Registration processing method, electronic apparatus, and program

Abstract

To efficiently perform registration processing with a desired electronic apparatus.SOLUTION: There is provided a registration processing method of an apparatus between a smartphone 10 (first electronic apparatus) and a pet terminal 30 (second electronic apparatus) each of which includes a BLE communication unit (wireless communication unit). The method comprises: a first step in which the smartphone 10 connects to the pet terminal 30 and inquires whether a communication partner is registered to the pet terminal 30; and a second step in which the smartphone 10 performs continue processing to continue registration processing with the pet terminal 30 when the communication partner is not registered to the pet terminal 30, and severs connection for registration processing with the pet terminal 30 when the communication partner is registered to the pet terminal 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a registration processing method, an electronic device, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, between electronic devices equipped with a wireless communication function such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), transmission and reception of various data are performed wirelessly. Therefore, a pairing technology for registering a communication partner is known between electronic devices that want to communicate with each other (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when performing registration between electronic devices, continuing the connection process for an electronic device that is already registered with another electronic device is a waste of communication time, power consumption, etc.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems in the prior art, and an object thereof is to perform a registration process efficiently with a desired electronic device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, the present invention is a device registration processing method between a first electronic device and a second electronic device each provided with a wireless communication unit, a first step in which the first electronic device connects to the second electronic device and inquires whether a communication partner is registered in the second electronic device; When there is no communication partner registered in the second electronic device, the first electronic device performs a continuation process to continue the registration process with the second electronic device. When there is a communication partner registered in the second electronic device, the first electronic device performs a second step of disconnecting the connection for the registration process with the second electronic device. including.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, a registration process can be efficiently performed with a desired electronic device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of a method for registering between electronic devices according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the registration process means a process in which at least one device registers the other device for data communication between the electronic devices. Note that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

[0010] In recent years, expectations for pet-type robots (pet terminals) that mimic living creatures such as animals have been increasing. To manage pet terminals, it is conceivable to use a user terminal such as a smartphone owned by a user (pet owner). Even when data communication is performed between the user terminal and the pet terminal via wireless communication such as Bluetooth, it is necessary to perform a registration process. When the user terminal searches for the pet terminal and proceeds with the registration process, a predetermined time is required to forcibly connect to the pet terminal. When the user attempts to execute the registration process between their own user terminal and the target pet terminal in the presence of multiple pet terminals, the user terminal may also connect to a pet terminal (registered pet terminal) that has already been registered with another user terminal. In this case, while the user terminal is connected to the registered pet terminal, it cannot connect to the target pet terminal. Conversely, for the true owner (pet owner) of the registered pet terminal, while another user terminal occupies the connection to the registered pet terminal, the owner cannot connect to the registered pet terminal from their own user terminal even if they try.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 is composed of a smartphone 10 as a first electronic device and a pet terminal 30 as a second electronic device. The pet terminal 30 is a robot that can express the appearance and movement of a living creature. The pet terminal 30 is equipped with AI (Artificial Intelligence) and has learning functions such as expanding the variations of its operations and improving its communication ability with the user. Both the smartphone 10 and the pet terminal 30 are equipped with a short-range wireless communication function and can communicate with each other via BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication. In FIG. 1, one smartphone 10 and one pet terminal 30 are illustrated, but the number of smartphones 10 and pet terminals 30 is not limited to this.

[0012] The smartphone 10 also includes a control unit 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a storage unit 14, a BLE communication unit 15, an operation unit 16, a display unit 17, a built-in clock 18, a speaker 19, a microphone 20, a codec 21, and an RF communication unit 22.

[0013] The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 11 performs overall control of the operations of the smartphone 10 and various arithmetic processes. Specifically, the control unit 11 reads out various processing programs stored in the ROM 12 or the storage unit 14 and expands them in the RAM 13, and performs various processes in cooperation with the programs. The control unit 11 may perform processing with a single CPU, or a plurality of CPUs may operate in parallel or independently according to the application. The ROM 12 is a read-only semiconductor memory that stores various programs and various data executed by the control unit 11. The RAM 13 provides a working memory space for the control unit 11 and stores temporary working data. The storage unit 14 is composed of a non-volatile memory or the like, and stores information in a readable and writable manner. In the storage unit 14, for example, various application programs executed on the smartphone 10 and data related to various functions are stored. Specifically, a pet management application program is stored in the storage unit 14. The function realized by the cooperation between the control unit 11 and the pet management application program is called a "pet management application". The pet management application is used when the user checks the current emotions and movement history of the pet terminal 30, etc.

