Communication equipment, communication methods, and programs

Abstract

The present invention provides a communication device, a communication method, and a program that enable a communication device that communicates with an external device to communicate with another external device different from the said external device. [Solution] A portable wireless device 1 that communicates with an external device such as a portable terminal device 2 in accordance with a wireless communication method communicates with a portable terminal device 2 that transmits a scan signal based on a predetermined transmission timing rule in a first communication which is an external device search mode in the wireless communication method, and includes a control unit 11 that transmits or receives content data through the first communication with the portable terminal device 2.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device, a communication method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Wristwatch-type smartwatches are connected to smartphones via wireless communication and are used as convenient communication terminals having functions such as notifying users of incoming calls, incoming emails, etc. to the smartphone, and a calling function. A smartwatch and a smartphone are generally connected by wireless communication conforming to the Bluetooth Low Energy (hereinafter referred to as "BLE") communication standard, which consumes relatively little power. In BLE, a slave device called a peripheral transmits a wireless signal called an advertisement signal at a predetermined period, and a master device called a central performs scanning at a predetermined interval and requests pairing with the slave device when detecting the advertisement signal, thereby establishing a wireless connection.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a configuration in which, when establishing a Wi-Fi connection with a first external device during the establishment of a BLE connection with the first external device, the BLE connection is disconnected, and then a BLE connection with a second external device is established, as communication with a plurality of external devices.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, a communication device that communicates with an external device as a peripheral in accordance with BLE as a wireless communication method cannot communicate with another external device while paired with the said external device. In Patent Document 1, although Wi-Fi connection is possible, when a first communication device acting as a central and a second communication device acting as a peripheral communicate, the second communication device acting as a peripheral, once paired with the first communication device acting as a central, can only connect to that first communication device.

[0006] One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a communication device, a communication method, and a program that enable a communication device that communicates with an external device according to one wireless communication method to communicate with another external device different from the said external device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a communication device that communicates with an external device in accordance with a wireless communication method, the device comprising a control unit that, in a first communication which is an external device search mode in the wireless communication method, transmits a search signal based on a predetermined transmission timing rule, thereby communicating with the external device that transmits a scan signal based on the predetermined transmission timing rule, and transmits or receives content data through the first communication with the external device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a communication device that communicates with an external device in accordance with one wireless communication method is made capable of communicating with another external device different from the said external device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1A] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a communication system in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 1B] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a communication system in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a portable wireless device in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a mobile terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram showing an example of a functional block configuration of a portable wireless device in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram showing an example of a functional block configuration of a mobile terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6A] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a protocol for advertising communication between a portable wireless device and a portable terminal device in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6B] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the situation in which a portable wireless device and a portable terminal device establish pairing and perform high-capacity data communication in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of an advertisement signal execution table that defines the protocol shown in Figure 6A. [Figure 8] The device is shown in the diagram as an example of an address table. [Figure 9] This is a sequence diagram illustrating a connection sequence in a communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in accordance with its embodiments.

[0011] <Background of this embodiment> First, to help understand this embodiment, let's explain the background. When a smartwatch (communication device) is wirelessly connected to a smartphone (external device) using BLE, the smartwatch typically acts as a peripheral, transmitting an advertisement signal which is a search signal. The smartphone acts as a central, scanning for wireless signals and establishing a wireless connection by detecting the advertisement signal from the smartwatch.

[0012] The problem with the above smartwatch and smartphone connection mode is that, due to the BLE specification, a smartwatch acting as a peripheral can only connect to one smartphone acting as the central device at a time. Today, it's not uncommon for individuals to use two smartphones: one for personal use and one for business. In this case, the smartwatch can only connect to one of the smartphones. To use a smartphone previously connected to a personal smartphone with a business smartphone, the BLE connection procedure must be redone.

[0013] Here, we focus on the advertising communication used for device discovery between peripherals and centrals. Peripherals transmit advertising signals at predetermined time intervals to inform the central of their presence. Typically, a central receiving an advertising signal sends data, including its BLE address, to the peripheral that sent the advertising signal, requesting pairing. A peripheral receiving a pairing request from the central sends data, including its BLE address, to the central that initiated the pairing request, completing the pairing. Thereafter, paired peripherals and centrals can communicate data according to the BLE specification via GATT communication.

