Information processing system, control method and device of information processing system, and storage medium

Abstract

The present invention provides an information processing system, a device, a control method of the information processing system, and a recording medium that can perform authentication processing for establishing communication between two devices in a simpler method. The information processing system is provided with a first device, a second device, and a management device that can communicate with the first device and the second device respectively. The first device converts a generated authentication code into a sound signal, outputs it from a speaker, and sends the authentication code to the management device. The second device extracts the authentication code from the sound signal obtained by a microphone and sends the authentication code to the management device. The management device checks the authentication code received from the first device and the authentication code received from the second device. When the two are consistent, communication between the first device and the second device is established.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing system, a control method and device of the information processing system, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, various information processing systems are known that connect two devices to each other by communication and cause the two devices to cooperate with each other (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013 / 237155

[0004] However, in such an information processing system, from the viewpoint of ensuring security, there is a demand to establish communication between two devices after performing authentication processing.

[0005] For example, Patent Document 1 describes that authentication processing is performed by causing two devices to display authentication codes respectively, and then placing the two devices opposite to each other to read each other's authentication codes. Such an authentication processing method is useful in terms of ensuring security and enabling authentication processing to be performed simply. However, in such an authentication processing method, the two devices need to be aligned, which is not very convenient. Summary of the invention

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing system, a control method and apparatus for the information processing system, and a storage medium capable of performing authentication processing for establishing communication between two devices in a simpler way.

[0007] The present disclosure mainly solves the above-mentioned problems and is an information processing system.

[0008] An information processing system comprising a first device, a second device, and a management device capable of communicating with the first device and the second device,

[0009] The first device has:

[0010] Speakers; and

[0011] The first control unit,

[0012] The first control unit performs the following processing:

[0013] Generate a first authentication code based on the ID information of the first device,

[0014] converting the first authentication code into a sound signal and outputting the sound signal from the speaker,

[0015] Sending the first authentication code to the management device,

[0016] The second device comprises:

[0017] Microphone; and

[0018] The second control unit,

[0019] The second control unit performs the following processing:

[0020] enabling the microphone to acquire the sound signal,

[0021] extracting the second authentication code from the acquired sound signal,

[0022] Send the extracted second authentication code to the management device,

[0023] The management device includes a third control unit.

[0024] The third control unit performs the following processing:

[0025] Receiving the first authentication code,

[0026] Receiving the second authentication code,

[0027] The first authentication code and the second authentication code are checked, and when the two are consistent, communication between the first device and the second device is established.

[0028] In another aspect, is an apparatus having:

[0029] Speakers; and

[0030] Control Department,

[0031] The above control unit performs the following processing:

[0032] Generate an authentication code based on the ID information of the above device,

[0033] The authentication code is converted into a sound signal, and the sound signal is output from the speaker so that the sound signal can be picked up by a microphone of another device.

[0034] Send the authentication code to the management device to establish communication with the other devices.

[0035] The information of the voice command acquired by the microphone of the other device is received via the management device, and an action corresponding to the voice command is executed.

[0036] In another aspect, is an apparatus having:

[0037] Microphone; and

[0038] Control Department,

[0039] The above control unit performs the following processing:

[0040] The microphone is used to obtain a sound signal output from another device.

[0041] Extract the authentication code from the acquired sound signal.

[0042] The extracted authentication code is sent to the management device to establish communication with the other devices.

[0043] The information of the voice command acquired by the microphone is sent to the management device so as to be sent to the other devices via the management device.

[0044] In another aspect, a control method of an information processing system is provided.

[0045] A method for controlling an information processing system including a first device, a second device, and a management device capable of communicating with the first device and the second device, respectively.

[0046] The first device performs the following processing:

[0047] Generate a first authentication code based on the ID information of the first device,

[0048] The first authentication code is converted into a sound signal and the sound signal is output from a speaker provided by the device.

[0049] Sending the first authentication code to the management device,

[0050] The second device performs the following processing:

[0051] The microphone of the device is used to obtain the above-mentioned sound signal.

[0052] Extracting a second authentication code from the acquired sound signal,

[0053] Send the extracted second authentication code to the management device,

[0054] The above management device performs the following processing:

[0055] Receiving the first authentication code,

[0056] Receiving the second authentication code,

[0057] The first authentication code and the second authentication code are checked, and when the two are consistent, communication between the first device and the second device is established.