[0014] The BLE communication unit 15 (wireless communication unit) performs data communication with other electronic devices such as the pet terminal 30 by the BLE communication method via an antenna for transmitting and receiving BLE communication. The operation unit 16 includes various buttons and the like that receive input operations by the user, and outputs an operation signal based on the user's operation to the control unit 11. Further, the operation unit 16 includes a touch panel provided on the display screen of the display unit 17, detects the position of a touch operation by the user's finger or the like, and outputs an operation signal corresponding to the position to the control unit 11. The display unit 17 is composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and performs screen display according to a display control signal from the control unit 11. On the display unit 17, an operation screen, the processing result executed on the smartphone 10, and the like are displayed.

[0015] The built-in clock 18 is a counter that counts and holds the current time. The current time data of the built-in clock 18 is corrected at any time during communication with the mobile base station by the RF communication unit 22. The speaker 19 converts an electrical signal into an audio signal based on a signal from the codec 21 and outputs the audio. The microphone 20 detects a sound wave, converts it into an electrical signal, and outputs it to the codec 21. The codec 21 decodes the encoded and compressed digital audio signal, sends it to the speaker 19 as an analog signal, and encodes the audio signal output from the microphone 20 and outputs it to the control unit 11 or the RF communication unit 22. The RF communication unit 22 uses an antenna for RF transmission and reception to transmit and receive packet data such as telephone voice data and e-mail with the mobile base station.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the pet terminal 30 is covered with an exterior provided with a part 40 imitating eyes and fluffy hair 41. Hereinafter, the direction (head-tail direction) connecting the part corresponding to the head of the pet terminal 30 and the part corresponding to the tail is defined as the X-axis direction (the head side is +X). Also, when the pet terminal 30 is placed on a plane (such as a floor surface) in a face-down state, the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction and parallel to the plane is defined as the Y-axis direction (the left side when looking in the +X direction is +Y). Further, the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction and orthogonal to the Y-axis direction, that is, the direction (dorsoventral direction) connecting the part corresponding to the back of the pet terminal 30 and the part corresponding to the abdomen is defined as the Z-axis direction (the back side is +Z).

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the pet terminal 30 includes a control unit 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, a storage unit 34, a BLE communication unit 35, a sensor unit 36, a drive unit 37, an output unit 38, and an operation unit 39. The control unit 31 includes a CPU. The control unit 31 performs overall control of the operation of the pet terminal 30 and various arithmetic processes. Specifically, the control unit 31 reads out various processing programs stored in the ROM 32 and expands them in the RAM 33, and performs various processes in cooperation with the programs. The control unit 31 may perform processing by a single CPU, or a plurality of CPUs may operate in parallel or independently according to the application.

[0018] The ROM 32 is a read-only semiconductor memory that stores various programs and various data executed by the control unit 31. For example, the ROM 32 stores a program for the pet terminal 30 to perform an operation like a pseudo pet, setting data, etc. The setting data includes emotion data, a growth table, an operation content table, etc. The emotion data is data for giving the pet terminal 30 a pseudo emotion. The emotion data is represented by numerical values indicating joy, happiness, sadness, irritation, etc. Also, how each value of the emotion data changes according to an external stimulus detected by the sensor unit 36, etc. is also determined. In the growth table, the types of operations (manners) performed by the pet terminal 30 using an external stimulus detected by the sensor unit 36, etc. as an operation trigger, and the probability of each operation being selected according to the growth value, are associated with each other. The growth value is a value indicating the pseudo growth degree of the pet terminal 30. The operation content table records the specific operation content of each operation type.

[0019] The RAM 33 provides a working memory space for the control unit 31 and stores working temporary data. The storage unit 34 is composed of a non-volatile memory or the like, and stores information in a readable and writable manner. For example, the storage unit 34 stores a sensor history, an operation history, an emotion history, and the like. The sensor history is data in which the detection values (external stimuli) detected by the sensor unit 36 are associated with the detection date and time. The operation history is data in which each operation in the pet terminal 30 is associated with the date and time when the operation was performed. The emotion history is data in which the emotions generated in the pet terminal 30 are associated with the generation date and time.

