JP2011109217A - Wireless projector device and wireless lan adapter - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to prevent erroneous connection when a personal computer is automatically connected to a specific wireless projector via a wireless network.
A wireless LAN adapter includes an automatic execution program for connection including a projector identifier for identifying a connection destination. In the course of execution of the automatic execution program, The electric field intensity measuring unit 56 measures the electric field intensity of the response radio wave, and when the electric field intensity is smaller than the predetermined value, the control unit 52 interrupts the connection operation and performs a confirmation display on the display 24 of the PC 2.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a projector apparatus that projects an image held by an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer on a screen using a wireless network as a transmission path, and relates to a technique for securely connecting the information processing apparatus and the projector.

  In recent years, an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (hereinafter simply abbreviated as “PC”) or a digital camera via a wireless network (particularly a wireless LAN) that uses radio waves without using a cable such as an RGB cable or a USB cable. Wireless projectors that transfer images displayed on the screen and project them onto a screen have become widespread.

  This is because information processing devices such as notebook PCs and digital cameras with excellent portability have become widespread, and even if only the information processing device is carried and a room is moved, it is easy to connect with the projector installed there. Against the backdrop of the growing need to connect to. In addition, the degree of freedom in installing the projector and the information processing apparatus is greatly increased as compared with conventional cable connections. For example, even when a projector is installed in a remote place such as a ceiling of a conference room, connection can be easily performed.

  When using a wireless network, it is necessary to prepare hardware for the wireless LAN adapter and install software for identifying the driver and a communication partner (projector) in the information processing apparatus.

  When installing software on a PC, it is usually necessary to install a device driver and various setting software by inserting a CD-ROM attached to the hardware into the CD-ROM drive of the PC.

  This installation operation is complicated for the user, and an external CD-ROM drive must be prepared separately for a PC that does not have a CD-ROM drive. As a method for simply performing such a complicated operation, for example, there are methods shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

  Patent Document 1 discloses that a wireless LAN adapter has a function that a PC recognizes as a keyboard when a wireless LAN adapter called a normal dongle is connected to a USB terminal of a PC, and an arbitrary file in the wireless LAN adapter. Can be loaded into a PC and executed. After that, the keyboard function is changed to the wireless LAN adapter function so that it can be used as a normal wireless LAN adapter.

  In addition, what is shown in Patent Document 2 is an information processing device (such as a projector-compatible peripheral device in this document) such as a digital camera that can search only its own projector via a wireless LAN and select a projector to connect to. Proposed. When a search button is pressed, a plurality of projectors having SSIDs (Services Set Identifiers) unique to the projectors of the company are searched, and connection states (connections to other devices and non-connection states) are also set for the plurality of light emitting diodes. Displayed by a combination of the number of light emission and the light emission color. From the light emission information, when the user presses the selection button, the connection with the desired wireless projector is established.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-2894535 JP 2008-271265 A

  The projector is fixedly installed in a building room. Multiple units are installed especially in offices. In this case, the number of users of the projector is a specific or unspecified number, and in order to easily connect a large number of users' PCs to a specific projector for each room, it is described in Patent Document 1 described above. If such a dongle type wireless LAN adapter is distributed or lent to a user as a wireless LAN adapter dedicated to the projector, the PC can be connected to the projector with a simple operation.

  However, the dongle type wireless LAN adapter is compact and lightweight that is very easy to move, and it is conceivable to mistakenly use a wireless LAN adapter for a projector that is different from the desired projector. In such a case, the PC cannot be connected to a desired projector. In addition, when a projector corresponding to the wrong wireless LAN adapter is in an adjacent room or the like, a PC is connected to the projector, which may cause a serious problem in information security.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above. When the wireless LAN adapter is different from that of a desired projector, the present invention alerts the user, prevents erroneous connection, and provides a predetermined wireless LAN adapter. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless projector device and a wireless LAN adapter that can be connected to a predetermined projector by exchanging them.

