CONTROL DEVICE, TERMINAL APPARATUS, AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20130145030A1
• Filed: 03/15/2012
• Published: 06/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ohira, Yuki
• Application Number:
  US13/816,947
• Publication Number:
  US 20130145030A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 1/003 by varying carrier frequency at or within predetermined or random intervals H04K1/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/16 Obfuscation or hiding, e.g. involving white box
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/062 Pre-authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A control device includes: an authentication unit that performs authentication of a terminal apparatus to be connected to the control device; a main control signal transmitting unit that transmits, at first transmission intervals, a main control signal that is a control signal including information for performing data communication in synchronization with the terminal apparatus; a sub-control signal transmitting unit that transmits a sub-control signal notifying the terminal apparatus that the authentication unit is in a state of accepting a request for authentication; and a signal control unit that controls the main control signal transmitting unit and the sub-control signal transmitting unit, wherein the signal control unit causes the sub-control signal transmitting unit to transmit the sub-control signal at second transmission intervals shorter than the first transmission intervals when it is determined that the authentication unit is in the state of accepting the request for authentication.

Claims

1. A control device, comprising:

an authentication unit configured to perform authentication of a terminal apparatus to be connected to the control device via a predetermined network;

a main control signal transmitting unit configured to transmit a main control signal at first transmission intervals, the main control signal being a control signal including information for performing data communication in synchronization with the terminal apparatus;

a sub-control signal transmitting unit configured to transmit a sub-control signal that is a control signal notifying the terminal apparatus that the authentication unit is in a state of accepting a request for the authentication; and

a signal control unit configured to control the main control signal transmitting unit and the sub-control signal transmitting unit,

wherein the signal control unit is configured to determine whether or not the authentication unit is in the state of accepting the request for the authentication, and cause the sub-control signal transmitting unit to transmit the sub-control signal at second transmission intervals when it is determined that the authentication unit is in the state of accepting the request for the authentication, the second transmission intervals being shorter than the first transmission intervals.

2. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the signal control unit is configured to prevent the sub-control signal transmitting unit from transmitting the sub-control signal when it is determined that the authentication unit is not in the state of accepting the request for the authentication.

3. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the signal control unit is configured to prevent the sub-control signal transmitting unit from transmitting the sub-control signal when the authentication unit receives the request for the authentication, the request being transmitted from the terminal apparatus.

4. The control device according to claim 2,

wherein the signal control unit is configured to cause the main control signal transmitting unit to transmit only the main control signal after preventing the sub-control signal transmitting unit from transmitting the sub-control signal, when it is determined that the authentication unit is not in the state of accepting the request for the authentication.

5. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the main control signal includes information on a period from transmission of the main control signal to transmission of a next main control signal, and

the sub-control signal includes information on a period from transmission of the sub-control signal to transmission of a next main control signal.

6. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the signal control unit is configured to control the sub-control signal transmitting unit so that the sub-control signal transmitting unit transmits the sub-control signal at intervals according to a pattern in which the sub-control signal has a predetermined periodicity.

7. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the predetermined network is a wireless communication network.

8. The control device according to claim 1,

wherein the authentication unit is configured to start accepting the request for the authentication when obtaining an input from a user.

16. A communication system, comprising:

the control device according to claim 1; and

a terminal apparatus including;

a receiving unit configured to receive a control signal transmitted by a control device to be connected to the terminal apparatus via a predetermined wireless network;

a determining unit configured to determine whether or not the control signal includes a sub-control signal that is a control signal indicating that the control device that transmits the control signal is in a state of accepting a request for an authentication for authenticating a terminal apparatus that performs data communication;

a selecting unit configured to select the control device that has transmitted the sub-control signal as a management apparatus that is a control device to which the authentication is requested, when the determining unit determines that the control signal includes the sub-control signal; and

a transmitting unit configured to transmit, to the management apparatus, the request for the authentication.