[0020] The BLE communication unit 35 (wireless communication unit) performs data communication with other electronic devices such as the smartphone 10 via an antenna for BLE communication transmission and reception using the BLE communication method. The sensor unit 36 includes an acceleration sensor 361, a gyro sensor 362, a touch sensor 363, a microphone 364, and the like. The sensor unit 36 outputs the detection values detected by the various sensors to the control unit 31 as external stimulus data indicating an external stimulus to the pet terminal 30. The acceleration sensor 361 detects the acceleration in three axial directions including the head-tail direction (X-axis direction), the left-right direction (Y-axis direction), and the back-abdomen direction (Z-axis direction) of the pet terminal 30. The gyro sensor 362 detects the angular velocity associated with the rotation of the pet terminal 30. For example, the gyro sensor 362 detects the angular velocity with respect to the head-tail direction (X-axis direction), the left-right direction (Y-axis direction), and the back-abdomen direction (Z-axis direction) of the pet terminal 30 as axes respectively. The control unit 31 detects the posture and movement of the pet terminal 30 based on the detection values of at least one of the acceleration sensor 361 and the gyro sensor 362. The touch sensor 363 detects that an object has come into contact with the pet terminal 30. The touch sensor 363 is composed of, for example, a pressure sensor or a capacitance sensor. The control unit 31 detects that the pet terminal 30 has been stroked by the user based on the detection value of the touch sensor 363. The microphone 364 detects the sound around the pet terminal 30. The control unit 31 detects the user's voice, clapping, etc. based on the detection value of the microphone 364. Further, the sensor unit 36 may include an illuminance sensor that detects the ambient illuminance and a temperature sensor that detects the ambient temperature.

[0021] The drive unit 37 includes a motor or the like for moving each part of the pet terminal 30. The drive unit 37 expresses operations such that the pet terminal 30 raises its head or rolls over. When the pet terminal 30 includes a part corresponding to a leg, the drive unit 37 expresses movements according to the members included in the pet terminal 30, such as expressing the bending and stretching of the leg or a walking motion. The output unit 38 includes a speaker and outputs sounds such as barking sounds. Further, the output unit 38 may include a display such as an LCD or a light emitting unit such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The operation unit 39 includes a power button, operation buttons, etc., and outputs an operation signal based on a user's operation to the control unit 31.

[0022] The control unit 31 may be able to transmit the sensor history, operation history, emotion history, etc. stored in the storage unit 34 to the smartphone 10 connected via the BLE communication unit 35 at a predetermined timing.

[0023] Next, the outline of the present invention will be described. As a premise of the present invention, only one smartphone 10 can be registered as a communication partner in the pet terminal 30. When a specific communication partner is registered in the pet terminal 30, the user who owns the registered smartphone 10 becomes a pseudo-owner, and some process can be executed on the pet terminal 30 via the smartphone 10. On the other hand, multiple pet terminals 30 can be registered as communication partners in the smartphone 10. Also, while the pet terminal 30 is connected to a certain smartphone 10 via the BLE communication unit 35, it cannot respond to connection requests from other smartphones 10. On the other hand, the smartphone 10 can be connected to multiple pet terminals 30 simultaneously via the BLE communication unit 15.

[0024] The control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 (the first electronic device) connects to the pet terminal 30 (the second electronic device) and inquires whether a communication partner is registered in the pet terminal 30. When a communication partner is registered in the pet terminal 30, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 disconnects the connection for the registration process with the pet terminal 30. That is, when a communication partner is already registered in the pet terminal 30, the control unit 11 immediately excludes the pet terminal 30 from the registration process target.

[0025] On the other hand, when no communication partner is registered in the pet terminal 30, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 performs a continuation process of continuing the registration process with the pet terminal 30. In the continuation process, the control unit 11 determines whether a predetermined operation in the pet terminal 30 has been detected. The predetermined operation is realized when the user positions the pet terminal 30 in a predetermined posture. For example, in the continuation process, the control unit 11 detects a predetermined operation based on the output results of the acceleration sensor 361 or the gyro sensor 362 provided in the pet terminal 30.

[0026] When the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 detects a predetermined operation in the pet terminal 30 in the continuation process, it causes the pet terminal 30 to register the smartphone 10 as a communication partner. Here, when the control unit 11 causes the pet terminal 30 to register the smartphone 10 as a communication partner in the continuation process, it generates key information (authentication key) for identifying the smartphone 10 and transmits the key information to the pet terminal 30.