[0014] As described above, when a peripheral is paired with one central, it cannot establish a BLE connection with other centrals. However, even when a peripheral is not paired with any central, according to advertising communication, it can communicate with two or more centrals. In order to realize data exchange using such advertising communication, in this embodiment, a protocol for a peripheral to transmit an advertising signal to a specific central is defined. By doing so, when the peripheral transmits an advertising signal according to its predefined protocol, the centrals within the range capable of communicating with the peripheral can reply with predetermined data to the peripheral. Advertising communication can transmit a payload of up to 255 octets in BLE5 at time intervals such as 100 ms or 1 s. Although this data volume is small compared to normal BLE connections, it can be utilized, for example, to transmit notification data such as incoming mail from a smartwatch (acting as a peripheral) to a smartphone (acting as a central). When a central desires to execute transmission of a larger volume of data, the corresponding central can send a pairing request to the peripheral. Details of such communication will be elaborated below.

[0015] <Configuration of Communication System> First, the configuration of the communication system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1A and 1B. Figures 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams illustrating the overall configuration of the communication system in this embodiment. The communication system S comprises a portable wireless device 1 as a communication device and a portable terminal device 2 as an external device, and the portable wireless device 1 and the portable terminal device 2 are BLE-connected. The portable wireless device 1 in this embodiment is configured as a wristwatch-type electronic device, a so-called smartwatch, which is worn by the user on their forearm. The portable wireless device 1 has standard time display and timing functions such as time display, alarm, and timer. The portable wireless device 1 may also be equipped with various measurement functions, including temperature measurement, barometric pressure measurement, heart rate measurement, and activity level measurement such as a pedometer. Alternatively, the portable wireless device 1 may be an electronic device such as an activity tracker that does not have a time display function as a clock, or it may be a simple analog clock, digital clock, etc. equipped with communication functions.

[0016] Mobile device 2 is typically a smartphone with calling capabilities. The portable wireless device 1, acting as a smartwatch, connects wirelessly to mobile device 2 (a smartphone) and functions as a wireless terminal for mobile device 2. Specifically, it can receive notifications such as incoming calls, emails, and scheduled arrival times from mobile device 2. Mobile device 2 is not limited to a smartphone; other mobile devices such as tablet devices with wireless communication capabilities, or other electronic devices such as notebook computers, can also be used. When distinguishing between different mobile device 2s, they will be referred to as mobile device 2A and 2B below.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1A, in this embodiment, the portable wireless device 1 functions as a peripheral and transmits advertisement signals at predetermined time intervals. Specifically, two portable terminal devices 2A and 2B to be connected function as a central and perform advertisement signal scanning according to a predetermined protocol. When the portable terminal devices 2A and 2B detect an advertisement signal from the portable wireless device 1, the portable wireless device 1 transmits predetermined data to the portable terminal devices 2A and 2B. In this way, the portable wireless device 1 as a peripheral can perform data communication with the portable terminal devices 2A and 2B through advertisement communication executed according to a predetermined protocol.

[0018] FIG. 1B shows a state in which the portable wireless device 1 is paired with one portable terminal device 2A and performing large-capacity data communication. The central portable terminal device 2A issues a pairing request to the peripheral for large-capacity data transmission. The other peripheral portable terminal device 2B enters a standby state waiting to resume receiving advertisement signals because the reception of advertisement signals is interrupted. The portable wireless device 1 paired with the portable terminal device 2A as a peripheral can perform large-capacity data communication through BLE's GATT communication.

[0019] <Hardware Configuration Example of Portable Wireless Device 1> Next, the configuration of the portable wireless device 1 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the portable wireless device 1 in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the portable wireless device 1 in this embodiment includes a control unit 11, a main memory unit 12, an auxiliary storage unit 13, an input unit 14, an output unit 15, a communication unit 16, a sensor unit 17, and a GNSS unit 18.

[0020] The hardware elements illustrated in Figure 2 will now be described. The control unit 11 is composed of a processor that performs various calculations and control processes necessary for the operation of the portable wireless device 1. The control unit 11 can also be referred to as a processor. The processors that make up the control unit 11 include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), SoC (System on a Chip), DSP (Digital Signal Processor), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or combinations thereof. The control unit 11 may also be a combination of these processors with hardware accelerators, etc.

