Notification system, slave unit device, and notification method

Abstract

To provide a notification system for performing a notification that data for display are not synchronized with a master unit device, a slave unit device and a notification method.SOLUTION: A notification system 100 comprises a slave unit device 101 and a master unit device 103. The master unit device 103 includes: a processing section for calculating a first hash value based on data for display that the own unit possesses; a generation section for generating a frame including the first hash value; and a communication section for transmitting the frame to the slave unit device 101. The slave unit device 101 includes: a processing section for extracting the first hash value from the frame received from the master unit device 103; a processing section for calculating a second hash value based on data for display that the own unit possesses; and a determination section for determining whether the first hash value and the second hash value are matched.EFFECT: The notification system determines presence / absence of mismatching of data for display by collating the data for display held by the master unit device and the slave unit device, thereby taking necessary countermeasures.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a notification system, a slave device, and a notification method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a wireless communication system (for example, a notification system as shown in Non-Patent Document 1) consisting of a master device and a slave device that uses a frequency band (for example, the 920 MHz band) with narrow bandwidth, low speed, and limited radio transmission time has been known. When communicating using this communication system, in order to suppress the amount of transmission data that can be wirelessly transmitted, data is synchronized and stored in the slave device in advance, and at the actual time of calling, a master device that calls the slave device by transmitting data with a minimum capacity is known.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the radio frequency band used by this communication system, based on the Radio Law, the period during which communication is possible per unit time is limited, and it is not possible to easily know whether or not the display data of the slave device, which is the destination of the call by the master device, is synchronized with the latest data as required, and there is a problem that the display data cannot be updated via wireless communication due to the above-mentioned constraints.

[0005] This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its main objective is to provide a notification system that can determine whether the display data written to the slave device matches the latest data intended by the master device, and notify the user as necessary. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A notification system according to one aspect of the present invention is a notification system in which both a master unit and a slave unit hold display data, and the slave unit displays the display data it holds upon notification of a call frame from the master unit, wherein the master unit comprises a processing unit that calculates a first hash value based on the display data it holds, a generation unit that generates a frame containing the hash value, and a communication unit that transmits the frame, and the slave unit comprises a communication unit that receives the frame, a processing unit that calculates a second hash value based on the display data it holds, a storage unit that stores the second hash value, a processing unit that extracts the first hash value from the frame received from the master unit, and a determination unit that determines whether the first hash value and the second hash value match.

[0007] According to this, the notification system can compare the display data held by the master unit and the slave unit, determine whether there are any discrepancies in the display data, and take necessary actions.

[0008] Furthermore, the slave unit of the notification system is further equipped with a display unit, and based on the determination result of the determination unit, (1) if it is determined that the first hash value and the second hash value match, the display unit displays the display data held by the unit, and (2) if it is determined that the first hash value and the second hash value do not match, the display unit may display a statement to that effect.

[0009] According to this, if the display data held by the notification system's slave unit matches the display data held by the master unit, it can display information based on that data on the display unit. If the display data held by the slave unit does not match the display data held by the master unit, it can notify the user that the display data is not synchronized through a display on the display unit, preventing the display of an incorrect message to the user and allowing the user to take the necessary action.

[0010] Furthermore, if the slave unit determines, based on the determination result of the determination unit, that the first hash value and the second hash value do not match, the communication unit of the slave unit may notify the master unit that the display data it possesses is incorrect.

[0011] According to this, the master unit of the notification system can use the notification sent from the slave unit as a trigger to start processing such as synchronizing display data between itself and the slave unit.

[0012] Furthermore, the notification system frames may be configured to be transmitted using a frequency band that is narrowband, low-speed, and has limited wireless transmission time.

[0013] According to this, the notification system can accurately send notifications to the slave device even when communication resources between the master device and the slave device are limited.