[0058] Additionally, in another aspect, is a recording medium,

[0059] A computer-readable recording medium storing a control program for controlling a device having a speaker,

[0060] The above control program has:

[0061] A process for generating an authentication code based on the ID information of the above device;

[0062] Convert the authentication code into a sound signal, and output the sound signal from the speaker so that the sound signal can be picked up by a microphone of another device;

[0063] Sending the authentication code to the management device to establish communication with the other devices; and

[0064] The information of the voice command acquired by the microphone of the other device is received via the management device, and processing of the action corresponding to the voice command is executed.

[0065] Additionally, in another aspect, is a recording medium,

[0066] A computer-readable recording medium storing a control program for controlling a device having a microphone,

[0067] The above control program has:

[0068] Processing of enabling the microphone to acquire sound signals output from other devices;

[0069] Extracting the authentication code from the acquired sound signal;

[0070] Sending the extracted authentication code to the management device to establish communication with the other devices; and

[0071] The information of the voice command acquired by the microphone is sent to the management device so as to be sent to the other devices for processing via the management device.

[0072] According to the information processing system of the present disclosure, it is possible to perform authentication processing for establishing communication between two devices using a simple method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system according to one embodiment.

[0074] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a first device and a second device according to one embodiment.

[0075] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of a detailed structure of a first device according to one embodiment.

[0076] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing an example of a detailed structure of a second device according to one embodiment.

[0077] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing an example of a detailed structure of a server according to one embodiment.

[0078] Figure 6 A diagram showing a series of flows of authentication processing for establishing communication between a first device and a second device in an information processing system according to one embodiment.

[0079] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing an example of a structure that implements information processing after communication between a first device and a second device is established in an information processing system according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0080] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in the present specification and the accompanying drawings, components having substantially the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0081] (Background of the Disclosure)

[0082] Due to the recent progress in information processing technology and voice recognition technology, the application of information input based on voice is developing in various fields. In this context, the inventors of the present application have studied how to operate a device based on a voice command input by a user into a microphone.

[0083] However, depending on the device, the performance of the microphone provided in the device may be low, and the input operation based on the voice command may cause the device to malfunction. In addition, for safety reasons or reasons of excessive memory usage, depending on the device, it is not desirable to always turn on the microphone provided in the device.

[0084] Therefore, the inventor of the present application came up with the present invention: by using a second device with a high-performance microphone as a user interface (i.e., a voice input device) to operate the first device, an information processing system with high convenience for the user is constructed (see Figure 7 to be described later).

[0085] However, as described above, in such an information processing system, an authentication processing method for establishing communication between two devices by a simple method while highly ensuring security is also an important subject. The inventor of the present application considered the structure of such an information processing system, carefully studied how to simply implement the authentication processing, and came up with the structure of the present invention.

[0086] <Overall structure>

[0087] Hereinafter, the configuration of an information processing system U according to one embodiment will be described.

[0088] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the information processing system U according to the present embodiment. Figure 2 This is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the first device 1 and the second device 2 according to the present embodiment.

[0089] The information processing system U includes a first device 1, a second device 2, and a server 3 (equivalent to the "management device" of the present invention). In the information processing system U, the server 3 is connected via a communication line N (in Figure 1 (not shown) is connected to the first device 1 and the second device 2 respectively.

[0090] Furthermore, a communication line N that connects these devices for communication is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or an Internet line.

[0091] The information processing system U uses the second device 2 as a user interface for voice input, for example, to operate the first device 1. At this time, the communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 is performed via the server 3. Moreover, the communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 is configured to be established after the authentication process is performed by the server 3.

[0092] The first device 1 is, for example, a computer installed with print task management software and workflow software for sending print tasks to a printer, and the second device 2 is, for example, a smart speaker (also known as an AI speaker). The above-mentioned print task management software and workflow software can also be implemented as a network application. Among them, any type of device can be used as the first device 1 and the second device 2. The first device 1 can be, for example, a household appliance such as a television, an air conditioner or a lighting device, and can also be a printer, a copier, or a multifunction peripheral (MFP) that performs a print task. In addition, the second device 2 can also be, for example, a smart phone. In addition, usually, as the second device 2, it is preferred to use a device whose performance of the microphone 207 of the second device 2 is higher than that of the microphone 107 of the first device 1.