[0021] The main memory unit 12 stores programs such as firmware, system software, and application software, and also functions as a work area that is temporarily used for various processing tasks. The main memory unit 12 is composed of, for example, non-volatile memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0022] The auxiliary storage unit 13 stores data such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and various application programs. The auxiliary storage unit 13 is composed of semiconductor memory or the like.

[0023] The input unit 14 consists of various components such as a touch panel, keys, and a microphone, and accepts user input. The output unit 15 consists of a display equipped with the aforementioned touch panel to display images and a speaker to amplify sound, and outputs images and sound.

[0024] The communication unit 16 controls the wireless communication that the portable wireless device 1 performs with external devices. In this embodiment, the communication unit 16 includes, for example, a BLE module that supports wireless communication with the portable terminal device 2. The BLE module makes the portable wireless device 1 function as a central or peripheral of the BLE communication standard. The communication unit 16 may also include network connection devices such as a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card and a network adapter, and wireless communication devices based on communication standards such as Wi-Fi® (Wireless Fidelity) and NFC (Near Field Communication). Alternatively, the communication unit 16 may include an Bluetooth Classic module instead of a BLE module. That is, the portable wireless device 1 may communicate with the portable terminal device 2 in accordance with the Bluetooth Classic wireless communication method.

[0025] The sensor unit 17 consists of various sensors that detect the user's state and movements. The sensor unit 17 is composed of, for example, an acceleration sensor, an angular acceleration sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, a heart rate sensor, etc. The acceleration sensor, angular acceleration sensor, geomagnetic sensor, and pressure sensor can make the sensor unit 17 function as a behavior detection unit to detect the user's movements, or as a location determination unit together with the GNSS unit 18 described later. In addition, the heart rate sensor can make the sensor unit 17 function as a biometric information acquisition unit to obtain the user's heart rate as biometric information.

[0026] The GNSS unit 18 is a positioning information acquisition unit for obtaining location information. GNSS is an abbreviation for Global Navigation Satellite System, and the GNSS unit 18 is a satellite positioning device that utilizes satellite positioning systems such as GPS (Global Positioning System). The GNSS unit 18 is composed of antennas and electronic components, and it acquires positioning satellite signals transmitted from multiple positioning satellites to determine its own position.

[0027] <Example hardware configuration of mobile terminal device 2> Next, the configuration of the portable terminal device 2 in this embodiment will be described. As shown in Figure 4, the portable terminal device 2 in this embodiment includes a control unit 21, a main memory unit 22, an auxiliary memory unit 23, an input unit 24, an output unit 25, a communication unit 26, a sensor unit 27, and a GNSS unit 28. The hardware configuration of the portable terminal device 2 is equivalent to that of the portable wireless device 1 as a computer with communication functions, so redundant explanations of individual components will be omitted.

[0028] <Example of functional configuration of portable wireless device 1> Next, the functions realized by the control unit 11 of the portable wireless device 1 will be described. Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating the functions realized by the control unit 11 of the portable wireless device 1 in one embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 11 in this embodiment includes a communication control unit 111, an output control unit 112, an input control unit 113, a communication linkage control unit 114, and a clock function control unit 115.

[0029] The communication control unit 111 performs processing for the portable wireless device 1 to communicate with external devices via the communication unit 16. For example, in this embodiment, the communication control unit 111 controls wireless communication with the portable terminal device 2 using the BLE communication standard. Specifically, the communication control unit 111 controls the process by which the BLE module provided in the communication unit 16 transmits an advertisement signal as a peripheral using a predetermined protocol, and the process of performing pairing in response to a pairing request from the central. The transmission time interval of the advertisement signal can be set as appropriate, such as 100ms.

[0030] The output control unit 112 performs processing to display images on the screen of the output unit 15. For example, the output control unit 112 performs processing to display clock displays in various modes and various notification display images from the connected mobile terminal device 2 on the screen of the output unit 15. The output control unit 112 also performs processing to output audio such as call audio, various notifications, and alarms from the mobile terminal device 2 connected through the output unit 15.