[0014] A slave device according to one aspect of the present invention is a slave device in a notification system in which both a master device and a slave device possess display data, and the slave device displays the display data in response to a call frame from the master device, comprising: a communication unit that receives a frame transmitted from the master device; a processing unit that calculates a second hash value based on the display data it possesses; a storage unit that stores the second hash value; a processing unit that extracts a first hash value calculated from a frame received from the master device based on the display data it possesses; and a determination unit that determines whether the first hash value and the second hash value match.

[0015] According to this, the slave unit can compare a first hash value calculated based on the display data held by the master unit with a second hash value calculated based on the display data held by the slave unit itself. This allows the slave unit to detect any discrepancies in the display data between the master unit and the slave unit and take necessary corrective actions.

[0016] A notification method according to one aspect of the present invention is a notification method in which both a master device and a slave device possess display data, and the slave device displays the display data it possesses upon notification of a call frame from the master device, and includes the steps of: the master device calculating a first hash value based on the display data it possesses; generating a frame containing the hash value; and the slave device receiving the frame; calculating a second hash value based on the display data it possesses; and determining whether the first hash value and the second hash value match.

[0017] According to this, it will have the same effect as the notification system described above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent incorrect display data from being displayed due to a lack of synchronization of display data between the master unit and the slave unit, while also notifying the user that the display data is not synchronized, thereby improving the convenience of the notification system. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0019] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of a notification system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a master unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a slave device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the master device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the slave device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processes performed by the master device and the slave device in the notification system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. All of the embodiments described below show preferred specific examples of the present invention. The numerical values, shapes, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of the components, steps, order of steps, etc. shown in the following embodiments are examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, among the components in the following embodiments, components not described in the independent claims indicating the most general concept of the present invention are described as optional components constituting a more preferred form. Note that the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description may be omitted. [Embodiment]

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of the notification system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The notification system 100 includes a slave device 101, a wireless link 102, and a master device 103.

[0022] The slave device 101 receives a frame from the master device 103 via the wireless link 102. Further, after receiving the frame, the slave device 101 displays a message such as string information on a display unit (described later) to inform the user that the slave device 101 has been called by the master device 103. In this system 100, a plurality of slave devices 101 may be provided.

[0023] Wireless link 102 is responsible for transmitting frames transmitted by master unit 103 to slave unit 101. Wireless link 102 is a communication link that uses the 920MHz frequency band as defined by standards such as ARIB (Association of Radio Industries and Business) STD-T108.

[0024] The master unit 103 synchronizes the display data to be displayed on the display unit (described later) of the slave unit 101 when calling the slave unit 101. The master unit 103 may also calculate a hash value of the display data, or it may store a hash value based on display data that has been pre-generated by a PC (Personal Computer) (not shown) or the like, which may be connected to the outside of the master unit 103.

[0025] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a master unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The master unit 103 comprises a communication unit 201, an operation unit 202, a generation unit 203, a storage unit 204, and a processing unit 205. Each function of the master unit 103 is realized by hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), a storage device, and a communication module.

[0026] The communication unit 201 periodically or as needed transmits frames for calling the slave device 101 via the wireless link 102. The communication unit 201 is implemented using a wireless module compliant with the ARIB STD-T108 standard, etc. The communication unit 201 also has a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface and receives display data generated by the administrator's (user's) PC, etc.

[0027] The operation unit 202 receives operations from the user and notifies the processing unit 205 of the details of those operations. The operation unit 202 is implemented by hardware such as a keypad or touchscreen and an operation program. The interface in the operation unit 202 that receives operations from the user may be configured to give an instruction to select any one of several display data that can be displayed on the slave device 101.

[0028] The generation unit 203 generates call frames or beacon frames used to call the slave device 101 that performs wireless communication via the communication unit 201, and notifies the processing unit 205. The generation unit 203 is implemented by a CPU, RAM, etc. A beacon frame is a frame that the master device 103 periodically transmits to the slave device 101, and the slave device 101 uses whether or not it can receive the beacon frame to determine whether or not the slave device 101 is within the communication range of the master device 103. A call frame is a frame that the master device 103 transmits when it calls any slave device 101 by user operation. Furthermore, the call frame includes information specifying the display data to be displayed on the display unit (described later) of the slave device 101. Hereafter, beacon frames and call frames will be collectively referred to simply as frames.

