Information processing device and program

[Technical Field to which the Invention Affiliates] The present invention relates to an information processing device having a wireless communication function. Further, the present invention relates to a program suitable for application to a small electronic device having a wireless communication function and easy to carry, such as a notebook personal computer and a PDA.

[0002] In general, in an information processing device such as a personal computer, a network device such as a wired LAN device is provided. Network devices are used to connect a computer to a network. By connecting a computer to a network such as the Internet, it is possible to acquire information from other computers on the network and share information with other computers. Many personal computers use operating systems that support network connectivity. Therefore, even a user who does not have technical knowledge about the network can easily connect the computer to a network such as the Internet.

[0003] In recent years, in small information processing devices such as notebook personal computers and PDAs, a function of finding a wireless LAN access point existing in the vicinity under the usage environment and connecting to a network via the access point. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] When connecting to a wireless LAN access point in these devices, a procedure of first finding a communicable access point and then connecting is included. At this time, there is a problem that the ID, type, etc. of the discovered access point cannot be easily identified.

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-89980 [0006] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, conventionally, the problem that the ID, type, etc. of the discovered access point cannot be easily identified. was there.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when an access point is discovered, an information processing device and a program capable of easily identifying the type of the discovered access point and the like to the user can be notified. The purpose is to provide. Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device and a program whose useful functions are expanded by recording and managing the discovered access point.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a wireless communication means for discovering a wireless relay device in an information processing device having a communication function for connecting to a network via a wireless relay device.<u style="single">A management means for associating and managing the identification information and display information of each wireless relay device that can be found by the wireless communication means, and a management means.</u>The wireless communication means has discovered a wireless relay device.<u style="single">At that time, based on the information managed by the management means, the discovered wireless relay device</u>With processing means to display characterized information<u style="single">It is characterized by being equipped.</u>[0009] Further, the present invention is connected to a network via a wireless relay device.<u style="single">A database for associating a communication function for discovering the wireless relay device with identification information and display information of each wireless relay device that can be discovered by the communication function. And a process of displaying display information characterized by the discovered wireless relay device based on the information managed by the management function when the communication function discovers the wireless relay device. It is characterized by realizing functions and functions in a computer.</u>BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] Fig. 1 shows an example of a system configuration for explaining an outline of the functions of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In addition, Fig. 2 shows an example of operation of the terminal in the communication environment in the above system configuration.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless LAN access areas A, B, and C form a communication network via the IP network 10. In each wireless LAN access area A, B, C, a server for a printer, a network, a file, etc. is provided, and a wireless LAN access point (AP) 20 is provided.

[0014] The terminal serving as a client is realized by, for example, a portable personal computer (PC) 30. This personal computer 30 has a communication function of connecting to an access point 20 in a wireless LAN access area by wireless LAN and making a network connection with any device via the above-mentioned various servers and the IP network 10. have.

[0015] In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, when the access points 20 of the wireless LAN access areas A, B, and C are found in the personal computer 30, they are found under predetermined conditions. The identification information (SSID, BSSID, etc.) of the access point 20 is collected, the number of discoveries of the discovered access point 20 is updated and managed on the database (DB) 31, and various types are used according to the number of discoveries of the access point, for example. It has a function to display the message of. The SSID (extended service set identity) is an ID (identification information) for grouping access points, etc., and the BSSID (basic service set identity) is an ID for authenticating communication terminals, etc. at the MAC layer. It can be recognized by receiving the beacon (RB) transmitted from.

[0016] The first embodiment of the present invention is for notifying the user of the state when the access point 20 is found (when the beacon (RB) transmitted from the access point 20 is received) (furthermore, when the access point 20 is received). The display information (to set the found access point 20 in an usable environment) is standardized and prepared (retained), and when the access point 20 is discovered, the type of access point prepared in advance can be easily selected. A recognizable specific character (notification window) as shown, for example, is displayed for a certain period of time. Further, at this time, the access point is characterized and displayed according to the number of discoveries. For example, the size, color, etc. of the displayed character are changed according to the number of times the access point is found. Alternatively, different characters are prepared for each of a plurality of stages according to the number of times the access point is found, and the characters to be displayed are switched and presented to the user according to the number of times the access point is found. Further, by defining this display character as an operation icon, it is possible to set an optimum communication profile suitable for the current communication environment in accordance with the icon operation.

