Mode) command. When a UA (Unnumbered Acknowledgment) response is received from the partner, a data link connection establishment confirmation (IrLAP_CON.cnf) is issued to the LM-MUX 63. Upon receiving this message, the LM-MUX 63 includes a CR LM-PDU (Connect Request Link Management-Protocol Data Unit) in the data request (IrLAP_DT.req) message and passes it to the IrLAP 64. The IrLAP 64 includes this information in an I (Information) frame and transmits it to the other party. Thereafter, when receiving an I frame including CC LM-PDU (Connect Configuration Link Management-Protocol Data Unit) from the partner, a data instruction (IrLAP_DT.ind) is issued to LM-MUX 63. Upon receiving this, the LM-MUX 63 passes a connection establishment confirmation to the infrared communication application 60 via the LM-IAS 62.

  Next, the operation of the drawing input device 7 will be described.

  When IrLAP 64 receives an SNRM command from the other party, it issues a data link connection establishment instruction (IrLAP_CON.ind) to LM-MUX 63. Upon receiving this message, the LM-MUX 63 returns a response (IrLAP_CON.rsp) to the IrLAP64. Upon receiving this message, the IrLAP 64 transmits a UA response to the other party. Thereafter, when receiving an I frame including the CR LM-PDU from the other party, the IrLAP 64 issues a data instruction (IrLAP_DT.ind) to the LM-MUX 63. When receiving this message, the LM-MUX 63 passes a connection establishment instruction to the infrared communication application 60 via the LM-IAS 62. The infrared communication application 60 passes this response message to the LM-MUX 63 via the LM-IAS 62. Upon receiving this, the LM-MUX 63 includes the CC LM-PDU in the data request (IrLAP_DT.req) message and passes it to the IrLAP 64. The IrLAP 64 includes this information in an I (Information) frame and transmits it to the other party.

  In this way, the connection between the infrared communication applications is established (corresponding to the process 202 in FIG. 8 and the process 302 in FIG. 9). When the connection is established, the personal computer 1 includes the number of infrared light emitting / receiving modules that can be used and the number of the infrared light emitting / receiving module currently used in the DT LM-PDU (Data Link Management-Protocol Data Unit). Send to. Thereafter, the drawing input device 7 includes the cursor movement instruction data and the drawing data in the DT LM-PDU and transmits them to the other party. Then, when the user selects the icon of the infrared light receiving / emitting module that has not been reversed and is displayed on the LCD 54 of the drawing input device 7, the infrared light receiving / emitting module switching command is included in the DT LM-PDU and transmitted to the other party. Upon receiving this command, the infrared communication application 60 of the personal computer main body 1 issues a connection release request to the LM-IAS 62, and this message is notified to the IrLAP 64 via the LM-MUX 63.

  Upon receiving this message, the IrLAP 64 transmits a DISC (Disconnect) command. Upon receiving this command, the IrLAP 64 of the drawing input device 7 transmits a UA response to the other party and passes a disconnection instruction (IrLAP_DIS.ind) message to the LM-MUX 63. The LM-MUX 63 passes this disconnection instruction message to the infrared communication application 60 via the LM-IAS 62.

  On the other hand, when the IrLAP 64 of the personal computer main body 1 receives the UA response, it passes a disconnection instruction (IrLAP_DIS.ind) message to the LM-MUX 63. The LM-MUX 63 passes this disconnection instruction message to the infrared communication application 60 via the LM-IAS 62. In this way, the connection between the infrared communication applications is released (corresponding to processing 209 in FIG. 8 and processing 313 in FIG. 9).

  Next, the personal computer main unit 1 uses the switch circuit 29 to switch the connection to the infrared light receiving / emitting module of the number designated from the drawing input device 7 (process 209 in FIG. 8). In this example, since the number of the designated infrared light receiving / emitting module is “1”, the infrared light receiving / emitting module (1) 30 is ready for use. Then, the infrared communication application 60 of the personal computer main body 1 issues a connection establishment request to the LM-IAS 62, and thereafter establishes a connection with the drawing input device 7 by the same procedure as described above (processing 210). When the IrLAP 64 of the personal computer main body 1 receives this request, it repeatedly sends out SNRM commands at predetermined time intervals and waits for reception of a UA response from the other party. When the user moves the drawing input device 7 to a position where the drawing input device 7 can communicate with the infrared light emitting / receiving module (1) 30 (process 314 in FIG. 9), the drawing input device 7 receives the SNRM command (YES in determination 301). A UA response is returned (process 302). In this way, the connection establishment procedure is started.