[0031] The input control unit 113 executes a process to accept user operations on the input unit 14. For example, the input control unit 113 executes a process to accept input operations performed by the user via the input unit 14 based on the operation screen displayed on the output unit 15 screen, or the operation of input keys and buttons.

[0032] The communication linkage control unit 114 enables various applications implemented in the portable wireless device 1 to operate in conjunction with the communication control unit 111. For example, if a pedometer application requests notification of step count data, the communication linkage control unit 114 includes that step count data in the advertised communication data and sends it to the communication control unit 111.

[0033] The clock function control unit 115 controls the clock functions of the portable wireless device 1 in the smartwatch, which is a portable wireless device 1, such as time display, alarm, and timekeeping.

[0034] <Example of functional configuration of mobile terminal device 2> Next, the functions realized by the control unit 21 of the mobile terminal device 2 will be described. Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating the functions realized by the control unit 21 of the mobile terminal device 2 in one embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 21 in this embodiment includes a communication control unit 211, an output control unit 212, an input control unit 213, a communication linkage control unit 214, a call function control unit 215, and a clock function control unit 216.

[0035] The communication control unit 211 performs processing for the mobile terminal device 2 to communicate with external devices such as the portable wireless device 1 via the communication unit 26. For example, in this embodiment, the communication control unit 211 controls wireless communication with the portable wireless device 1 using the BLE communication standard. Specifically, the communication control unit 211 controls the BLE module provided in the communication unit 26 to send and receive advertisement signals to and from the portable wireless device 1, which is a peripheral, using a predetermined protocol, and to perform high-capacity data communication processing with the portable wireless device 1, which is a peripheral.

[0036] The output control unit 212 performs processing to display images on the screen of the output unit 25. For example, the output control unit 212 performs processing to display output images of various application programs installed and running on the mobile terminal device 2 as a smartphone on the screen of the output unit 25. The output control unit 212 also performs processing to output audio such as call audio, various notifications, and alarms through the output unit 25.

[0037] The input control unit 213 executes a process to accept user operations on the input unit 24. For example, the input control unit 213 executes a process to accept input operations performed by the user via the input unit 24 based on the operation screen displayed on the output unit 25 screen, or the operation of input keys and buttons.

[0038] The communication linkage control unit 214 is a functional unit that enables various applications implemented in the mobile terminal device 2 to operate in conjunction with the communication control unit 211. For example, if an application running on the mobile terminal device 2 requests a transition from data communication via the transmission and reception of advertising signals to a large-capacity data communication using the standard BLE communication standard, such as GATT communication, the communication linkage control unit 214 requests the communication control unit 211 to perform the transition process to GATT communication. Examples of situations where a transition to large-capacity data communication is requested include when an application in the mobile terminal device 2 requests the start of large-capacity data communication such as voice data, or when an update for an application or firmware implemented in the mobile wireless device 1 is requested.

[0039] The call function control unit 215 controls the telephone functions of the mobile terminal device 2, which is a smartphone. In addition, the control unit 21 can be equipped with control functions for various hardware such as the camera installed in the mobile terminal device 2.

[0040] The clock function control unit 216 controls the clock functions of the mobile terminal device 2, which is a smartphone, such as time display, alarm, and timekeeping.

[0041] The functions of the communication linkage control unit 214 can be realized by installing an application program on a mobile terminal device 2, which is embodied as a smartphone or the like, to manage and control information exchange and operational coordination with the mobile wireless device 1.

[0042] <Example of an advertising communication protocol> In this embodiment, as described above, the peripheral portable wireless device 1 and two or more central portable terminal devices 2 constantly communicate data via advertisement communication.

[0043] (1) Protocols for advertising communications Figure 6A schematically shows an example of a protocol for conducting advertising communication between a peripheral (portable radio device 1) and a central (portable terminal device 2).