[0017] In the second embodiment of the present invention, a database (DB) 31 having information associated with each of the access points 20 that can be found by the personal computer 30 is downloaded to a predetermined storage area in advance via the communication network. When the access point 20 is found, the information associated with the access point 20 is acquired from the database 31, and the information is characterized according to the number of times the access point is found and displayed for a certain period of time. .. For example, when the beacon (RB) of the access point (A) 20 of the wireless LAN access area A is received, the service information according to the number of discoveries of the access point (A) 20 is displayed, and the access of the wireless LAN access area B is performed. When the beacon (RB) of the point (B) 20 is received, the advertisement information unique to the access point (B) 20 is displayed. Furthermore, when the beacon (RB) of the access point (C) 20 of the wireless LAN access area C is received, for example, when the number of discoveries of the access point (C) 20 is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the user registers in advance on the day. It is determined whether or not it is the birthday that was set, and when it is the birthday, information such as a birthday message and a birthday play present presentation introduction is displayed for a certain period of time. In addition, for example, information such as time zone, morning / afternoon, week, day of the week, season, period, birthday, weather, and other information such as bargain guidance is displayed for a certain period of time in relation to the number of discoveries.

The update (increment) of the number of discovery of the access point is performed at a predetermined time interval (for example, in units of 30 minutes, 1 hour) under an operation mode in which the beacon (RB) of the access point 20 can be received. Method by unit), method to be performed when there is no change for a predetermined time when the beacon (RB) reception environment changes, time zone specified and at a predetermined time interval (for example, in units of 10 minutes) Any renewal means may be used, such as a method for performing the method and a method for performing the method under other conditions.

Next, the system configuration of the personal computer 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, the personal computer 30 includes a CPU 101, a host bridge 102, a main memory 103, a display controller 104, a system controller 105, a hard disk drive (HDD) 106, a wired LAN device 107, a wireless LAN device 108, and a BIOS. -ROM110, embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 111, etc. are provided.

[0021] The CPU 101 is a processor provided to control the operation of the computer, and executes an operating system (OS) and various application / utility programs loaded from the hard disk drive (HDD) 106 into the main memory 103. .. The CPU 101 also executes the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) stored in the BIOS-ROM 110. Further, the CPU 101 executes the communication control program 130 stored in the main memory 103 according to a predetermined setting condition (for example, at regular time intervals), and executes FIG. 5 (first embodiment) or FIG. 7 (second embodiment). ), The application processing related to the communication service (see Fig. 5 and Fig. 7) is executed. The application processing related to this communication service will be described later.

[0022] The communication control program 130 is pre-installed in the personal computer 30 as one of the utility programs. This communication control program 130 controls the communication of the computer, and uses the above-mentioned communication profile, which is a function of registering and saving a network setting environment as a communication profile in each usage place having a different communication environment such as home or work. It is equipped with an automatic network setting function for the optimal communication environment, and an automatic switching function to a wireless network by disconnecting the cable when connected to a wired network. Here, the above communication profile includes: -Profile name, -Profile comment, -Icon, -Capture item (Internet setting; Proxy setting, Start homepage, etc., Device; Wired network device, Wireless network device, Infrared device, etc., TCP / IP settings; DHCP, IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, DNS server, WINS server, etc.)-The startup program after switching, etc. can be selected and set appropriately according to the communication environment used.

Further, the communication control program 130 stores and manages the number of discoveries of each communicable access point 20, and when the access point 20 is discovered, various information regarding the use of each discovered access point is stored in the communication control program 130. It is equipped with an application function related to communication services (see Fig. 5 and Fig. 7) that displays on the display unit (DISP) 32 for a certain period of time (characterized by the number of discoveries) in a display format that follows the number of discoveries of the access point 20. Here, when the wireless LAN device 108 receives the beacon (RB) of the access point 20, it acquires the identifier (BSSID / SSID) of the access point 20 that received the beacon (RB) and finds it (receives the beacon (RB)). The access point 20 is registered in the database (DB) 31, and the number of discoveries is counted for each registered access point 20 and managed on the database 31. This database 31 is managed by the communication control program 130 on the HDD 106. Further, when the access point 20 is discovered, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the number of discoveries of the discovered access point 20 is acquired from the database 31, and a specific character prepared in advance (an example is shown in FIG. 1). (Shown) is characterized according to the number of times the access point is found (the font size, color, etc. are changed) and displayed on the display unit 32 for a certain period of time. In this first embodiment, it is assumed that the communication control program 130 includes a processing routine for generating the specific character. The communication control program 130 including the application functions related to this communication service can be treated as a single program.