[0093] In addition, in this embodiment, as an example, Figure 2As shown, the first device 1 is described as a computer, which has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, an external storage device (e.g., flash memory) 104, a communication interface 105, a speaker 106, and a microphone 107 as main components. The functions of the first device 1 described later are realized, for example, by the CPU 101 referring to the processing program and various data stored in the ROM 102, the RAM 103, the external storage device 104, etc. Of course, part or all of the functions of the first device 1 can also be realized by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor).

[0094] The second device 2 has the same structure as the first device 1 , and includes, for example, a CPU 201 , a ROM 202 , a RAM 203 , an external storage device 204 , a communication interface 205 , a speaker 206 , and a microphone 207 .

[0095] Although not shown in the figure, the server 3 is also communicatively connected to a plurality of devices other than the first device 1 and the second device 2 , and relays communications between them.

[0096] <First Equipment>

[0097] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of a detailed structure of the first device 1 according to the present embodiment.

[0098] The first device 1 includes a random number generator 11, an ID information acquisition unit 12, an authentication code generator 13, an authentication code registration instruction unit 14, a sound signal generator 15, and a session data setting unit 16. This function of the first device 1 is realized by, for example, a network application running on the first device 1. In addition, the random number generator 11, the ID information acquisition unit 12, the authentication code generator 13, the authentication code registration instruction unit 14, the sound signal generator 15, and the session data setting unit 16 correspond to the "first control unit" of the present invention.

[0099] The random number generator 11 generates a random number. The random number generator 11 may use any known random number generation method, such as a method using a pseudo-random number generation algorithm such as a square median method, a linear congruential method, or a linear feedback shift register method. In addition, the random number generated by the random number generator 11 is stored in, for example, a cookie of a web application.

[0100] The ID information acquisition unit 12 acquires the ID information of the first device 1. The ID information of the first device 1 is information for generating an authentication code, and is any information as long as it is inherent information of the first device 1. As the ID information of the first device 1, for example, the IP address of the first device 1 is used. However, from the perspective of improving security, as the ID information of the first device 1, it is preferred that in addition to the IP address, the operating system of the first device 1 and its version information, or the browser name of the network application of the first device 1 and its version information, etc. are also attached.

[0101] The authentication code generation unit 13 generates an authentication code based on the random number generated by the random number generation unit 11 and the ID information of the first device 1 acquired by the ID information acquisition unit 12. The authentication code generation unit 13 generates an authentication code based on the random number and the ID information using, for example, any known encryption algorithm. In addition, the authentication code generated by the authentication code generation unit 13 is usually an authentication code of a fixed length.

[0102] The authentication code registration instruction unit 14 sends the authentication code generated by the authentication code generation unit 13 together with the authentication code registration request to the server 3. Thus, the authentication code generated by the first device 1 is registered to the server 3.

[0103] The sound signal generating unit 15 converts the authentication code generated by the authentication code generating unit 13 into a sound signal using a predetermined algorithm. The sound signal generating unit 15 performs D / A conversion on the sound signal and outputs it as a sound wave from the speaker 106 of the first device 1. In addition, in the present embodiment, the signal processed as an electrical / electronic signal inside the first device 1 or the second device 2 is referred to as a sound signal. In addition, there are cases where the sound signal includes the sound wave output from the speaker based on the electrical / electronic signal, and there are cases where the sound wave is used as an expression to represent only the latter.

[0104] The algorithm used by the audio signal generation unit 15 when converting the authentication code into the audio signal is arbitrary. The audio signal generation unit 15 generates a frequency-modulated audio signal based on the authentication code, for example.

[0105] At this time, the sound signal generation unit 15 preferably uses a sound signal in an ultrasonic frequency band that is inaudible to the user in order to suppress discomfort to the user.

[0106] Here, when the audio signal generating unit 15 outputs the audio signal related to the authentication code from the speaker 106 , it is preferable that the audio signal generating unit 15 outputs an audio signal related to a predetermined wake word for activating a predetermined function in the second device 2 before the audio signal.

[0107] After receiving the communication establishment notification from the server 3 , the session data setting unit 16 sets session data for enabling acquisition of a command (voice command) input to the second device 2 by voice via the server 3 .

[0108] In addition, the first device 1 of this embodiment is configured to operate according to the voice command input into its own microphone 107 when no communication is established between the first device 1 and the second device 2. Moreover, when communication is established between the first device 1 and the second device 2, the voice command input into the microphone 207 of the second device 2 is obtained through the server 3, and the voice command is operated according to the voice command (see Figure 7 to be described later).