[0044] Here, the peripheral smartwatch SW and the two central smartphones A and B communicate at predetermined intervals based on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). In the example in Figure 6A, the time measured by the clock function control unit 115 and the clock function control unit 216 is set so that the smartwatch SW sends an advertisement signal to smartphone A at the timing of UTC=0. Subsequently, at time intervals T, the advertisement signal is sent sequentially from smartphone A to smartwatch SW, from smartwatch SW to smartphone B, and from smartphone B to smartwatch SW. Figure 7 shows an example of an advertisement communication execution table that defines the protocol for this advertisement communication. The advertisement communication execution table specifies that the transmission time, which is the timing at which the advertisement signal is sent from smartwatch SW to smartphone A, from smartphone A to smartwatch SW, from smartwatch SW to smartphone B, and from smartphone B to smartwatch SW, is executed at time intervals T with UTC=0 as the reference time. The communication control unit 111 of the portable wireless device 1 and the communication control unit 211 of the portable terminal device 2 transmit at predetermined timings. As shown in Figure 8, the device address table stores the communication addresses of the portable wireless device 1 (smartwatch SW) and portable terminal devices 2 (smartphones A and B) in BLE communication. Therefore, the communication control units 111 and 211 can identify which device transmitted the received advertisement signal.

[0045] The device address table can, for example, be used when a smartwatch SW user pairs with one or more smartphones via BLE. In this table, the address of each smartphone, such as the BLE communication standard ID, MAC address, or other unique identification information, can be obtained and stored.

[0046] The advertising communication execution table can be completed by writing specific information about detected external devices to a table that, for example, defines a sequence for content data communication via advertising on a smartwatch SW, setting the timing of the first search signal transmission from the smartwatch SW as UTC=0, and then executing data transmission and reception in the following order at predetermined time intervals, for example every second: receiving a scan signal from an external device, sending a search signal, receiving a scan signal from another external device, and so on. Alternatively, the smartphone connected to the smartwatch SW may be provided with an interface that allows the user to set the communication timing.

[0047] (2) Execution of large-capacity data communication Figure 6B schematically illustrates the situation in which a peripheral, a portable wireless device 1 (smartwatch SW), and a central, a portable terminal device 2 (smartphone A), establish pairing and perform large-capacity data communication. Similar to Figure 6A, advertising communication is performed based on UTC timing, but in the example in Figure 6B, a pairing request for the transmission of large-capacity data is made from smartphone A to smartwatch SW. Smartphone A and smartwatch SW perform pairing, and thereafter data communication is performed according to the BLE specification via BLE GATT communication. As a result, large-capacity data that cannot be transmitted via advertising communication, such as voice data, is transmitted from smartphone A to smartwatch SW.

[0048] When high-volume data communication is in progress, both smartphone A and smartwatch SW will suspend the transmission of advertising signals. Similarly, smartphone B will also suspend the transmission of advertising signals because it will not receive advertising signals from smartwatch SW.

[0049] Large-capacity data communication ends, for example, when the smartwatch SW receives a data transmission completion notification from smartphone A, and the smartwatch SW, smartphones A and B return to executing advertisement communication according to a predetermined protocol.

[0050] <Wireless communication control function in this embodiment> Next, the wireless communication connection process using the BLE communication standard, which is performed in the communication system S including the portable wireless device 1 and the portable terminal device 2 of this embodiment, will be described. Figure 9 shows an example of the processing procedure for wireless communication performed in the communication system S of this embodiment, as illustrated in Figures 1A and 1B, as a sequence diagram. The communication system S includes one portable wireless device 1 and two portable terminal devices 2. Here, the two portable terminal devices 2 are referred to as portable terminal device 2A and portable terminal device 2B.

[0051] The wireless communication control processing illustrated in Figure 9 is mainly performed by the communication control units 111 and 211, and the communication linkage control units 114 and 214 of the portable wireless device 1 and the portable terminal device 2.

[0052] The wireless communication connection processing sequence shown in Figure 9 is executed continuously after the portable wireless device 1 is powered on and starts operating.

[0053] In step S1, the communication control unit 111 of the portable wireless device 1 is configured to operate as a peripheral of the BLE communication standard. In step S2, the communication control unit 211 of the portable terminal device 2A is configured to function as a central. In step S3, the communication control unit 211 of the portable terminal device 2B is configured to function as a central.

[0054] In step S4, the portable wireless device 1 transmits an advertised signal as a peripheral. In steps S5 and S6, the portable terminal devices 2A and 2B perform a scan of advertised signals as centrals.

[0055] In step S7, the portable wireless device 1 determines whether multiple portable terminal devices 2 have been detected. If only one portable terminal device 2 is detected (step S7, No), the portable wireless device 1 establishes a BLE communication standard pairing with the detected portable terminal device 2 and performs communication using a normal BLE communication connection (step S8).

