Terminal device, and communication method and communication module for the same

• US 9,288,663 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2013
• Issued: 03/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Toshiaki, Yamaoka, Masaru, Matsumoto, Michihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Mahendra
• Application Number:
  US14/110,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20140066045A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,131 Days
• Field of Search: 455/418, 455/419, 455/420, 455/426.1, 455/518, 455/509, 455/519, 455/450, 455/11.1, 455/445, 370/465, 370/466, 370/467, 709/204, 709/223, 709/230, 709/237, 726/12
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities

Abstract

A terminal device includes: a terminal controller which interprets only one of command schemes of a wireless communication unit and a near-field communication unit, and controls a function of the terminal device; and a control unit which controls communications between the wireless communication unit and the terminal controller and between the near-field communication unit and the terminal controller. The control unit includes: an identification number addition unit which adds an identification number to a command from the near-field communication unit or the wireless communication unit; and a command converting unit which converts a command of the other command scheme into a command of one command scheme, using a command conversion table.

Claims

1. A terminal device comprising:

a processor;

a near-field communication unit configured to perform near-field communications with an external reader/writer;

a wireless communication unit configured to perform wireless communications with an external communication device;

a terminal control unit configured to interpret only one of command schemes of the wireless communication unit and the near-field communication unit, and control a function of the terminal device; and

a unit-to-unit communication control unit configured to control communications between the wireless communication unit and the terminal control unit and between the near-field communication unit and the terminal control unit, the unit-to-unit communication control unit including;

an identification number addition unit configured to add an identification number to one of commands from the near-field communication unit and the wireless communication unit;

a command converting unit configured to convert a command of the other of the command schemes among the commands from the wireless communication unit and the near-field communication unit into a command of the one of the command schemes, using a command conversion table in which the command scheme of the wireless communication unit and the command scheme of the near-field communication unit are associated; and

an extraction unit configured to extract a header of data stored in a storage unit of the terminal device,

wherein the unit-to-unit communication control unit is configured to communicate, to the terminal control unit, the command of the other of the command schemes which has the identification number added by the identification number addition unit, or the command of the one of the command schemes which has the identification number added by the identification number addition unit, the command of the other of the command schemes being converted into a command of the one of the command schemes, and

the unit-to-unit communication control unit is configured to transmit the header of the data to the near-field communication unit when a size of the data is larger than or equal to a predetermined size, and transmit the data when the wireless communication unit is allowed to communicate with the external communication device.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the unit-to-unit communication control unit further includes a communication control unit configured to transmit a response command received from the terminal control unit as a response to the command communicated to the terminal control unit, to the near-field communication unit or the wireless communication unit, based on the identification number added to the command included in the response command.

3. The terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein using the command conversion table, the command converting unit is configured to convert, among the commands received from the wireless communication unit and the near-field communication unit, the command of the other of the command schemes which has the identification number added by the identification number addition unit into a command of the one of the command schemes.

4. The terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the identification number addition unit is configured to add the identification number to the command obtained by the command converting unit converting the command of the other of the command schemes.

5. The terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the unit-to-unit communication control unit is serially connected to the terminal control unit.

6. The terminal device according to claim 5,

wherein the communication control unit is further configured to serially communicate, to the terminal control unit, a command of the other of the command schemes which has been converted into a command of the one of the command schemes and has the identification number added by the identification number addition unit, or a command of the one of the command schemes which has the identification number added by the identification number addition unit.

7. The terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the unit-to-unit communication control unit further includes a priority information storage unit configured to store priority information indicating which of the near-field communication unit and the wireless communication unit is given priority for communication, and

based on the priority information, the communication control unit is configured to block command communications between the terminal control unit and one of the near-field communication unit and the wireless communication unit, and perform the command communications between the terminal control unit and the other of the near-field communication unit and the wireless communication unit.

8. The terminal device according to claim 7,

wherein the priority information includes information indicating that the command communications between the near-field communication unit and the terminal control unit are given the priority over the command communications between the wireless communication unit and the terminal control unit.

