Communication apparatus, communication system, notification method, and program product

• US 8,483,744 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2009
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takada, Kazuo, Soma, Isao, Kuroda, Seiji, Ishikawa, Yasuharu, Yoneda, Yoshihiro, Miyabayashi, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hai V
• Application Number:
  US12/502,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20100009711A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,456 Days
• Field of Search: 455/525
• US Class Current: 455/525
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/18 using different networks or channels, e.g. using out of band channels cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths H04L9/0827; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for authentication using a plurality of channels H04L9/3215
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72484 wherein functions are triggered by incoming communication events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/65 Environment-dependent, e.g. using captured environmental data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0016 Hand-off preparation specially adapted for end-to-end data sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0038 of security context information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel

Abstract

There is provided a communication apparatus including: a first communication unit having a first communication range; a second communication unit having a second communication range wider than the first communication range; a control unit which transmits a request signal for starting communication via the second communication unit from the first communication unit to another communication apparatus, and transmits authentication information from the second communication unit to the another communication apparatus in the case where it is determined that communication with the another communication apparatus via the second communication unit is possible based on a response signal after the first communication unit receives the response signal in response to the request signal; and a notification unit which notifies a user after the second communication unit receives a result of authentication based on the authentication information.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus comprising:

a first communication unit having a first communication range;

a second communication unit having a second communication range wider than the first communication range;

a control unit which transmits a request signal for starting communication via the second communication unit from the first communication unit to another communication apparatus, and

transmits authentication information from the second communication unit to the another communication apparatus in the case where it is determined that communication with the another communication apparatus via the second communication unit is possible based on a response signal after the first communication unit receives the response signal in response to the request signal; and

a notification unit which notifies a user after the second communication unit receives a result of authentication based on the authentication information, and notifies the user after the response signal in response to the request signal is received by the first communication unit.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit continuously notifies the user after the request signal is transmitted from the first communication unit to the another communication apparatus until the response signal in response to the request signal is received by the first communication unit.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies the user in different notification patterns depending on availability of communication with the another communication apparatus via the second communication unit, the availability of the communication being determined by the control unit.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit continuously notifies the user after the authentication information is transmitted from the second communication unit to the another communication apparatus until the result of the authentication based on the authentication information is received by the second communication unit.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies the user in different notification patterns depending on whether the authentication based on the authentication information succeeded or not or depending on the type of success or failure of the authentication.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an application unit which provides the user with an application service using communication with the another communication apparatus via the second communication unit in the case where the authentication based on the authentication information succeeds, and wherein the notification unit notifies the user in the case where the provision of the application service is started by the application unit.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the notification unit notifies the user in the case where the provision of the application service is by the application unit is not able to be started due to an error after the authentication based on the authentication information succeeds.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies the user in different notification patterns depending on a communication method specified in the response signal after the response signal in response to the request signal is received by the first communication unit.

9. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies the user with at least one of blinking patterns, displayed colors, sonant patterns, musical scales, rhythms, vibration patterns and vibration intensities.

10. A communication apparatus comprising:

a first communication unit having a first communication range;

a second communication unit having a second communication range wider than the first communication range;

a control unit which transmits a response signal in response to a request signal from the first communication unit to another communication apparatus after the first communication unit receives the request signal for starting communication via the second communication unit from the another communication apparatus, and

transmits a result of authentication based on authentication information from the second communication unit to the another communication apparatus after the second communication unit receives the authentication information from the another communication apparatus;

an authentication unit which authenticates the communication with the another communication apparatus via the second communication unit based on the authentication information and outputs the result of the authentication; and

a notification unit which notifies a user after the authentication is performed by the authentication unit based on the authentication information, and notifies the user after the first communication unit receives the request signal from the another communication apparatus.

11. The communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the notification unit continuously notifies the user during a carrier wave for detecting a communication party is output from the first communication unit.