[0056] If multiple mobile terminal devices 2 are detected (Step S7, Yes), the portable wireless device 1 obtains identification codes such as the BLE communication standard ID and MAC address from each mobile terminal device 2 as communication addresses via advertisement communication, and generates rules for data communication to be executed with each mobile terminal device 2 using advertisement communication (hereinafter referred to as advertisement communication rules) (Step S9). The advertisement communication rules define, for example, the timing for sending advertisement signals from the portable wireless device 1 to each mobile terminal device 2, and the timing for sending advertisement signals from each mobile terminal device 2 to the portable wireless device 1, as explained with respect to Figure 6A. Specifically, the communication linkage control unit 114 of the portable wireless device 1 generates the advertisement communication execution table exemplified in Figure 7 and the device address table exemplified in Figure 8, and stores them in the storage unit.

[0057] Once the advertisement communication execution table is generated, the portable wireless device 1 shares it with the portable terminal devices 2A and 2B via advertisement communication, and thereafter, content data is sent and received via advertisement communication (steps S10, S11). Since the capacity of the data packets for advertisement communication is limited to 31 bytes per packet, the sending and receiving of content data is used for things that can be done with a limited amount of data, such as email, incoming call notifications, and notifications from various applications such as pedometers.

[0058] If the mobile terminal device 2A determines that it is necessary to perform large-capacity data communication for purposes such as transmitting voice data or update data for application programs, it requests the mobile wireless device 1 to pair for communication in a second communication mode (step S12). Note that the process in step S12 may also be performed if it is determined that it is necessary to perform a predetermined data communication process. In step S13, the mobile wireless device 1, having received the pairing request, establishes pairing with the requesting mobile terminal device 2A and thereafter performs large-capacity data communication using GATT communication with a BLE communication connection (step S14). The end of the large-capacity data communication is notified from the mobile terminal device 2A to the mobile wireless device 1 (step S15), and the mobile wireless device 1 then cancels the pairing with the mobile terminal device 2A (step S16). Thereafter, the transmission and reception of content data via advertisement communication resumes between the mobile wireless device 1 and the mobile terminal device 2A (steps S17, S18).

[0059] On the other hand, while large-capacity data communication is in progress, the portable wireless device 1 does not perform content data transmission or reception via advertised communication. Therefore, during that time, the portable terminal device 2B does not perform content data transmission or reception via advertised communication. Specifically, in step S13, when the portable wireless device 1 establishes pairing with the portable terminal device 2A, the portable wireless device 1 interrupts the transmission of advertised signals to the portable terminal device 2B, and advertised communication between the portable terminal device 2B and the portable wireless device 1 is interrupted (step S19). When large-capacity data communication between the portable wireless device 1 and the portable terminal device 2A ends and the pairing between the portable wireless device 1 and the portable terminal device 2A is released, the portable wireless device 1 resumes the transmission of advertised signals to the portable terminal device 2B. As a result, the portable wireless device 1 resumes advertised communication with the portable terminal device 2B (step S20).

[0060] In the example shown in Figure 9, an advertisement communication rule was generated when multiple mobile terminal devices 2 were detected (Step S7, Yes). However, an advertisement communication rule may also be generated when only one mobile terminal device 2 is detected (Step S7, No) and the portable wireless device 1 establishes a BLE communication standard pairing with the detected mobile terminal device 2 (Step S8). For example, the portable wireless device 1 may pre-determine an upper limit on the number of mobile terminal devices 2 that can connect to it, and generate an advertisement communication rule that assigns the timing of sending advertisement signals according to the order in which the mobile terminal devices 2 start connecting with the portable wireless device 1. For example, if the upper limit on the number of connectable mobile terminal devices 2 is set to 2 and one cycle is 4T, the portable wireless device 1 may set an advertisement communication rule where the timing of advertisement communication with the first mobile terminal device 2 is UTC+0 and UTC+T, and the timing of advertisement communication with the second mobile terminal device 2 is UTC+2T and UTC+3T.