9. The terminal device according to claim 7,

wherein the priority information includes information indicating a priority command which is a command to be preferentially communicated, and

when the communication control unit receives the priority command from one of the near-field communication unit and the wireless communication unit, the communication control unit is configured to block the command communications between the terminal control unit and the other of the near-field communication unit and the wireless communication unit, and perform the command communications between the terminal control unit and the one of the near-field communication unit and the wireless communication unit.

10. The terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein when the unit-to-unit communication control unit receives from the near-field communication unit a command indicating that the data is to be transmitted to the wireless communication unit, the unit-to-unit communication control unit is configured to transmit the data when the wireless communication unit is allowed to communicate with the external communication device.

11. The terminal device according to claim 1,

wherein the unit-to-unit communication control unit includes a broadcast information control unit configured to detect whether broadcast information is present which is to be informed to a user of the terminal device, and broadcast information control unit is configured to cause both the near-field communication unit and the wireless communication unit to store a broadcast command for allowing the user to acquire the broadcast information when the broadcast information control unit has detected that the broadcast information is present, and

when one of the wireless communication unit and the near-field communication unit has communicated the broadcast command, the broadcast information control unit is configured to cause the other of the wireless communication unit and the near-field communication unit to delete the broadcast command stored in the other of the wireless communication unit and the near-field communication unit.

12. The terminal device according to claim 11,

wherein the terminal device further includes a failure detection unit configured to detect failure of the wireless communication unit or the near-field communication unit, and

the broadcast information indicates the failure detected by the failure detection unit.

13. A communication method executed by a terminal device, the terminal device including:

a processor;

a near-field communication unit for performing near-field communications with an external reader/writer;

a wireless communication unit for performing wireless communications with an external communication device;

a terminal control unit for interpreting only one of command schemes of the wireless communication unit and the near-field communication unit, and controlling a function of the terminal device; and

a unit-to-unit communication control unit for controlling communications between the wireless communication unit and the terminal control unit and between the near-field communication unit and the terminal control unit, the communication method comprising;

(a) causing the unit-to-unit communication control unit to add an identification number to one of commands from the near-field communication unit and the wireless communication unit;

(b) causing the unit-to-unit communication control unit to convert a command of the other of the command schemes among the commands from the wireless communication unit and the near-field communication unit into a command of the one of the command schemes, using a command conversion table in which the command scheme of the wireless communication unit and the command scheme of the near-field communication unit are associated;

(c) causing the unit-to-unit communication control unit to extract a header of data stored in a storage unit of the terminal device,

wherein the command of the other of the command schemes which has the identification number added in step (a), or the command of the one of the command schemes which has the identification number added in step (a) is communicated to the terminal control unit, the command of the other of the command schemes being converted into a command of the one of the command schemes in step (b); and

(d) causing the unit-to-unit communication control unit to transmit the header of the data to the near-field communication unit when a size of the data is larger than or equal to a predetermined size, and to transmit the data when the wireless communication unit is allowed to communicate with the external communication device.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein a program executed by a terminal device including:

a near-field communication unit for performing near-field communications with an external reader/writer;

a wireless communication unit for performing wireless communications with an external communication device;

a terminal control unit for interpreting only one of command schemes of the wireless communication unit and the near-field communication unit, and controlling a function of the terminal device; and

a unit-to-unit communication control unit for controlling communications between the wireless communication unit and the terminal control unit and between the near-field communication unit and the terminal control unit,

the program for;

(a) causing the unit-to-unit communication control unit to add an identification number to one of commands from the near-field communication unit and the wireless communication unit; and

(b) causing the unit-to-unit communication control unit to convert a command of the other of the command schemes among the commands from the wireless communication unit and the near-field communication unit into a command of the one of the command schemes, using a command conversion table in which the command scheme of the wireless communication unit and the command scheme of the near-field communication unit are associated;

(c) causing the unit-to-unit communication control unit to extract a header of data stored in a storage unit of the terminal device,

wherein the command of the other of the command schemes which has the identification number added in step (a), or the command of the one of the command schemes which has the identification number added in step (a) is communicated to the terminal control unit, the command of the other of the command schemes being converted into a command of the one of the command schemes in step (b); and

(d) causing the unit-to-unit communication control unit to transmit the header of the data to the near-field communication unit when a size of the data is larger than or equal to a predetermined size, and to transmit the data when the wireless communication unit is allowed to communicate with the external communication device.