  In order to achieve the above object, a wireless projector device of the present invention includes a wireless projector having a function capable of connecting to a wireless network, and identifier information unique to the wireless projector, and is connected to a USB terminal of an information processing device. A wireless LAN adapter having a function of connecting to a wireless projector, wherein the wireless LAN adapter connects to a wireless projector having unique identifier information when connected to the information processing apparatus. An automatic execution program to be executed by the information processing apparatus and a radio wave intensity measuring unit for measuring the intensity of the received radio wave are measured, the response radio wave intensity from a wireless projector having a unique identifier is measured, and the radio wave intensity is a predetermined value Is smaller than the wireless projector having an identifier unique to the display unit of the information processing device. Characterized in that to perform whether the confirmation display continues to.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to provide a wireless projector device that can prevent erroneous connection. For example, even when a wireless LAN adapter of a wireless projector installed in an adjacent room is mistakenly connected to the information processing apparatus, it is possible to notice the error before displaying an image.

  A wireless LAN adapter according to the present invention is a wireless LAN adapter that has built-in identifier information for a wireless projector to be connected and has a function of connecting to a wireless projector by connecting to a USB terminal of an information processing apparatus. An automatic execution program for causing the information processing apparatus to execute connection with a wireless projector having unique identifier information when connected to the apparatus, and a radio wave intensity measuring unit for measuring the intensity of the received radio wave, and having a unique identifier The response radio wave intensity from the wireless projector is measured, and when the radio wave intensity is smaller than a predetermined value, the display unit of the information processing device displays a confirmation display as to whether or not to connect to the wireless projector having a unique identifier It is characterized by that.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a wireless projector device and a wireless LAN adapter that can easily connect an unspecified number of personal computers (information processing devices) and a specific wireless projector without making a mistake in connection. Can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the wireless projector apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the projector apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of installation of the wireless projector apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the wireless projector apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the guidance displayed on a screen in information processing apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a wireless projector device according to the present embodiment.

  The wireless projector 1 obtains information such as presentation materials from a PC 2 such as a notebook personal computer, which is an information processing device, using a radio wave 3 and projects the image on the screen 4. A wireless LAN adapter 5 having a structure called a USB dongle is used by being connected to the USB terminal of the PC 2. The wireless projector 1 is, for example, a liquid crystal projector with a built-in wireless LAN function. The wireless projector 1 is turned on / off by the operation unit 6.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the projector apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The wireless projector device includes a wireless projector 1 and a USB LAN dongle structure wireless LAN adapter 5 which is an accessory of the projector.

  The PC 2 generally has an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 22, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 23 as a main memory, a display 24 as a display means, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. An input device 25 and a USB_IF (USB interface) 26 are provided.

  The wireless LAN adapter 5 includes a USB_IF 51 for communicating with the PC 2, a control unit 52, an identifier 53, an automatic execution program 54, a wireless LAN_IF (wireless LAN interface) 55, and a radio wave intensity measurement unit 56. Yes.

  Here, the control unit 52 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, mediates communication with the PC 2, and interprets SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) standard commands (referred to as “SCSI commands”) transmitted from the PC 2. And a data conversion unit 52b for converting received SCSI standard data (SCSI data) into TCP / IP data and outputting it to the wireless LAN_IF 55. The identifier 53 is an identifier for causing the PC 2 to recognize that the wireless LAN adapter 5 is a CD-ROM drive. By making the PC 2 recognize the wireless LAN adapter 5 as a CD-ROM drive, it is not necessary to install a driver dedicated to the wireless LAN adapter 5 in the PC 2. It can also be accessed with user authority. Furthermore, since it is recognized as a CD, even if various security countermeasure software is installed in the PC 2, the connection is not interrupted due to the check. The automatic execution program 54 includes a projector identifier 54a for specifying a wireless projector to be wirelessly connected. This identifier is a projector model number, manufacturing number, manufacturer information, and the like.