[0061] According to the embodiment described above, when the portable wireless device 1 detects multiple portable terminal devices 2 by advertising communication of the BLE communication standard, the portable wireless device 1 can perform data transmission and reception by executing advertising communication with each portable terminal device 2 at a predetermined timing, thereby eliminating the constraint of data communication due to one-to-one pairing in the BLE communication standard. Furthermore, if any of the portable terminal devices 2 requests transmission or reception of a large amount of data, it can pair with the portable wireless device 1 and perform transmission or reception of large amounts of data using the normal BLE communication standard. Once the transmission or reception of large amounts of data is completed, the portable wireless device 1 can perform transmission or reception of content data by executing advertising communication with each portable terminal device 2 at a predetermined timing.

[0062] As described above, in this embodiment, the portable wireless device 1, which communicates with an external device such as a portable terminal device 2 in accordance with a single wireless communication method, communicates with the portable terminal device 2, which transmits a scan signal based on a predetermined transmission timing rule, by transmitting a search signal based on a predetermined transmission timing rule in the first communication, which is the external device search mode in the single wireless communication method, and includes a control unit 11 that transmits or receives content data through the first communication with the portable terminal device 2.

[0063] In this way, the portable wireless device 1 can perform content data communication with multiple portable terminal devices 2 using a first communication method, which is an external device discovery mode of a single wireless communication scheme, based on predetermined transmission timing rules. In other words, a portable wireless device 1 that communicates with a portable terminal device 2 according to a single wireless communication scheme can communicate with another portable terminal device 2 that is different from the said portable terminal device 2.

[0064] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the wireless communication method is Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth Classic, and the first communication is an advertisement communication.

[0065] In this way, content data communication can be performed using the BLE communication standard or the Bluetooth Classic communication standard for advertising.

[0066] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the control unit 11 receives scan signals from multiple mobile terminal devices 2A and 2B during advertising communication, it can identify each mobile terminal device 2A and 2B based on predetermined transmission timing rules and perform content data communication with each mobile terminal device 2A and 2B via advertising communication.

[0067] In this way, the portable wireless device 1 can send and receive content data with multiple portable terminal devices 2A and 2B via advertising communication.

[0068] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the control unit 11 receives scan signals from multiple mobile terminal devices 2A and 2B during advertising communication, it may identify each mobile terminal device 2A and 2B, store the identified mobile terminal devices 2A and 2B in association with a predetermined transmission timing rule in the storage unit, and when it receives scan signals from multiple mobile terminal devices 2A and 2B during advertising communication, it may read the correspondence between the mobile terminal devices 2A and 2B and the predetermined transmission timing rule from the storage unit.

[0069] In this way, when the portable wireless device 1 detects multiple portable terminal devices 2A and 2B, it can quickly start sending and receiving content data via advertising communication.

[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the control unit 11 performs data communication faster than advertising communication with one of the multiple mobile terminal devices 2, or when it performs predetermined data communication, it may establish a connection with the said mobile terminal device 2 using, for example, GATT communication of the BLE communication standard in order to perform the high-speed data communication.

[0071] In this way, the portable wireless device 1 can perform high-capacity data communication with the portable terminal device 2 as needed.

[0072] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 11 can choose not to perform content data transmission and reception via advertisement communication with other mobile terminal devices 2 while performing data communication with one mobile terminal device 2 using GATT communication of the BLE communication standard.

[0073] This approach eliminates the communication load caused by advertising during data communication, enabling smooth execution of large-capacity data communications.

[0074] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the control unit 11 terminates data communication via GATT communication with one mobile terminal device 2, it can resume content data communication via advertisement communication with multiple mobile terminal devices 2, including other mobile terminal devices 2.

[0075] In this way, content data communication between the portable wireless device 1 and multiple portable terminal devices 2 can be resumed in a single wireless communication system.

[0076] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the communication method by the portable wireless device 1 that communicates with the portable terminal device 2 in accordance with a single wireless communication method is as follows: The control unit 11 of the portable wireless device 1 transmits a search signal in a first communication for searching for an external device in a single wireless communication method, based on a predetermined transmission timing rule, thereby communicating with the portable terminal device 2 which transmits a scan signal based on the predetermined transmission timing rule, and transmits or receives content data through the first communication with the portable terminal device 2.