9. A terminal apparatus, comprising:

a receiving unit configured to receive a control signal transmitted by a control device to be connected to the terminal apparatus via a predetermined wireless network;

a determining unit configured to determine whether or not the control signal includes a sub-control signal that is a control signal indicating that the control device that transmits the control signal is in a state of accepting a request for an authentication for authenticating a terminal apparatus that performs data communication;

a selecting unit configured to select the control device that has transmitted the sub-control signal as a management apparatus that is a control device to which the authentication is requested, when the determining unit determines that the control signal includes the sub-control signal; and

a transmitting unit configured to transmit, to the management apparatus, the request for the authentication.

10. The terminal apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the selecting unit is configured to select, as the management apparatus, the control device that has transmitted the control signal determined by the determining unit for a first time as including the sub-control signal.

11. The terminal apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the control signal is a control signal transmitted by the control device, and includes synchronization information indicating a period until a main control signal is next transmitted, the main control signal being a control signal including information for performing data communication in synchronization with a terminal apparatus, and

the determining unit is configured to determine that two consecutive control signals include the sub-control signal when the receiving unit receives a subsequent control signal that is one of the two consecutive control signals, in a period from receipt of a prior control signal to a time indicated by the synchronization information included in the subsequent control signal, the prior control signal being the other of the two consecutive signals.

12. The terminal apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the determining unit is configured to pre-store transmission intervals of a main control signal that is a control signal including information for the control device performing data communication in synchronization with a terminal apparatus, and determine that a plurality of control signals including the control signal include the sub-control signal when reception intervals of the control signals are shorter than the transmission intervals of the main control signal, the control signals being received by the receiving unit.

13. The terminal apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the determining unit is configured to obtain the number of control signals which are received by the receiving unit for a predetermined period, and determine that the control signals include the sub-control signal when the number of control signals is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold.

14. The terminal apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the control signal includes synchronization information indicating a period until a main control signal is next transmitted, the main control signal including information for the control device performing data communication in synchronization with a terminal apparatus, and

the determining unit is configured to determine that a subsequent control signal is the sub-control signal when a period indicated by synchronization information included in the subsequent control signal is shorter than a period indicated by synchronization information included in a prior control signal, the subsequent control signal and the prior control signal being two consecutive signals.

15. The terminal apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising

a searching unit configured to set predetermined frequencies of carrier waves as frequencies of the control signal received by the receiving unit, and cause the receiving unit to receive the control signal only for a predetermined search period at each of the frequencies,

wherein the searching unit is configured to pre-store transmission intervals of the sub-control signal, and set the predetermined search period based on the transmission intervals of the sub-control signal.

17. A method for controlling a control device, comprising:

transmitting, at first transmission intervals, a main control signal to a terminal apparatus to be connected to the control device via a predetermined network, the main control signal being a control signal including information for performing data communication in synchronization with the terminal apparatus;

determining whether or not an authentication unit that performs authentication of the terminal apparatus is in a state of accepting a request for an authentication; and

transmitting a sub-control signal at second transmission intervals when it is determined that the authentication unit is in the state of accepting the request for the authentication, and not transmitting the sub-control signal when it is determined that the authentication unit is not in the state of accepting the request for the authentication, the second transmission intervals being shorter than the first transmission intervals, and the sub-control signal being a control signal notifying the terminal apparatus that the authentication unit is in the state of accepting the request for the authentication.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which a program causing a computer to execute the method for controlling a control device according to claim 17 is recorded.

19. A method for controlling a terminal apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving a control signal transmitted by a control device to be connected to the terminal apparatus via a predetermined wireless network;

determining whether or not the control signal includes a sub-control signal that is a control signal indicating that the control device that transmits the control signal is in a state of accepting a request for an authentication for authenticating a terminal apparatus that performs data communication;

selecting the control device that has transmitted the sub-control signal as a management apparatus that is a control device to which the authentication is requested, when it is determined that the control signal includes the sub-control signal; and

transmitting, to the management apparatus, the request for the authentication.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which a program causing a computer to execute the method for controlling a terminal apparatus according to claim 19 is recorded.