Wireless communication equipment and connection processing method

• US 7,895,368 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2009
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Imaging Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Yoshikazu
• Primary Examiner(s): TSENG, CHENG YUAN
• Application Number:
  US12/411,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20090248906A1
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 710/9
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4541 Directories for service discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4557 Directories for hybrid networks, e.g. including telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00408 Display of information to the user, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00453 arranged in a two dimensional array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00458 Sequential viewing of a plurality of images, e.g. browsing or scrolling
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00461 marking or otherwise tagging one or more displayed image, e.g. for selective reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0036 Detecting or checking connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0044 Connecting to a plurality of different apparatus; Using a plurality of different connectors connection via a network H04N2201/0039
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0055 By radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Wireless communication equipment which associates with a plurality of sets of peripheral equipment present in a prescribed range through wireless communication stores identification code information regarding the associated peripheral equipment, acquires identification code information from the peripheral equipment present in the prescribed range, and determines whether or not the peripheral equipment has already associated on the basis of the identification code information. If the peripheral equipment has not been associated, the wireless communication equipment stores the identification code information by associating them with an image. If the peripheral equipment has been associated, the wireless communication equipment displays the associated image stored by associating them with the acquired identification code information, and connects to the corresponding peripheral equipment in response to the selection of the displayed and associated image.

Claims

1. Wireless communication equipment which performs association through wireless communication with peripheral equipment present in a prescribed range, comprising:

a storage unit configured to store identification code information which identifies the peripheral equipment as regards already associated peripheral equipment;

an acquisition unit configured to acquire identification code information which identifies the associated peripheral equipment from the peripheral equipment present in the prescribed range;

a determination unit configured to determine whether or not the peripheral equipment has been associated on the basis of identification code information stored in the storage unit;

an association unit configured to associate the identification code information acquired by the acquisition unit with a prescribed image and to store the identification code information and the prescribed image, when it is determined that the peripheral equipment has not been associated by the determination unit;

a display unit configured to display the prescribed image information which is associated with the identification code information acquired by the acquisition unit and is stored in the storage unit, when it is determined that the peripheral equipment has been associated by the determination unit;

a selection unit configured to select image displayed by the display unit; and

a connection processing unit configured to perform processing which connects the wireless communication equipment to the peripheral equipment corresponding to the identification code information associated with the image selected by the selection unit.

2. The wireless communication equipment according to claim 1, wherein the association unit includes:

a mode conversion unit configured to switch the wireless communication equipment to an image input mode when storing the identification code information acquired by the acquisition unit in the storage unit; and

an image input unit configured to input the prescribed image associated with the identification code information to be stored in the storage unit when the wireless communication equipment switches to the image input mode by the mode conversion unit.

3. The wireless communication equipment according to claim 2, wherein

the mode conversion unit is configured to switch the wireless communication equipment to a photographic mode as the image input mode;

and

the image input unit includes an image acquisition unit configured to photograph the prescribed image to be input so as to associate with the identification code information stored in the storage unit in the photographic mode.

4. The wireless communication equipment according to claim 1, wherein the identification code information is an ID of the peripheral equipment.

5. The wireless communication equipment according to claim 1, wherein the association unit is configured to associate between the identification code information acquired by the acquisition unit with the prescribed image by naming a file name of the prescribed image the ID of the peripheral equipment.

6. A connection processing method of wireless communication equipment which performs association through wireless communication with peripheral equipment present in a prescribed range, comprising:

acquiring identification code information which specifies the peripheral equipment from the peripheral equipment present in the prescribed range;

displaying the identification code information when there is no image stored by associating with the acquired identification code information;

displaying, when there is the image stored by associating with the acquired identification code information, the associated and stored image;

storing, when the displayed identification code information is selected, the selected identification code information by associating with the prescribed image; and

connecting, when the displayed image is selected, the wireless communication equipment to the peripheral equipment corresponding to the identification code information associated with the selected image.