12. The communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the notification unit notifies the user in different notification patterns depending on whether the authentication performed by the authentication unit based on the authentication information succeeded or not or depending on the type of success or failure of the authentication.

13. The communication apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising an operation unit which accepts an operation indicating whether or not communication via the second communication unit is admitted after the response signal is transmitted by the first communication unit, and wherein the notification unit notifies the user after the operation unit accepts the operation which admits the communication via the second communication unit.

14. A communication system comprising a communication apparatus of the request side and a communication apparatus of the response side, the communication apparatus of the request side including:

a first communication unit of the request side having a first communication range;

a second communication unit of the request side having a second communication range wider than the first communication range;

a control unit of the request side which transmits a request signal for starting communication via the second communication unit of the request side from the first communication unit of the request side to the communication apparatus of the response side, and

transmits authentication information from the second communication unit of the request side to the communication apparatus of the response side in the case where it is determined that communication with the communication apparatus of the response side via the second communication unit of the request side is possible based on a response signal after the first communication unit of the request side receives the response signal in response to the request signal; and

a notification unit of the request side which notifies a user after the second communication unit of the request side receives a result of authentication based on the authentication information, and notifies the user after the response signal in response to the request signal is received by the first communication unit, and

the communication apparatus of the response side including;

a first communication unit of the response side capable of communicating with the first communication unit of the request side;

a second communication unit of the response side capable of communicating with the second communication unit of the request side; and

a control unit of the response side which transmits the response signal from the first communication unit of the response side to the communication apparatus of the request side after the first communication unit of the response side receives the request signal from the communication apparatus of the request side, and

transmits the result of the authentication based on the authentication information from the second communication unit of the response side to the communication apparatus of the request side after the second communication unit of the response side receives the authentication information from the communication apparatus of the request side.

15. A notification method comprising:

transmitting a request signal for starting communication by a second communication method having a second communication range wider than a first communication range using a first communication method having the first communication range from a first communication apparatus to a second communication apparatus;

transmitting a response signal in response to the request signal from the second communication apparatus to the first communication apparatus;

determining whether or not the communication by the second communication method with the second communication apparatus is possible based on the response signal in the first communication apparatus;

transmitting authentication information from the first communication apparatus to the second communication apparatus in the case where it is determined that the communication by the second communication method is possible;

transmitting a result of authentication based on the authentication information from the second communication apparatus to the first communication apparatus; and

carrying out a notification for a user after receiving the result of the authentication based on the authentication information in the first communication apparatus, and carrying out a notification for the user after the response signal in response to the request signal is received by the first communication method.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program product having instructions that when read by a CPU cause an information processing apparatus, which controls a communication apparatus including a first communication unit having a first communication range, a second communication unit having a second communication range wider than the first communication range, and a notification unit which carries out a notification for a user, to:

transmit a request signal for starting communication via the second communication unit from the first communication unit to another communication apparatus,

transmit authentication information from the second communication unit to the another communication apparatus in the case where it is determined that communication with the another communication apparatus via the second communication unit is possible based on the response signal after the first communication unit receives a response signal in response to the request signal, and

notify the user, via the notification unit, after the second communication unit receives a result of authentication based on the authentication information, and notify the user after the response signal in response to the request signal is received by the first communication unit.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program product having instructions that when read by a CPU cause an information processing apparatus, which controls a communication apparatus including a first communication unit having a first communication range, a second communication unit having a second communication range wider than the first communication range, and a notification unit which carries out a notification for a user, to:

transmit a response signal in response to the request signal from the first communication unit to another communication apparatus after the first communication unit receives a request signal for starting communication via the second communication unit from the another communication apparatus,

transmit a result of authentication based on the authentication information from the second communication unit to the another communication apparatus after the second communication unit receives authentication information from the another communication apparatus, and

notify the user, via the notification unit, after performing the authentication based on the authentication information, and notify the user after the first communication unit receives the request signal from the another communication apparatus; and

authenticate the communication with the another communication apparatus via the second communication unit based on the authentication information and output the result of the authentication.