  When the connection is established, characters, drawing data, cursor movement data, and the like are transmitted to the personal computer 1 by the user's operation on the drawing input device 7 (YES in decision 305 in FIG. 9 → processing 306 or YES in decision 307 → Process 308). If the communication end key with the drawing input device 7 is selected in the PC / video conference system main body (YES in decision 211 in FIG. 8) or the video conference communication is terminated (YES in decision 212), infrared communication is performed. The connection between the applications is released and the infrared communication is terminated (process 213).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user designates the infrared receiving / emitting module to be used next from the three infrared receiving / emitting modules with different emission directions provided in the personal computer main body 1 of the personal computer / video conference system. Therefore, when the drawing input device 7 is shared by a plurality of people, the convenience of the device is improved.

  Next, another embodiment will be described. The operation flow of this embodiment is shown in FIG.

  When the communication start key with the drawing input device 7 is selected in the main body of the personal computer / video conference system (YES in determination 401), the infrared light receiving / emitting module (2) 31 is first connected using the switch circuit 29. (Process 402), an attempt is made to establish a connection with the drawing input device 7. In other words, the IrLAP 64 sends the SNRM command a predetermined number of times at predetermined time intervals (process 403 → process 404 → NO in decision 405 → YES in decision 406 → NO loop in process 407 → NO determination 408). If a UA response is received from the other party, a connection between infrared communication applications is established (YES in decision 405 → processing 409). Characters, drawing data, cursor movement data, and the like are transmitted to the personal computer main body 1 by a user operation on the drawing input device 7.

  When the SNRM command is transmitted a predetermined number of times but no UA response is received from the other party, the switch circuit 29 is used to switch to the connection of the infrared light emitting / receiving module (3) 32 (NO in decision 408 → Processing 410). Similarly to the above, the SNRM command is sent a predetermined number of times at predetermined time intervals, and if no UA response is received from the other party, the infrared light receiving / emitting module (1 ) Switch to 30 connections. In this way, the infrared light receiving and emitting modules to be used are sequentially switched to try to establish a connection. When a UA response is received from the other party, a connection between infrared communication applications is established.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the three infrared light receiving / emitting modules having different light emitting directions provided in the personal computer main body 1 of the personal computer / video conference system are sequentially switched at regular time intervals to the drawing input device 7. Since the establishment of the connection is attempted, it becomes unnecessary for the operator to designate the infrared light emitting / receiving module to be used next, and the convenience of the apparatus is improved.

  Next, as still another embodiment, there are the same number of drawing input devices as the number of infrared light receiving and emitting modules of the personal computer main body 1, and these drawing input devices are present at positions corresponding to the respective infrared receiving and emitting modules. The case will be described.

  FIG. 13 shows the positional relationship between the personal computer main body 1 and a plurality of drawing input devices. The drawing input device 80, the drawing input device 81, and the drawing input device 82 are present at positions where they can communicate with the infrared light receiving / emitting module (1) 30, the infrared light receiving / emitting module (2) 31, and the infrared light receiving / emitting module (3) 32, respectively. is doing. The method for the personal computer main body 1 to establish a connection with the drawing input device performs the operation according to the above-described embodiment. FIG. 14 shows an operation flow of each drawing input device in the present embodiment.

  Each of the drawing input devices 80 to 82 has a mode in which infrared communication with the personal computer main body 1 can be executed and a mode incapable of being executed, and a key for switching between these modes (communication execution modes) is displayed on the LCD 54. If the user of the drawing input device 80 turns on the communication execution mode when the communication execution mode of all the drawing input devices 80 to 82 is off (YES in the determination 501), the IrLAP 64 of the drawing input device 80 performs SNRM. A command wait timer is started (process 502), and reception of an SNRM command is waited (decision 503). When the SNRM command is received, a UA response is transmitted, and a connection between infrared communication applications is established (YES in decision 503 → processing 504). Characters, drawing data, cursor movement data, and the like are transmitted to the personal computer main body 1 by the user's operation (process 505). When the user of the drawing input device 80 turns off the communication execution mode (YES in decision 506), the connection between the infrared communication applications is released and the communication is terminated (process 507).