[0109] <Second Equipment>

[0110] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing an example of a detailed structure of the second device 2 according to the present embodiment.

[0111] The second device 2 includes a sound signal acquisition unit 21, an authentication code extraction unit 22, a verification instruction unit 23, and a verification result reporting unit 24. In addition, this function of the second device 2 is realized by, for example, a network application running on the second device 2. In addition, the sound signal acquisition unit 21, the authentication code extraction unit 22, the verification instruction unit 23, and the verification result reporting unit 24 are equivalent to the "second control unit" of the present invention.

[0112] The sound signal acquisition unit 21 acquires the sound signal (sound wave) output from the first device 1 using the microphone 207 of the second device 2. The sound signal acquisition unit 21 performs AD conversion on the electrical signal (analog signal) generated based on the sound wave received by the microphone 207, and stores it in the RAM 203 of the second device 2.

[0113] Furthermore, when acquiring a sound signal (sound wave) from the first device 1, it is preferable to arrange the second device 2 close to the first device 1. However, it is sufficient that the second device 2 is located in the same room as the first device 1.

[0114] The authentication code extraction unit 22 extracts the authentication code from the sound signal using a predefined algorithm. At this time, the algorithm used by the authentication code extraction unit 22 when converting the sound signal into the authentication code is an inverse conversion algorithm corresponding to the algorithm used by the sound signal generation unit 15 of the first device 1 to convert the authentication code into the sound signal.

[0115] Furthermore, the authentication code extraction unit 22 may be configured to perform the authentication code extraction process only when the sound signal input to the sound signal acquisition unit 21 is a sound signal in an ultrasonic frequency band (ie, a frequency band for the authentication code).

[0116] Verification instruction unit 23 sends the verification code extracted by verification code extraction unit 22 together with the verification instruction to server 3. In other words, verification instruction unit 23 causes server 3 to verify whether the verification code extracted by verification code extraction unit 22 is the same as the verification code generated by first device 1.

[0117] The verification result reporting unit 24 receives a notification result related to the verification process from the server 3 , and outputs the notification result (authentication successful or authentication unsuccessful) by voice from the speaker 206 .

[0118] The second device 2 of this embodiment is configured to send the voice command inputted via the microphone 207 to the server 3, for example, regardless of whether the authentication with respect to the first device 1 is established or not. Therefore, when the second device 2 of this embodiment is authenticated and becomes a state of functioning as the user interface (i.e., voice input device) of the first device 1, it can operate as a voice input device for the first device 1 without making any special setting changes.

[0119] In addition, the second device 2 of this embodiment is configured to recognize a wake-up word only by voice even in the sleep state, and changes the operation mode from the sleep state to the start-up state for receiving voice commands in response to the voice input of the wake-up word.

[0120] <Server>

[0121] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing an example of a detailed configuration of the server 3 according to the present embodiment.

[0122] The server 3 has an authentication code registration unit 31, a verification instruction receiving unit 32, a verification processing unit 33, and a verification result notification unit 34. This function of the server 3 is realized by, for example, an HTTP server program running on the server 3. In addition, the authentication code registration unit 31, the verification instruction receiving unit 32, the verification processing unit 33, and the verification result notification unit 34 are equivalent to the "third control unit" of the present invention.

[0123] In addition, the server 3 has a database 35 that stores temporary registration data D1 for registering the authentication code received from the first device 1 and session data D2 for establishing communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 when authentication of the first device 1 and the second device 2 is established.

[0124] The authentication code registration unit 31 receives an authentication code registration request from the first device 1 (authentication code registration instruction unit 14), and registers the authentication code received from the first device 1 in the temporary registration data D1 according to the registration request. The authentication code registered by the authentication code registration unit 31 is temporarily retained and discarded after a certain period of time.

[0125] Here, the authentication code received from the first device 1 can also be generally registered as the ID information of the first device 1 by using a decryption algorithm corresponding to the encryption algorithm when the authentication code is generated by the first device 1 (authentication code generation unit 13).

[0126] The verification instruction receiving unit 32 receives the verification instruction from the second device 2 (the verification instruction unit 23 ).

[0127] The verification processing unit 33 verifies whether the authentication code received from the second device 2 is registered in the temporary registration data D1 according to the verification instruction from the second device 2. That is, the verification processing unit 33 performs verification processing to determine whether the authentication code received from the second device 2 is the same as the authentication code received from the first device 1.