[0024] The host bridge 102 is a bridge device that connects the local bus of the CPU 101 and the system controller 105. The host bridge 102 has a built-in memory controller that controls access to the main memory 103. The display controller 104 controls a display unit (DISP) 32 using, for example, an LCD, which is used as a display monitor of the computer.

The system controller 105 controls each device on the PCI bus and each device on the ISA bus. The system controller 105 also has a built-in IDE controller for controlling the HDD 106. A database (DB) 31 that realizes the above-mentioned application functions related to the communication service is stored in the HDD 106 and managed by the communication control program 130.

[0026] The wired LAN device 107 is a wired network device for connecting to a wired network. The wired LAN device 107 communicates with a wired network via a wired LAN cable connected to the LAN connector 106.

[0027] The wireless LAN device 108 is a wireless network device for connecting to a wireless network, and is composed of a baseband unit and an RF unit. The RF unit sends and receives radio signals via the antenna (ANT) 109. The wireless LAN device 108 is configured to perform wireless communication according to, for example, the IEEE 802.11a / IEEE 802.11 standard. Here, when the beacon (RB) transmitted from the access point 20 is received, the CPU 101 is notified to that effect.

[0028] The embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 111 is a one-chip microcomputer in which an embedded controller for power management and a keyboard controller for controlling a keyboard 13 are integrated. This embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 111 has a function of powering on / off the computer in response to a user's operation of a power button.

[0029] FIG. 4 shows an example of a configuration of the database 31 managed by the communication control program 130 in the first embodiment of the present invention. The database in this first embodiment is indicated by reference numeral 31 (A). Here, under the control of CPU 101, the identifier (SSID / BSSID) of the discovered access point 20 and the number of discoveries (counter) are associated and stored in the database 31, and managed by the management number (No.). To. In this first embodiment, a specific character that presents the discovered access point 20 to the user is generated by software processing by the communication control program 130 as described above, but a plurality of types of characters according to the number of discoveries are generated. The data may be stored in the main memory 103 or the HDD 106 in advance.

[0030] FIG. 5 shows a processing procedure in the first embodiment of application processing related to the communication service in the communication control program 130.

[0031] In the application processing related to the communication service in the first embodiment, the CPU 101 executes the application processing related to the communication service as shown in FIG. 5 included in the communication control program 130 at predetermined time intervals. .. In this process, the CPU 101 is notified that the wireless LAN device 108 has received the beacon (RB) transmitted from the access point 20 in a certain wireless LAN access area (for example, wireless LAN access area A). And (Fig. 5 step S11), the found access point 20 identifier (SSID / BSSID) is obtained from the beacon (RB) (Fig. 5 step S12), and the database of the access point 20 identifier already shown in Fig. 4 (A) If it is registered in 31, the counter of the access point 20 is incremented to update the number of discoveries. If the found access point 20 identifier (SSID / BSSID) is not registered in the database 31 (A), the found access point 20 identifier is registered in the database 31 (A). At this time, the number of discoveries "1" is set in the counter that counts the number of discoveries (step S13 in FIG. 5).

[0032] Further, when the CPU 101 discovers the access point 20, it characterizes a specific character prepared in advance, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, according to the count value of the database 31 (according to the number of times the access point is discovered). Is displayed constantly on the screen of the display unit 32 (Fig. 5, step S14). For example, the size of the display character (for example, the notification window) is changed stepwise according to the number of times the access point is found. Alternatively, the display color of the display character is changed stepwise according to the number of times the access point is found. Alternatively, different characters are prepared for each of a plurality of stages according to the number of times the access point is found, and the character to be displayed is switched according to the number of times the access point is found. Further, this display character is defined as an operation icon, and the setting switching to the optimum communication profile suitable for the current communication environment is supported by the operation of the icon.