[0027] The smartphone 10 is a communication terminal that transmits an instruction for causing the pet terminal 30 to perform a predetermined operation. Here, the "predetermined operation" may include physical operations such as the pet terminal 30 lifting its head, rolling, walking, etc., as well as changes in expression or emotion. For example, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 transmits an instruction for causing a predetermined operation to the pet terminal 30 via the BLE communication unit 15 in response to an operation from the operation unit 16 by the user. The pet terminal 30 is a robot terminal that receives an instruction to perform a predetermined operation from the smartphone 10. When the control unit 31 of the pet terminal 30 receives an instruction to perform a predetermined operation from the smartphone 10 via the BLE communication unit 35, it causes each part of the pet terminal 30 to perform a predetermined operation according to the instruction.

[0028] Next, the operation in the wireless communication system 100 will be described. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing the registration process executed in the smartphone 10 and the pet terminal 30 of the wireless communication system 100. In BLE communication, the smartphone 10 is the central device and the pet terminal 30 is the peripheral device. First, when the user operates the operation unit 39 of the pet terminal 30 to instruct a transition to the registration process mode, the control unit 31 starts advertising (step S1). Specifically, the control unit 31 transmits an advertising signal via the BLE communication unit 35 at a predetermined time interval and enters a connection waiting state.

[0029] On the smartphone 10, when the user operates the operation unit 16 to instruct the start of registration of the pet terminal 30 on the pet management application, the control unit 11 causes the display unit 17 to display a registration screen (step S2). The control unit 11 sets the BLE communication unit 15 to the reception state and starts scanning (step S3). That is, the control unit 11 searches for the pet terminal 30 (peripheral device) waiting for connection by the BLE communication unit 15.

[0030] The control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 repeatedly executes the process of step S4 during scanning. When the control unit 11 detects the pet terminal 30 via the BLE communication unit 15 during scanning, it executes the process of step S5. In step S5, the control unit 11 connects to the detected pet terminal 30 via the BLE communication unit 15 (step S6).

[0031] Next, the control unit 11 inquires about the registration status of the communication partner from the connected pet terminal 30 via the BLE communication unit 15, and acquires the registration status from the pet terminal 30 (step S7). The control unit 11 transmits a request for acquiring the registration status to the connected pet terminal 30 via the BLE communication unit 15. When the control unit 31 of the pet terminal 30 receives a request for acquiring the registration status via the BLE communication unit 35, it determines whether or not the communication partner is registered (step S8). Specifically, the control unit 31 determines whether or not key information (authentication key) is stored in the storage unit 34. When the key information is stored in the storage unit 34, the control unit 31 determines that the communication partner is registered, and when the key information is not stored in the storage unit 34, the control unit 31 determines that the communication partner is not registered.

[0032] When the control unit 31 of the pet terminal 30 determines that the communication partner is registered in the pet terminal 30, it transmits the registration status of "registered" to the smartphone 10 via the BLE communication unit 35 (step S8A). When the registration status acquired from the pet terminal 30 is "registered", the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 disconnects the communication by the BLE communication unit 15 with the pet terminal 30 (step S9). In the registration process, when the smartphone 10 acquires the information of "registered", the smartphone 10 stops making inquiries to the pet terminal 30 with the status of "registered". As a result, the smartphone 10 can narrow down the candidates for the subsequent registration process and perform data communication efficiently.

[0033] In step S8, if no communication partner is registered in the pet terminal 30, the control unit 31 of the pet terminal 30 transmits the registration status of "not registered" to the smartphone 10 via the BLE communication unit 35 (step S8B). When the registration status acquired from the pet terminal 30 is "not registered", the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 executes special operation analysis processing (step S10). The special operation analysis processing is a process of analyzing whether the pet terminal 30 has performed a special operation (a predetermined operation). The control unit 11 analyzes whether the user has moved the pet terminal 30 so that the pet terminal 30 reaches a predetermined posture position. Here, the "predetermined posture position" of the pet terminal 30 is preferably a posture position that will not naturally assume that pose unless the user consciously moves the pet terminal 30. For example, as the "predetermined posture position", a posture is used in which the head of the pet terminal 30 (in the +X direction shown in FIG. 2) is on the upper side in the vertical direction.

[0034] In the special operation analysis processing (step S10), as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 acquires sensor information from the connected pet terminal 30 via the BLE communication unit 15 (step S21). Specifically, the control unit 11 transmits a sensor information acquisition request to the connected pet terminal 30 via the BLE communication unit 15. When the control unit 31 of the pet terminal 30 receives the sensor information acquisition request via the BLE communication unit 35, it transmits the output value of the sensor unit 36 to the smartphone 10.