[0029] The storage unit 204 stores display data for display on the display unit (described later) of the slave device 101, and a first hash value calculated from the display data. The display data may store multiple data (for example, string information). The storage unit 204 is implemented as a storage device and may consist of non-volatile memory such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), or eMMC (embedded Multimedia Card), or it may consist of volatile memory such as RAM.

[0030] The processing unit 205 calculates a hash value based on the display data upon notification from the operation unit 202, and passes this to the generation unit 203, instructing the generation unit 203 to generate a frame. Upon receiving a frame containing the hash value from the generation unit 203, it instructs the communication unit 201 to transmit the frame. The processing unit 205 also periodically sends out beacon frames for the slave device 101 to confirm communication, and upon receiving a beacon frame containing the hash value from the generation unit 203, it instructs the communication unit 201 to transmit the frame.

[0031] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a slave device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The slave unit 101 comprises a communication unit 301, a determination unit 302, a storage unit 303, a processing unit 304, and a display unit 305. Each function of the slave unit 101 is realized by hardware such as a CPU, RAM, ROM, storage device, and communication module.

[0032] The communication unit 301 receives frames transmitted by the master unit 103. Furthermore, if the hash values ​​described later do not match, the communication unit 301 may notify the master unit 103 that the display data is not synchronized between the master unit 103 and the slave unit 101 and that the display data held by the slave unit is incorrect.

[0033] The determination unit 302 compares the hash value (first hash value) extracted from the frame received by the processing unit 304 with the hash value (second hash value) of the display data stored in the storage unit 303, and notifies the processing unit 304 of the result of the comparison, whether or not they match. The determination unit 302 may be in the form of a computer equipped with a CPU and RAM, or it may be in the form of a program that achieves a similar effect.

[0034] The storage unit 303 stores display data that has been pre-acquired through synchronization and a second hash value calculated from said display data. The storage unit 303 may be composed of non-volatile memory such as an HDD, SSD, or eMMC, or it may be composed of volatile memory such as RAM.

[0035] The processing unit 304 extracts a first hash value, which is the hash value of the display data, from the frame received from the master unit 103, then notifies the determination unit 302, and further notifies the determination unit 302 of a second hash value, which is the hash value of the display data stored in the storage unit 303. When the determination unit 302 notifies the determination unit 302 of the determination result, it instructs the display unit 305 to display the display data or an error message based on this. The aforementioned second hash value may be obtained by having the slave unit 101 also share and store the first hash value that is stored in the master unit 103 when the display data is synchronized with the master unit 103.

[0036] The display unit 305 displays display data or an error message based on instructions from the processing unit 304. The error message may be a string of text to notify the user that the display data is not synchronized, or it may be a diagram using pictograms or the like. The display unit 305 may be implemented using an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display), or OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display capable of displaying string of text information, etc. [Description of the flow chart related to the embodiment]

[0037] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the master unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. This flowchart will explain the process starting from a state where the display data has already been synchronized between the master unit 103 and the slave unit 101. Synchronization completion means that the display data generated by an internal or external device (such as a PC connected to the master unit 103) has been written to the slave unit 101.

[0038] Step S401 is the step in which the processing unit 205 reads the display data that has been previously stored in the storage unit 204 onto the RAM.

[0039] Step S402 is a step in which the processing unit 205 calculates a first hash value based on the display data read into RAM in step S401. The processing unit 205 calculates a first hash value using, for example, a hash function (e.g., SHA2 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2)) or an application that calculates hash values ​​based on the read display data.

[0040] Step S403 is the step of storing the first hash value calculated by the processing unit 205 in step S402 in the storage unit 204.