[0128] Here, when the authentication code received from the second device 2 is the same as the authentication code of the first device 1 registered in the temporary registration data D1, the verification processing unit 33 regards authentication as established, and registers the session data D2 for establishing communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 in the database 35. In addition, the session data D2 includes data such as the IP address of the first device 1, the IP address of the second device 2, and which of the first device 1 and the second device 2 is used as a user interface.

[0129] On the other hand, when the authentication code received from the second device 2 is different from the authentication code of the first device 1 registered in the temporary registration data D1 , the verification processing unit 33 processes the authentication as not being successful.

[0130] The verification result notification unit 34 notifies each of the first device 1 and the second device 2 of the verification result (that is, the result of authentication success or authentication failure) of the verification processing unit 33 .

[0131] <Authentication Process>

[0132] Figure 6 1 is a diagram showing a series of flows of authentication processing for establishing communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 in the information processing system U according to the present embodiment.

[0133] First, the first device 1 generates an authentication code based on a random number and its own ID information (step S11). Next, the first device 1 converts the authentication code into a sound signal and outputs the sound signal from the speaker 106 (step S12). Next, the first device 1 sends the authentication code generated by itself together with the authentication code registration request to the server 3, and registers the authentication code in the server 3 (step S13).

[0134] The second device 2 obtains the sound signal output from the first device 1 via the microphone 207. At this time, the second device 2 is started based on the sound signal for wake-up output from the first device 1, and then obtains the sound signal for the authentication code output from the first device 1 (step S21). Then, the second device 2 extracts the authentication code from the sound signal (step S22). Next, the second device 2 sends the extracted authentication code to the server 3 to make a verification request for the authentication code (step S23).

[0135] The server 3 receives a verification request for the authentication code from the second device 2, and performs a verification process on the authentication code received from the first device 1 and the authentication code received from the second device 2 (step S31). Then, when the authentication code received from the first device 1 is consistent with the authentication code received from the second device 2, the server 3 establishes communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 (step S32). Then, the server 3 notifies the first device 1 and the second device 2 of the verification result (step S33).

[0136] Then, the first device 1 sets the session data for acquiring the voice command input to the second device 2 via the server 3 according to the verification result (here, authentication is established) received from the server 3 (step S14). In addition, the second device 2 reports the verification result through the speaker 206 (step S24).

[0137] Through the series of processes as described above, the authentication process for establishing communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 is performed.

[0138] <Information Processing Flow>

[0139] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing information processing after communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 is established in the information processing system U of the present embodiment.

[0140] exist Figure 7 In the figure, arrows are used to show the flow of information processing. Figure 7 In, omitted Figure 3 to Figure 5 Illustration of each structure described in .

[0141] The first device 1 has a first voice command acquisition section 17 a , a second voice command acquisition section 17 b , a voice command recognition section 18 , and a command content execution section 19 .

[0142] The first voice instruction acquisition unit 17a acquires the voice instruction input to the microphone 107 provided in the first device 1. The second voice instruction acquisition unit 17b acquires the voice instruction input to the second device 2 forwarded via the server 3. In addition, the first device 1 sets the first voice instruction acquisition unit 17a to the on state and sets the second voice instruction acquisition unit 17b to the off state in the pre-stage of establishing the communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 (i.e., before the session data is set in the session data setting unit 16). Moreover, after the communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 is established (i.e., after the session data is set in the session data setting unit 16), the first voice instruction acquisition unit 17a is changed to the off state and the second voice instruction acquisition unit 17b is changed to the on state.

[0143] The voice command recognition unit 18 performs voice recognition processing on the voice command acquired via the first voice command acquisition unit 17a or the second voice command acquisition unit 17b. The voice command recognition unit 18 analyzes the voice feature quantities of the time series of the voice command with reference to data such as the sound model, dictionary, and language model stored in the external storage device 104 (not shown). Furthermore, the voice command recognition unit 18 recognizes the content of the voice command based on the analyzed voice feature quantities of the time series of the voice command and the command list stored in the external storage device 104 (not shown). In addition, Figure 7 In the example of the first device 1 having a voice command recognition unit, it is also possible to enable an external device (for example, a voice recognition service on the cloud) to have the function of the voice recognition unit. In this case, the first device 1 sends the voice command to the external device and receives the recognition result of the voice command from the external device.