  When the wireless LAN adapter 5 is connected to the USB terminal of the PC 2, the control unit 52 transmits the CD-ROM identifier in the identifier 53 to the PC 2.

  The automatic execution program 54 is wireless setting / communication software (generally called a wireless manager) for connecting the wireless projector 1 and the personal computer 2 wirelessly. When the wireless LAN adapter 5 is connected to the USB terminal of the PC 2, The control unit 52 loads the automatic execution program 54 to the RAM 23 of the PC 2 and is automatically executed. The identifier 53 and the automatic execution program 54 are actually stored in a ROM or flash memory (not shown) in the control unit 52.

  The wireless LAN_IF 55 wirelessly transmits TCP / IP data from the control unit 52 to the wireless projector 1.

  The wireless projector 1 includes a wireless LAN_IF 11 that performs wireless communication with the wireless LAN adapter 5, an image generation unit 12 that generates an image from TCP / IP data received by the wireless LAN_IF 11, a liquid crystal panel 13 that displays an image, and a light source 14. And a projection lens 15 for enlarging and projecting an image in which the light of the light source 14 is modulated by the liquid crystal panel 13.

  Next, the operation of the wireless projector device of the present embodiment will be described using FIG. 4 with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 5. FIG. Note that the wireless projector 1 will be described assuming that the power is always on. In the following description, in order to simplify the description, the PC 2 in FIG. 2 may be simply expressed as a PC, and the wireless LAN adapter 5 may be simply expressed as a dongle or a USB dongle.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an installation example of the wireless projector device according to the present embodiment.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the wireless projector apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of guidance displayed on the screen of the PC 2 (information processing apparatus).

  First, FIG. 3 will be described. This drawing shows a state in which the wireless projector 1a and the wireless projector 1b are installed with a wall 7 therebetween, and the dongle 5 for the wireless projector 1a is connected to the PC 2. When the automatic connection operation is performed in this state, the strength of the radio waves is attenuated by the wall 7, but there is a possibility that the inconvenience of connecting the PC 2 and the wireless projector 1a may occur. The operation for avoiding this inconvenient connection operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S1, the power of the PC 2 is turned on, and in step S2, when the dongle 5 is connected to the USB terminal of the PC 2, the OS (Operating System) monitoring the USB terminal detects this, and in step S3, the dongle 5 Who does the device? On the other hand, the dongle 5 transmits the contents of the identifier 53 to the PC 2 (OS) in step S4. That is, a response that the dongle 5 is a CD-ROM drive is made. In step S5, the OS that has received this searches for the driver software of the drive in its own file. Since the driver software for the CD-ROM drive is installed in a normal PC, the driver software for the CD-ROM drive is activated. Next, in step S6, the file of the automatic execution program 54 is loaded into the PC2. This file is expanded in the RAM 23 of the PC, and in the next step S7, the wireless manager is activated and a connection operation is started. That is, a radio wave is emitted from the dongle 5 and travels through all wirelessly connected networks to search for a projector having the identifier 54a.

  On the other hand, if there is a response from the wireless projector 1a in step S8 (in the case of “YES”), then in step S9, the radio wave intensity measuring unit 56 of the dongle 5 measures the electric field intensity of the response radio wave, The controller 52 determines whether the electric field strength is smaller than a predetermined value (for example, −70 db). The number of −90 db (for example, value) shown in FIG. 3 indicates the intensity of the response radio wave from the wireless projector 1a, and “YES” is determined in the step S9. Therefore, in the next step S10, the control unit 52 The PC 2 is instructed to display the guidance shown in FIG. By watching this guidance, the user can know that the dongle 5 is not for the wireless projector 1b (Proj5678) in the room where the PC 2 is located, and in step S11, the user selects “NO” in FIG. By doing so, it is possible to stop the connection operation and prevent the PC 2 from connecting to the wireless projector 1a in the other room (adjacent room).