[0035] Based on the sensor information (output results of the acceleration sensor 361 and the gyro sensor 362) acquired from the pet terminal 30, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 analyzes whether a special operation has been performed in the pet terminal 30. When the control unit 11 detects a special operation in the pet terminal 30, as shown in FIG. 3, the special operation analysis processing is terminated (step S13), and the scan is stopped (step S14). In addition, when the communication partner is an unregistered pet terminal 30 and the number of pet terminals 30 that are the targets of the special operation analysis process exceeds 3 (step S11), the control unit 11 stops the scan by the BLE communication unit 15 (step S12).

[0036] After the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 detects a special operation in the pet terminal 30 and stops the scan (step S14), it generates key information (authentication key). The key information is information for identifying the communication partner in BLE communication. The key information includes identification information for identifying the smartphone 10 that generated the key information, a key for encrypting data, and the like. Then, the control unit 11 transmits the key information to the pet terminal 30 in which the special operation was detected via the BLE communication unit 15, and instructs to register the smartphone 10 as the communication partner (step S15).

[0037] When the control unit 31 of the pet terminal 30 receives the key information and the registration instruction via the BLE communication unit 35, it stores the received key information in the storage unit 34. That is, the control unit 31 registers the smartphone 10 that generated the key information as the communication partner. Next, the control unit 31 determines whether the registration of the key information (smartphone 10) was successful (step S16). If the registration of the key information is successful, the control unit 31 of the pet terminal 30 transmits information indicating that the registration was successful and the identification information (pet terminal ID) of the pet terminal 30 to the smartphone 10 via the BLE communication unit 35 (step S16A). When the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 receives the information indicating that the registration was successful and the pet terminal ID via the BLE communication unit 15, it stores the registration information (including the pet terminal ID) and the key information in the storage unit 14 (step S17). The control unit 11 causes the display unit 17 to display a registration success screen (step S18). After the display of the registration success screen, it becomes possible to give an instruction to perform a predetermined operation or the like to the pet terminal 30 from the smartphone 10 via the BLE communication unit 15.

[0038] On the other hand, in step S16, when the registration of the key information fails, the control unit 31 of the pet terminal 30 transmits information indicating that the registration has failed to the smartphone 10 via the BLE communication unit 35 (step S16B). When the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 receives information indicating that the registration has failed via the BLE communication unit 15, it causes the display unit 17 to display a registration failure screen (step S19). After step S18 or step S19, the registration process ends (step S20).

[0039] Note that when the state where no pet terminal 30 is detected continues for a predetermined time during the scan (step S4), the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 ends the registration process. In addition, when the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 does not detect a special operation for a pet terminal 30 that is the target of the special operation analysis process for a predetermined time, it disconnects the communication by the BLE communication unit 15 with the pet terminal 30. If the registration process between the smartphone 10 and the pet terminal 30 is completed, data communication can be performed with the registered communication partner using the already registered key information at the next communication.

[0040] As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a communication partner is registered in the connected pet terminal 30, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 disconnects the connection for the registration process with the pet terminal 30. That is, the control unit 11 immediately excludes the pet terminal 30 that has already been registered from the registration process target, so that it is possible to avoid continuing the connection process to the pet terminal 30 unnecessarily. Also, from the perspective of the owner of the pet terminal 30 in which the communication partner is registered, the connection from the smartphone 10 possessed by another user to the pet terminal 30 of the owner himself / herself will be immediately disconnected. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the connection to the pet terminal 30 in which the communication partner is registered from being occupied by the smartphone 10 of another user, and it is possible to promptly respond to the connection request from the smartphone 10 possessed by the actual owner. In addition, when no communication partner is registered in the connected pet terminal 30, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 continues the registration process with the pet terminal 30. Therefore, the control unit 11 can efficiently perform the registration process with a desired pet terminal 30 (electronic device).

[0041] In addition, when no communication partner is registered in the connected pet terminal 30, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 causes the pet terminal 30 to register the smartphone 10 as a communication partner on the condition that a special operation (predetermined operation) in the pet terminal 30 is detected. As a result, the control unit 11 can reliably narrow down the pet terminal 30 to be a communication partner of the smartphone 10.

[0042] The predetermined operation in the pet terminal 30 is realized when the user positions the pet terminal 30 in a predetermined posture. The control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 can identify the pet terminal 30 that becomes a communication partner of the smartphone 10 according to a manual operation by the user on the pet terminal 30.