[0144] The instruction content execution unit 19 executes processing corresponding to the content of the voice instruction (for example, the processing content represented by the instruction list stored in the external storage device 104) according to the content of the voice instruction recognized by the voice instruction recognition unit 18. In addition, when the content of the voice instruction indicates the disconnection of communication with the second device 2, the instruction content execution unit 19 sends this meaning to the server 3 (communication disconnection unit 37).

[0145] The second device 2 includes a sound signal acquisition unit 21 and a voice command transmission unit 25. The sound signal acquisition unit 21 acquires a sound signal output from the first device 1 using a microphone 207. The voice command transmission unit 25 transmits the voice command acquired by the sound signal acquisition unit 21 to the server 3.

[0146] The server 3 includes a data transfer unit 36 ​​and a communication disconnection unit 37 .

[0147] When receiving the voice command from the second device 2, the data transfer unit 36 ​​refers to the session data D2 of the management DB 35 to confirm whether there is a device to be connected to the second device 2 for communication. Then, when confirming that the first device 1 exists as the device to be connected to the second device 2 for communication, the data transfer unit 36 ​​transfers the voice command received from the second device 2 to the first device 1.

[0148] When receiving the communication disconnection instruction from the instruction content execution unit 19 of the first device 1 , the communication disconnection unit 37 deletes the session data D2 in the management DB 35 and disconnects the communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 .

[0149] After establishing communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2, the information processing system U of this embodiment causes the first device 1 to operate in an event-driven manner when a voice command is input to the second device 2. Such an operation is implemented by, for example, a webhook (or a reverse API).

[0150] Thus, the second device 2 having a high-performance microphone can be used as a user interface to operate the first device 1.

[0151] [Effect]

[0152] As described above, according to the information processing system U of this embodiment, it is possible to use the existing speakers and microphones on the devices and, by a simple method, perform authentication processing when establishing communication between the first device 1 and the second device 2 while ensuring a high degree of security. In particular, according to the information processing system U of this embodiment, it is useful in that the authentication processing can be performed without aligning the first device 1 and the second device 2.

[0153] In the information processing system U of the present embodiment, the first device 1 and the second device 2 are configured to operate using a network application. This allows the authentication process to be easily executed even in a device that does not have a dedicated application.

[0154] (Other embodiments)

[0155] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are conceivable.

[0156] In the above embodiment, as an example of the information processing system U, the first device 1 has a voice recognition function. However, the information processing system U of the present invention may also be a structure in which the second device 2 or the server 3 has a voice recognition function. In this case, the first device 1 may also be a device that operates by voice command only when communication is established with the second device 2.

[0157] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, as an example of the second device 2, a method is shown in which all voice commands inputted via the microphone 207 are sent to the server 3 regardless of whether communication with the first device 1 is established. However, the second device 2 of the present invention may also act independently based on the voice command inputted via the microphone 207 at normal times (i.e., before communication with the first device 1 is established). In this case, the second device 2 sets the session data when the result of the authentication process in the server 3 is that the authentication is established, and when the voice command is inputted via the microphone 207 of the second device 2, the setting is changed to a method of sending the voice command to the server 3.

[0158] Although the specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the claims. The technology described in the claims includes structures obtained by deforming and changing the specific examples described above.

[0159] According to the information processing system of the present disclosure, it is possible to perform authentication processing for establishing communication between two devices using a simple method.

[0160] Description of Reference Numerals

[0161] U…Information processing system; 1…First device; 2…Second device; 3…Server; 11…Random number generator; 12…ID information acquisition unit; 13…Authentication code generator; 14…Authentication code registration command unit; 15…Voice signal generator; 16…Session data setter; 17a…First voice command acquisition unit; 17b…Second voice command acquisition unit; 18…Voice command recognition unit; 19…Command content execution unit; 21…Voice signal acquisition unit; 22…Authentication code extraction unit; 23…Verification command unit; 24…Verification result report unit; 25…Voice command transmitter; 31 …Authentication code registration unit; 32…Verification instruction receiving unit; 33…Verification processing unit; 34…Verification result notification unit; 35…Database; D1…Temporary registration data; D2…Session data; 36…Data transfer unit; 37…Communication disconnection unit; 101…CPU; 102…ROM; 103…RAM; 104…External storage device; 105…Interface; 106…Speaker; 107…Microphone; 201…CPU; 202…ROM; 203…RAM; 204…External storage device; 205…Interface; 206…Speaker; 207…Microphone.