  Next, a case where the user performs an operation to turn on the communication execution mode in another drawing input device while the drawing input device 80 is performing infrared communication will be described. In this case, IrLAP 64 waits for reception of the SNRM command from the other party, but the SNRM command wait timer times out (NO in decision 503 → YES in decision 508). Then, an indication that another drawing input device is currently communicating is displayed on the LCD 54 (process 509).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, three infrared light receiving / emitting modules having different light emitting directions provided in the personal computer main body 1 of the personal computer / video conference system are sequentially switched at regular time intervals, and a corresponding drawing input device is provided. When trying to establish a connection with 80 to 82, only the drawing input device that desires to execute wireless communication establishes a connection and executes wireless communication, so that an unnecessary connection of the drawing input device does not occur. The convenience of the apparatus is improved.

  Next, still another embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 13, there are the same number of drawing input devices 80 to 82 as the number of infrared light receiving and emitting modules of the personal computer main body 1, and positions where these drawing input devices 80 to 82 can communicate with the respective infrared receiving and emitting modules. Exists. A method for the personal computer main body 1 to establish a connection with the drawing input device performs the operation according to the above-described embodiment as described above. FIG. 15 shows an operation flow of each drawing input device in the present embodiment.

  Now, when all the drawing input devices 80 to 82 are not communicating, characters and drawing data to be transmitted to the personal computer main body 1 are input by the user's operation in the drawing input device 80, or a cursor movement key is displayed. When pointed (YES in decision 601), these data are stored in the transmission data buffer area allocated in the RAM 52 (process 602). Also, a variable flag (defined in the execution program) indicating that data is stored in the transmission data buffer area is turned on. Then, the IrLAP 64 of the drawing input device 80 starts an SNRM command wait timer (process 603) and waits for an SNRM command from the other party (decision 604). When the SNRM command is received, a UA response is transmitted to establish a connection between the infrared communication applications (YES in decision 604 → processing 605). Then, the data previously stored in the transmission data buffer area is transmitted to the personal computer main body 1 (process 606). Thereafter, if necessary, characters, drawing data, cursor movement data, and the like are transmitted to the personal computer main body 1 by a user operation (processing 607 → NO loop of determination 608).

  Also in this embodiment, a key for switching the communication execution mode is displayed on the LCD 54. When the connection is established, the communication execution mode is switched on. That is, the operation of switching the communication execution mode on by the user is omitted from the above embodiment. When the user of the drawing input device 80 turns off the communication execution mode, the connection between the infrared communication applications is released, and the communication is terminated (YES in decision 608 → processing 609).

  Further, when the drawing input device 80 is performing infrared communication, when a character or drawing data to be transmitted to the personal computer main body 1 is input by the user or the cursor movement key is pointed at another drawing input device, Similarly, these data are stored in a transmission data buffer area allocated in the RAM 52. Further, a variable flag indicating that data is stored in the transmission data buffer area is turned on. The IrLAP 64 of the drawing input device 80 starts the SNRM command wait timer and waits for the SNRM command from the other party. In this case, the SNRM command wait timer times out (NO in decision 604 → YES in decision 610). . In this case, the data previously stored in the transmission data buffer area is erased, and the variable flag indicating that the data is stored in the transmission data buffer area is turned off (processing 611). Then, the LCD 54 displays that the other drawing input device is currently communicating (processing 612). Further, the display on the LCD 54 is returned to the state before the characters and drawing data are stored in the transmission data buffer area (step 613).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, as in the previous embodiment, the three infrared light receiving / emitting modules having different light emitting directions provided in the personal computer main body 1 of the personal computer / video conference system are sequentially switched at regular time intervals. When trying to establish a connection with the corresponding drawing input device 80-82, only the drawing input device that desires to execute wireless communication establishes the connection and executes wireless communication. The convenience of the apparatus is improved. Further, in the present embodiment, the operation for starting the wireless communication by the operator, that is, the operation for switching the communication execution mode becomes unnecessary, and the convenience of the apparatus is further improved.