[0033] By having such an application processing function related to the communication service, the current communication environment, various service information, and the like can be provided to the user at the stage before the network connection in each communication environment area normally used. It can be provided, and it is also possible to change the set number of discoveries for each wireless LAN access area A, B, C and provide unique information for each wireless LAN access area A, B, C individually. Is. An example is shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b). In this example, a switching operation button is provided in the notification window, and when the switching operation button is clicked, switching to the service provider profile is started. Further, FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b) show an example in which different characters are provided step by step according to the number of discoveries of the access point 20. Fig. 9 (a) is an example of the case where the service information is changed step by step according to the number of discoveries of the access point 20, and Fig. 9 (b) grows according to the number of discoveries of the access point 20. This is an example of a character that goes on.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. In this second embodiment, the database 31 for realizing the application function related to the communication service is provided for each of the wireless LAN access areas A, B, C, or a specific wireless LAN access area with which the personal computer 30 can communicate. It is downloaded to a predetermined storage area in advance via the communication network, and when the access point 20 is found in the wireless LAN access area, the information associated with the access point 20 is acquired from the database 31. Then, the information is characterized according to the number of times the access point is found and displayed for a certain period of time. In this second embodiment, in addition to the identifier (SSID / BSSID) and the counter that counts the number of discoveries, as shown in FIG. 6, in the database 31, what kind of condition and what kind of condition Conditions and information that set whether to display information are stored in association with each other. Specific examples of the conditions at this time will be described later.

FIG. 7 shows a procedure of application processing related to a communication service in the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] In the application processing process related to the communication service in the second embodiment, the CPU 101 has the wireless LAN device 108 as an access point in a certain wireless LAN access area (for example, wireless LAN access area A). Upon receiving the notification that the beacon (RB) transmitted from 20 has been received (step S21 in Fig. 7), the identifier (SSID / BSSID) of the discovered access point 20 is acquired from the beacon (RB) (Fig. 7). In step S22), if the identifier of the access point 20 is already registered in the database 31 (B) shown in FIG. 6, the counter of the access point 20 is incremented to update the number of discoveries (step S13 in FIG. 5). If the found access point 20 identifier (SSID / BSSID) is not registered in database (B) 31, the found access point 20 identifier is invalidated. Alternatively, the information service similar to that of the first embodiment is performed by registering in the database (B) 31.

Further, when the CPU 101 discovers the access point 20, if the discovered access point 20 is registered in the above database 31 (B), the number of discoveries, the condition, and the display associated with the access point 20 are displayed. Information etc. are acquired, conditions are compared (Fig. 7, step S24), and if the conditions are met, the corresponding display information is characterized according to the number of discoveries and displayed on the screen of the display unit 32 for a certain period of time (Fig. 7, step S25). Yes, S26). For example, when a period is set (defined) in the condition, if the discovery of the access point 20 this time is within that period, the corresponding display information on the database 31 (B) is characterized according to the number of discoveries. It is displayed on the screen of the display unit 32. The information used for the condition comparison at this time is, for example, the date information managed by the computer 30. Also, when the time zone, morning / afternoon, week, day of the week, season, etc. are set in the conditions, the same display as above is performed. In addition, when the service type, advertisement type, advertisement type, etc. according to the number of discoveries are set in the conditions, the content and the display form are changed according to the number of discoveries, service information, advertisement information, advertisement information, etc. Etc. can be displayed on the screen of the display unit 32. An example of this is shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b), respectively. Fig. 9 (a) is an example of the case where the service information is changed step by step according to the number of discoveries of the access point 20, and Fig. 9 (b) grows according to the number of discoveries of the access point 20. This is an example of a character that goes on. The above-mentioned information provision is merely an example, and various information other than the above-mentioned information such as maintenance-related information and various guidance information can be provided.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, when an access point is discovered, the type of the discovered access point and the like can be easily identified and notified to the user. Furthermore, by recording and managing the discovered access points, it is possible to provide an information processing device with expanded useful functions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [FIG. 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an entire network system for explaining an outline of functions of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the information processing device in the above embodiment under the communication environment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing device according to the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a database according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a procedure of application processing related to a communication service in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a database according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a procedure of application processing related to a communication service in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a character in each of the above embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a character in each of the above embodiments.

[Code description] 10 ... IP network, 20 ... access point (AP), 30 ... personal computer (PC), 31 ... database (DB), 32 ... display (DISP) , 101 ... CPU, 103 ... Main memory, 106 ... Hard disk drive (HDD), 107 ... Wired LAN device, 108 ... Wireless LAN device, 130 ... Communication control program, RB. ..beacon.