[0041] Step S404 is a step in which the processing unit 205 determines whether or not a command to call a slave unit has been notified from the user of the master unit 103 via the operation unit 202. If a command to call a slave unit has been notified, the process proceeds to step S405 (Yes in step S404). If a command to call a slave unit has not been notified, step S404 is executed again (No in step S404).

[0042] Step S405 is the step in which the processing unit 205 generates a frame that stores the first hash value stored in the storage unit 204 in step S403.

[0043] Step S406 is the step in which the communication unit 201 transmits the frame generated in step S405 to the slave device 101.

[0044] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a slave device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This flowchart will explain the process starting from a state where the display data has already been synchronized between the master unit 103 and the slave unit 101. Synchronization completion means that the display data generated by an internal or external device (such as a PC connected to the master unit 103) has been written to the slave unit 101.

[0045] Step S501 is the step in which the communication unit 301 waits for a frame from the master unit 103.

[0046] Step S502 is the step in which the processing unit 304 extracts a first hash value from the frame received in step S501. The extracted first hash value is stored in the storage unit 303.

[0047] Step S503 is a step in which the processing unit 304 calculates a second hash value based on the display data previously stored in the storage unit 303. The processing unit 304 calculates a second hash value using, for example, a hash function (e.g., SHA2) or an application that calculates hash values ​​based on the read display data.

[0048] Steps S504 and S505 are steps in which the processing unit 304 compares the first hash value and the second hash value, and the determination unit 302 determines whether the first hash value and the second hash value match. If the determination unit 302 determines that the hash values ​​match, it notifies the processing unit 304 of this fact and proceeds to step S506 (Yes in step S505). On the other hand, if it determines that the hash values ​​do not match, it notifies the processing unit 304 of this fact and proceeds to step S507 (No in step S505).

[0049] Step S506 is a step in which the processing unit 304 notifies the display unit 305 that it will display display data, and the display unit 305 displays the display data upon receiving the notification from the processing unit 304.

[0050] Step S507 is a step in which the processing unit 304 displays an error message to the display unit 305 indicating that the display data stored in the master unit 103 and the storage unit 303 of the local unit are different. Although not shown in the figures, in step S507, instead of displaying an error message, the processing unit 304 may send a frame to the master unit 103 indicating that the display data held by the local unit is incorrect (not synchronized with the display data held by the master unit 103), thereby causing the master unit 103 to perform a process to synchronize the display data between the master unit 103 and the local unit 101.

[0051] In Figure 5, the calculation of the second hash value was explained as occurring after the extraction of the first hash value. However, as mentioned above, the second hash value may be calculated in advance and stored in the storage unit 303. [Sequence description]

[0052] Next, using the sequence diagram in Figure 6, we will explain the series of actions that occur when the master unit calls the slave unit in response to a user operation in the notification system according to this embodiment.

[0053] First, the operation unit 202 of the master unit 103 receives an operation from the user. The operation unit 202 notifies the processing unit 205 that a call operation has been made by the user (step S601).

[0054] Next, when the processing unit 205 receives a notification from the operation unit 202, it reads the display data pre-stored in the storage unit 204 and calculates the first hash value. The calculated first hash value is stored in the storage unit 204.

[0055] Next, the generation unit 203 generates a call frame with the first hash value embedded in it and notifies the processing unit 205. Upon receiving notification of the generated frame, the processing unit 205 instructs the communication unit 201 to transmit a call frame containing the first hash value, and the communication unit 201 transmits the call frame to the slave device 101 (steps S602 and S603).

[0056] Meanwhile, when the communication unit 301 of the slave unit 101 receives a call frame, it notifies the processing unit 304 of the received frame (step S604).

[0057] Next, the processing unit 304 extracts the first hash value from the received call frame and stores the hash value in the storage unit 303.

[0058] Next, the processing unit 304 calculates a second hash value using the display data stored in the storage unit 303 and stores it in the storage unit 303.