  In addition, even if the above personal computer / video conference system is replaced with a normal video conference system, and the drawing input device is replaced with an operation keypad, the same operation as in each of the above embodiments can be performed. Is obtained.

  Also, there is a method in which the switch circuit 29 for switching the infrared light emitting / receiving module to be used is not used in the system configuration of the personal computer / video conference system main body. In this case, a serial-parallel conversion circuit corresponding to each infrared light receiving / emitting module is mounted. FIG. 16 shows a configuration example of the infrared light receiving / emitting module and the serial-parallel conversion circuit in this case. In this case, the selection of the infrared light emitting / receiving module to be used is not performed by a switch, but the operation and effect similar to those of each of the above embodiments can be achieved by selecting the serial-parallel conversion circuits 28a, 28b, and 28c to be used. Realized.

  The present invention can also be applied to a video game machine in which the main body and a plurality of operation units are wireless.

The equipment block diagram of the personal computer and video conference system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The system block diagram of the personal computer and video conference system main body in the said FIG. The internal block diagram of the infrared rays light receiving / emitting module in the said FIG. The figure which shows the specific example of attachment of the said infrared light receiving / emitting module. The system block diagram of the drawing input apparatus in the said FIG. The protocol block diagram of IrDA system. The flowchart which shows the fundamental operation | movement common to embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the personal computer body in one Embodiment of this invention. Similarly, the flowchart which shows operation | movement of the drawing input apparatus in the said embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a display of an infrared rays light emitting / receiving module icon. The figure which shows the example of a sequence of infrared communication. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the personal computer main body in other embodiment. The figure which shows the positional relationship of a personal computer main body and several drawing input devices. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of each drawing input device in still another embodiment. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of each drawing input device in still another embodiment. The figure which shows the other structural example of an infrared rays light emitting / receiving module and a serial-parallel conversion circuit.

Explanation of symbols

1 PC body 2 Display (CRT)
3 Video Camera 4 Microphone 5 Keyboard 6 Mouse 7, 80, 81, 82 Drawing Input Device 8 Electronic Pen 11 CPU
12 Main memory 13 Clock 14 Bus controller 15 ROM
16 Keyboard controller 17 Mouse I / F
18 RTC
19 PCI Bridge 20 Cache Memory 21 Hard Disk 22 SCSI Controller 23 CRT Display Controller 24 Video Conference Expansion Board 25 Video Controller 26 Communication & Audio Controller 27 Speaker 28, 28a, 28b, 28c Direct-Parallel Conversion Circuit 29 Switch Circuit 30-32 Infrared Light emitting / receiving module 33 CPU bus 34 PCI bus 35 X bus (internal bus)
40 Asynchronous transmission / reception circuit 41 Modulation / demodulation circuit 42, 43 Amplifier 44 Infrared light emitting diode 45 Photodiode 50 CPU
51 ROM
52 RAM
53 LCD display controller 54 LCD
55 Touch Panel Controller 56 Touch Panel 57 Infrared Communication Controller

Claims (1)

A wireless communication system comprising one data processing device and a counterpart device for performing wireless communication,
The data processing device includes a plurality of light emitting / receiving units having different light emitting directions,
The data processing device
At the start of wireless communication, try to establish a connection with the partner device using a predetermined light emitting / receiving unit, and when the connection with the partner device is established, the number of usable light emitting / receiving units and the current use The information indicating the number for identifying the number of light emitting / receiving units among the light emitting / receiving units that can be used is transmitted to the partner device,
The counterpart device is
When the information is received from the data processing device, the information or that the information has been received is displayed, and a light emitting / receiving unit other than the currently used light emitting / receiving unit is used. A light emitting / receiving unit switching command including information indicating a number for identifying which number of light emitting / receiving units among usable light emitting / receiving units is transmitted to the data processing device;
The data processing device includes:
When receiving the light receiving and emitting unit switching command from the partner apparatus, and characterized by switching the light receiving and emitting unit for releasing the connection of ever used on the basis of the light receiving and emitting unit switching command performs remote device wirelessly communicating Wireless communication system.

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