[0043] In addition, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 detects a predetermined operation in the pet terminal 30 based on the output result of the acceleration sensor 361 or the gyro sensor 362 provided in the pet terminal 30. As a result, the control unit 11 can easily detect the predetermined operation. In addition, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 can generate key information (authentication key) and transmit the key information to the pet terminal 30, thereby causing the pet terminal 30 to register the smartphone 10 as a communication partner.

[0044] In addition, the smartphone 10 can transmit an instruction for causing the pet terminal 30 to perform a predetermined operation. The pet terminal 30 can perform a predetermined operation according to an instruction received from the smartphone 10.

[0045] Note that the description in the above embodiment is an example of the present invention and is not limited thereto. Regarding the detailed configuration and detailed operations of each device constituting the system, appropriate changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0046] In the above embodiment, the case where the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 detects a special operation (predetermined operation) in the pet terminal 30 based on the sensor information acquired from the pet terminal 30 has been described. Instead of this, on the pet terminal 30 side, the control unit 31 may detect a special operation in the pet terminal 30 based on the output result of the sensor unit 36 and transmit the detection result to the smartphone 10.

[0047] Also, in the above embodiment, the case where the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 analyzes whether a special operation has been performed in the pet terminal 30 based on the output results of the acceleration sensor 361 and the gyro sensor 362 acquired from the pet terminal 30 has been described. Instead of this, the control unit 11 of the smartphone 10 may detect a special operation in the pet terminal 30 based on the output results of other sensors. For example, the control unit 11 may identify the pet terminal 30 to be registered by detecting that the user has continuously tapped the pet terminal 30 a predetermined number of times based on the output result of the touch sensor 363. Also, the control unit 11 may identify the pet terminal 30 to be registered by detecting a voice such as the user calling to the pet terminal 30 based on the output result of the microphone 364.

[0048] The computer-readable medium storing the program according to the present invention is not limited to the above example. As other computer-readable media, other non-volatile memories, HDDs, portable recording media, etc. can be applied. Also, as a medium for providing the data of the program according to the present invention via a communication line, a carrier wave is also applied to the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0049] 10 Smartphone 15 BLE Communication Unit 30 Pet Terminal 35 BLE Communication Unit

Claims

1. A method for registering devices between a first electronic device and a second electronic device, each having a wireless communication unit, comprising: a first step in which the first electronic device connects to the second electronic device and inquires whether a communication partner is registered in the second electronic device; a second step in which, when no communication partner is registered in the second electronic device, the first electronic device performs a continuation process of continuing the registration process with the second electronic device, and when a communication partner is registered in the second electronic device, the first electronic device disconnects the connection for the registration process with the second electronic device; A registration method including the above.

2. The registration method according to claim 1, wherein in the continuation process, when the first electronic device detects a predetermined operation in the second electronic device, the first electronic device causes the second electronic device to register the first electronic device as a communication partner.

3. The registration method according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined operation is realized by a user setting the second electronic device in a predetermined posture position.

4. The registration method according to claim 2, wherein in the continuation process, the first electronic device detects the predetermined operation based on an output result of an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor provided in the second electronic device.

5. The registration method according to claim 1, wherein in the continuation process, when the first electronic device causes the second electronic device to register the first electronic device as a communication partner, the first electronic device generates an authentication key for identifying the first electronic device and transmits the authentication key to the second electronic device.

6. The first electronic device is a communication terminal that transmits an instruction for causing the second electronic device to perform a predetermined operation, The second electronic device is a robot terminal that receives an instruction to perform a predetermined operation from the first electronic device. The registration method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A wireless communication unit; a control unit that connects to another electronic device via the wireless communication unit, inquires whether a communication partner is registered in the other electronic device, performs a continuation process of continuing the registration process with the other electronic device when no communication partner is registered in the other electronic device, and disconnects the connection for the registration process with the other electronic device when a communication partner is registered in the other electronic device; An electronic device comprising the above.

21. In a computer that controls an electronic device having a wireless communication unit A first step of connecting to another electronic device via the wireless communication unit and querying whether a communication partner is registered in the other electronic device; A second step of performing a continuation process of continuing the registration process with the other electronic device when no communication partner is registered in the other electronic device, and disconnecting the connection for the registration process with the other electronic device when a communication partner is registered in the other electronic device; A program for causing the above to be executed.

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