  The above is the connection avoidance operation. Next, the operation when the PC 2 is connected will be described.

  If the dongle 5 in FIG. 3 is for the wireless projector 1b (Proj5678) in the same room, the determination criterion E <−70 db is “NO” in step S9 (−60 db in FIG. (Value) indicates the intensity of the response radio wave from the wireless projector 1b).

  If "NO" is determined in the step S9, the process jumps to a step S12 to connect the PC 2 and the wireless projector 1b.

  In step S11, the PC 2 equipped with the dongle 5 of Proj 1234 can also be connected to the wireless projector 1a by selecting “YES” in FIG. This is because the wireless projector 1a is not installed across the wall 7 as shown in FIG. 3, but is installed in a large room such as a gymnasium or a lecture hall, and the distance between the wireless projector 1a and the PC 2 is long. Is.

  As described above, the wireless projector apparatus according to the present embodiment records unique identification information in the wireless LAN adapter 5 that is an accessory, and is connected to a wireless projector having unique identifier information when connected to a personal computer. An automatic execution program (wireless manager) for causing a personal computer to execute connection is built in, and the response radio wave intensity from the wireless projector having the unique identifier being executed by the automatic execution program is measured. If it is smaller, the connection work is interrupted and a confirmation display as to whether or not to connect to the display of the personal computer is performed.

  In the above embodiment, the projector ID is used as the unique identification information for identifying the wireless projector 1, but otherwise, the wireless projector 1 such as the MAC address or IP address of the wireless projector 1 is uniquely identified. Anything that can be identified is acceptable.

  The present invention is useful when connecting to a specific wireless projector by connecting a dongle type wireless LAN adapter to the USB terminal of the information processing apparatus.

1, 1a, 1b Wireless projector 2 Information processing device (PC)
3 Radio wave 4 Screen 5 Wireless LAN adapter 6 Operation part 7 Wall 11 Wireless LAN_IF (wireless projector side)
12 Image generator 13 Liquid crystal panel 14 Light source 15 Projection lens 21 CPU
22 HDD
23 RAM
24 Display 25 Input device 26 USB_IF (PC side)
51 USB_IF (wireless LAN adapter side)
52 Control Unit 52a Command Interpretation Unit 52b Data Conversion Unit 53 Identifier 54 Automatic Execution Program (Wireless Manager)
54a Projector identifier 55 Wireless LAN_IF (wireless LAN adapter side)
56 Radio field strength measurement unit

Claims (2)

A wireless projector having a function capable of connecting to a wireless network, a wireless LAN adapter having a function of connecting to the wireless projector by incorporating identifier information unique to the wireless projector and connecting to a USB terminal of an information processing device; A wireless projector device comprising:
The wireless LAN adapter, when connected to the information processing apparatus, an automatic execution program that causes the information processing apparatus to execute connection with the wireless projector having the unique identifier information;
A radio field intensity measurement unit for measuring the intensity of the received radio wave,
Whether the response radio wave from the wireless projector having the unique identifier is measured, and when the radio wave intensity is smaller than a predetermined value, whether the display unit of the information processing apparatus is connected to the wireless projector having the unique identifier A wireless projector apparatus that displays a confirmation of whether or not. A wireless LAN adapter having a function of connecting to the wireless projector by connecting identifier information unique to the wireless projector to be connected and connecting to the USB terminal of the information processing apparatus,
An automatic execution program for causing the information processing apparatus to execute connection with the wireless projector having the unique identifier information when connected to the information processing apparatus;
A radio field intensity measurement unit for measuring the intensity of the received radio wave,
Whether the response radio wave from the wireless projector having the unique identifier is measured, and when the radio wave intensity is smaller than a predetermined value, whether the display unit of the information processing apparatus is connected to the wireless projector having the unique identifier A wireless LAN adapter, characterized in that a confirmation display is made.

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