[0059] Next, the determination unit 302 compares the first hash value and the second hash value stored in the storage unit 303 and notifies the processing unit 304 of the result of the comparison, whether the first hash value and the second hash value match or not. The processing unit 304 displays the content based on the comparison result on the display unit 305. For example, if the determination unit 302 determines that the first hash value and the second hash value match as a result of the comparison, it displays the display data specified by the master device 103 in the call frame on the display unit 305. If it determines that the first hash value and the second hash value do not match, it displays an error message on the display unit 305 indicating that the data of the master device 103 and the slave device 101 are not synchronized (step S605).

[0060] Furthermore, the notification of the determination result (mismatch) from the determination unit 302 may also serve as a trigger to indicate the start of a process to synchronize the display data stored in the master unit 103 with the display data stored in the slave unit 101.

[0061] According to this, the user can be aware that the display data between the master unit 103 and the slave unit 101 is not synchronized.

[0062] Furthermore, the present invention can be implemented not only as a device, but also as a method in which the processing means constituting the device are used as steps, as a program that causes a computer to execute those steps, as a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM on which the program is recorded, or as information, data, or signals that represent the program. These programs, information, data, and signals may be distributed via a communication network such as the Internet. [Industrial applicability]

[0063] The present invention can be applied to notification systems that improve user convenience. Specifically, it can be applied to notification systems that prevent incorrect data from being displayed by informing the user that the display data to be shown on the sub-terminal during a call is not synchronized. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0064] 100 Notification System 101 Sub-unit 102 Wireless Link 103 Master unit 201 Communications Department 202 Operation section 203 Generation part 204 Storage section 205 Processing Unit 301 Communications Department 302 Judgment section 303 Storage section 304 Processing Unit 305 Display section

Claims

1. A notification system in which a parent device and a child device each have display data, and the child device displays the display data that it has in response to a notification of a call frame from the parent device, The parent device is an operation unit that receives an operation from a user and notifies the user of the operation content; a processing unit that calculates a first hash value based on the display data stored in the device in response to the notification; a generating unit that generates a frame including the first hash value; A communication unit for transmitting the frame; Equipped with The slave device is A communication unit for receiving the frame; a processing unit that calculates a second hash value based on display data stored in the device; a storage unit that stores the second hash value; a processing unit that extracts the first hash value from the frame received from the parent device; a determination unit that determines whether the first hash value and the second hash value match; Equipped Notification system.

2. The slave device further includes a display unit, Based on the judgment result of the judgment unit, (1) when it is determined that the first hash value and the second hash value match, the display unit displays display data stored in the display unit; (2) If it is determined that the first hash value and the second hash value do not match, the display unit displays an error message. The notification system of claim 1 .

3. If it is determined based on a determination result of the determination unit that the first hash value and the second hash value do not match, The communication unit of the child device notifies the parent device that the display data held by the child device is incorrect. The notification system of claim 2.

4. The frames are transmitted using narrow, low-speed, and time-limited frequency bands. A notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A slave device in a notification system, in which both a master device and a slave device have display data, and the slave device displays the display data in response to a call frame from the master device, a communication unit for receiving a frame transmitted from the parent device; a processing unit that calculates a second hash value based on display data stored in the device; a storage unit that stores the second hash value; a processing unit that extracts, from the frame received from the parent device, a first hash value calculated based on display data held by the parent device; a determination unit that determines whether the first hash value and the second hash value match; Equipped Child device.

6. A notification method in which a parent device and a child device each have display data, and the child device displays the display data that it has in response to a notification of a call frame from the parent device, the method comprising: In the parent device an operation unit that receives an operation from a user and notifies the user of the operation content; calculating a first hash value based on the display data stored in the device in response to the notification; generating a frame including the first hash value; transmitting the frame; Including, In the child device, receiving the frame; calculating a second hash value based on the display data stored in the device; extracting the first hash value from the frame; determining whether the first hash value and the second hash value match; Notification methods, including:

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