[0077] In this way, the same effects as the portable wireless device 1 according to the present embodiment described above can be achieved.

[0078] Furthermore, the program in this embodiment causes the control unit 11 of the portable wireless device 1, which communicates with an external device in accordance with a single wireless communication method, to transmit a search signal in the first communication for searching for an external device in the single wireless communication method based on a predetermined transmission timing rule, thereby causing communication with the portable terminal device 2, which transmits a scan signal based on the same predetermined transmission timing rule, and to perform the transmission or reception of content data through the first communication with the portable terminal device 2.

[0079] In this way, the same effects as the portable wireless device 1 according to the present embodiment described above can be achieved.

[0080] The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or by software. In other words, the functional configuration in Figure 5 is merely illustrative and not particularly limited. That is, it is sufficient that the portable wireless device 1 is equipped with a function that can execute the series of processes described above as a whole, and the type of functional block used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the example in Figure 5. Furthermore, a single functional block may be composed of hardware alone, software alone, or a combination of both. The functional configuration in this embodiment is realized by a processor that performs arithmetic processing, and processors that can be used in this embodiment include not only those composed of various processing units such as single processors, multiprocessors, and multicore processors, but also those that combine these various processing units with processing circuits such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays).

[0081] In this specification, the steps describing data processing performed by the portable wireless device 1 and the portable terminal devices 2A and 2B include not only processes performed chronologically in that order, but also processes that are not necessarily performed chronologically, but are performed in parallel or individually.

[0082] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are merely illustrative and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The present invention can take on a variety of other embodiments, and it is also possible to combine the above embodiments with their modified configurations. Furthermore, various modifications such as omissions and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention as described herein, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as described in the claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0083] 1. Portable wireless device 2,2A,2B Mobile terminal devices 11, 21 Control Unit 12,22 Main memory 13,23 Auxiliary storage 14,24 Input section 15,25 Output section 16,26 Communications Department 111,211 Communication Control Unit 112,212 Output control unit 113,213 Input Control Unit 114,214 Communication Coordination Control Unit 115 Clock Function Control Unit 215 Call Function Control Unit S Communication System

Claims

1. A communication device that communicates with external devices in accordance with a wireless communication method, A communication device comprising a control unit that, in a first communication which is an external device search mode in the wireless communication method, transmits a search signal based on a predetermined transmission timing rule, thereby communicating with the external device that transmits a scan signal based on the predetermined transmission timing rule, and transmits or receives content data through the first communication with the external device.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication method is Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth Classic, and the first communication is advertising communication.

3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, upon receiving scan signals from a plurality of external devices in the first communication, identifies each of the external devices based on the predetermined transmission timing rules and transmits or receives content data in the first communication with each of the external devices.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, when it receives scan signals from a plurality of external devices in the first communication, identifies each of the external devices, stores in a storage unit the relationship between each identified external device and a predetermined transmission timing rule, and when it receives scan signals from a plurality of external devices in the first communication, reads the relationship between the external devices and the predetermined transmission timing rule from the storage unit.

5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit establishes a connection via a second communication to perform data communication with one of the plurality of external devices in order to perform data communication at a higher speed than the first communication, or to perform data communication as predetermined.

6. The communication device according to claim 5, wherein the control unit does not perform content data communication via the first communication while performing data communication via the second communication with the first external device.

7. The communication device according to claim 6, wherein the control unit, when it has terminated data communication via the second communication with one external device, resumes content data communication via the first communication with a plurality of external devices, including other external devices.

8. A communication method using communication equipment that communicates with external equipment in accordance with a wireless communication method, The control unit of the aforementioned communication device A communication method for a first communication for searching for an external device in the aforementioned wireless communication system, wherein a search signal is transmitted based on a predetermined transmission timing rule, thereby communicating with the external device that transmits a scan signal based on the predetermined transmission timing rule, and content data is transmitted or received through the first communication with the external device.

9. A control unit of a communication device that communicates with an external device in accordance with a wireless communication method, A program that, in a first communication for discovering an external device in the aforementioned wireless communication method, causes the program to transmit a search signal based on a predetermined transmission timing rule, thereby enabling communication with the external device that transmits a scan signal based on the predetermined transmission timing rule, and enables the program to transmit or receive content data through the first communication with the external device.

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