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising a first device, a second device, and a management device capable of communicating with the first device and the second device, The first device has: Speakers; and The first control unit, The first control unit performs the following processing: Generate a first authentication code based on the ID information of the first device, converting the first authentication code into a sound signal and outputting the sound signal from the speaker, Sending the first authentication code to the management device, The second device comprises: Microphone; and The second control unit, The second control unit performs the following processing: enabling the microphone to acquire the sound signal, Extracting a second authentication code from the acquired sound signal, Send the extracted second authentication code to the management device, The management device includes a third control unit. The third control unit performs the following processing: Receiving the first authentication code, Receiving the second authentication code, The first authentication code and the second authentication code are checked, and when the two are consistent, communication between the first device and the second device is established.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein: When a voice command is acquired through the microphone, the second control unit of the second device sends information related to the acquired voice command to the management device. The third control unit of the management device receives the information related to the voice command sent by the second device, and sends the information related to the voice command to the first device. The first control unit included in the first device receives the information related to the voice command sent by the management device, and executes an action corresponding to the voice command.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first control unit performs the following processing: Generate random numbers, The first authentication code is generated based on the generated random number and the ID information of the first device.

4. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The operation of the first device is performed by a network application running on the first device.

5. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: When communication is not established between the first device and the second device, the first device operates according to a first voice instruction input into a microphone of the first device. When communication is established between the first device and the second device, the first device acquires the second voice command input into the microphone of the second device via the management apparatus and operates according to the second voice command.

6. The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein: When communication is established between the first device and the second device, the first device operates in an event-driven manner when the second voice command is input into the microphone of the second device.

7. The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein: When the second voice command is a communication disconnection command, the management device disconnects the communication between the first device and the second device.

8. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The above-mentioned sound signal is a sound signal in the ultrasonic frequency band.

9. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The ID information of the first device includes the IP address of the first device.

10. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein: The ID information of the first device includes the browser name and version information of the network application.

11. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein: The random number generated by the first device is stored in the Cookie of the network application.

12. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The first device mentioned above is a printer.

13. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The second device mentioned above is a smart speaker.

14. An electronic device comprising: Speakers; and Control Department, The above control unit performs the following processing: Generate an authentication code based on the ID information of the above device, The authentication code is converted into a sound signal, and the sound signal is output from the speaker so that the sound signal can be picked up by a microphone of another device. Send the authentication code to the management device to establish communication with the other devices. The information of the voice command acquired by the microphone of the other device is received via the management device, and an action corresponding to the voice command is executed.

15. An electronic device comprising: Microphone; and Control Department, The above control unit performs the following processing: The microphone is used to obtain a sound signal output from another device. Extract the authentication code from the acquired sound signal. The extracted authentication code is sent to the management device to establish communication with the other devices. The information of the voice command acquired by the microphone is sent to the management device, so as to be sent to the other devices via the management device.

16. A method for controlling an information processing system, comprising: a first device, a second device, and a management device capable of communicating with the first device and the second device, The first device performs the following processing: Generate a first authentication code based on the ID information of the first device, The first authentication code is converted into a sound signal and the sound signal is output from a speaker provided by the device. Sending the first authentication code to the management device, The second device performs the following processing: The microphone of the device is used to obtain the above-mentioned sound signal. Extracting a second authentication code from the acquired sound signal, Send the extracted second authentication code to the management device, The above management device performs the following processing: Receiving the first authentication code, Receiving the second authentication code, The first authentication code and the second authentication code are checked, and when the two are consistent, communication between the first device and the second device is established.

17. A recording medium, which is a computer-readable recording medium storing a control program for controlling a device having a speaker, The above control program has: A process for generating an authentication code based on the ID information of the above device; Convert the authentication code into a sound signal, and output the sound signal from the speaker so that the sound signal can be picked up by a microphone of another device; Sending the authentication code to the management device to establish communication with the other devices; as well as The information of the voice command acquired by the microphone of the other device is received via the management device, and an action process corresponding to the voice command is executed.

18. A recording medium, which is a computer-readable recording medium storing a control program for controlling a device having a microphone, The above control program has: Processing of enabling the microphone to acquire sound signals output from other devices; Extracting the authentication code from the acquired sound signal; Sending the extracted authentication code to the management device to establish communication with the other devices; and The information of the voice command acquired by the microphone is sent to the management device so as to be sent to the other devices for processing via the management device.

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