JP7646744B2 - COMMUNICATION DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a communication device, and in particular to a communication technology that enables short-range wireless communication.

In recent years, external devices such as digital cameras and mobile phones have come to identify communication partners using short-range wireless communication such as NFC. A system is also known in which an image output device outputs image files stored in the digital camera or mobile phone using wireless communication other than short-range wireless communication.

As part of the network functions, some devices have a remote printing function and a firmware update function via the Internet by connecting to the Internet via an access point. Furthermore, even if there is no access point, the host terminal can use the access point function of the image output device to establish a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection between the two devices and perform printing and scanning. The mode in which the host terminal uses the access point of the image output device to perform P2P wireless communication is called AP mode.

However, when the image output device switches to AP mode, it establishes a P2P connection with the host terminal, the connection to the access point is cut off, and it becomes unable to connect to the Internet. As a result, the image output device may be unable to use the various functions that require an Internet connection as mentioned above.

Furthermore, if the destination of the P2P connection cannot connect to the Internet, the host terminal operating in AP mode may also be unable to connect to the Internet.
In such a situation, applications within the host terminal will be unable to access the Internet, and for example, it will be impossible to browse sites on the Internet using a browser.

Patent Document 1 discloses that when a second wireless communication device is brought close to a first wireless communication device, if the first wireless communication device is in data communication via an access point, the first wireless communication device does not transition to a P2P connection with the second wireless communication device.

JP 2011-182449 A

However, in the technology of Patent Document 1, when the first wireless communication device is not performing data communication with the Internet via an access point, the communication settings of the first wireless communication device are changed to a P2P connection. For example, when the first wireless communication device receives a connection request from the second wireless communication device while not performing data communication with the Internet via an access point, the first wireless communication device transitions to a P2P connection. After that, even if the user wants to connect to the Internet using the first wireless communication device during the P2P connection between the first and second wireless communication devices, it is necessary to wait until the P2P connection ends in order to perform the user's intended operation. This could result in a decrease in user convenience.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is characterized in that a computer of a communication device is operated as an acquisition means for acquiring communication information through a first wireless communication with a target device, a broadcast means for broadcasting a predetermined command to a predetermined network in which the communication device participates by connecting the communication device to an external device that is an external device of the communication device and an external device of the target device via a wireless LAN , and an execution means for executing a second wireless communication for transmitting predetermined information to the target device using a peer-to-peer wireless connection between the communication device and the target device not via the external device, which is established based on the communication information acquired through the first wireless communication with the target device, based on a result of the broadcast of the predetermined command executed in a state in which the target device does not belong to the predetermined network, and the first wireless communication is executed by Near Field Communication (NFC), which is a short-range wireless communication method different from the communication method used for the second wireless communication.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve user convenience by performing wireless communication taking into account the connection form of the communication partner device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of a terminal device 200. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of a printing apparatus 300. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device 200. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printing apparatus 300. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an NFC unit. 4 is a flowchart showing the content of a process according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing the content of a process according to a second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a UI of a terminal device. 13 is a flowchart showing the content of a process according to a third embodiment.

Below, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the relative arrangement of the components, the display screen, and the like described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to those alone, unless otherwise specified.

[Embodiment 1]
1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a print processing system. This system is composed of an access point 100 at the center, a portable terminal device 200 connectable to the access point 100, and a printing device 300. The terminal device 200, which also functions as a communication device, has at least two or more wireless communication units with different communication speeds. The terminal device 200 can be of any type, such as a personal information terminal such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile phone, a digital camera, or the like, as long as it can handle a file to be printed.

The printing device 300, which also functions as a communication device, has a reading function for reading an original document placed on a platen, and a printing function for printing using a printing engine such as an inkjet, and may also have a fax function and a telephone function.

The printing device 300 can connect to a wireless LAN in infrastructure mode. In other words, the printing device 300 operating in infrastructure mode can wirelessly communicate with the terminal device 200 via an external access point 100. The printing device 300 also has an AP mode, and in the AP mode, both the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 can also perform P2P communication via a wireless LAN. As described above, the AP mode activates the access point provided in the printing device, and the terminal device 200 uses the access point of the printing device to perform peer-to-peer wireless communication with the printing device.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of the terminal device 200. In this embodiment, a smartphone is used as an example. A smartphone is a multi-function mobile phone equipped with a camera, a web browser, an e-mail function, and the like in addition to the functions of a mobile phone. The NFC (Near Field Communication) unit 201 is a unit that performs short-distance wireless communication. A user can perform communication by bringing the NFC unit 201 close to the other party's NFC unit (in this embodiment, the NFC unit of the printing device 300) within a predetermined distance (approximately 10 cm). In other words, the terminal device 200 is capable of performing short-distance wireless communication.

The wireless LAN unit 202 is a unit for communicating via wireless LAN, and is disposed within the terminal device 200. The display unit 203 is, for example, a display equipped with an LCD-type display mechanism. The operation unit 204 is equipped with a touch panel-type operation mechanism and detects information on user presses. A typical operation method is for the display unit 203 to display button icons or a software keyboard, and for the user to press the operation unit 204 to issue a button press event. The power key 205 is used to turn the power on and off.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the external appearance of a printing device. In this embodiment, a Multi Function Printer (MFP) with a reading function (scanner) is used as an example. In Figure 3 (a), the document table 301 is a transparent glass table on which a document is placed and read by the scanner. The document cover 302 is a cover for preventing reading light from leaking to the outside when reading with the scanner. The print paper insertion port 303 is an insertion port for setting paper of various sizes. Paper set in the print paper insertion port 303 is transported one sheet at a time to the printing section, where it is printed and discharged from the print paper discharge port 304.

In FIG. 3(b), an operation display unit 305 and an NFC unit 306 are disposed on the top of the document cover 302. The NFC unit 306 is a unit for performing short-range wireless communication, and is the location where the user brings the terminal device 200 close to the printing device 300. The effective contact distance is a predetermined distance (approximately 10 cm) from the NFC unit 306. The wireless LAN antenna 307 has an antenna embedded therein for communicating via wireless LAN.

Note that short-distance wireless communication refers to wireless communication such as NFC, which has a relatively small communication range (e.g., 1 meter to a few centimeters).

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device. The terminal device 200 is composed of a main board 210 that controls the entire device, a wireless LAN unit 202, an NFC unit 201, a line connection unit 206, an operation unit 204, and a display unit 203. Here, the wireless LAN unit 202, the NFC unit 201, and the line connection unit 206 all function as communication units of the terminal device 200.

The microprocessor-type CPU 211 arranged on the main board 210 operates according to a control program stored in a ROM-type program memory 213 connected via an internal bus 212 and the contents of a RAM-type data memory 214.

The CPU 211 controls the wireless LAN unit 202 via the wireless LAN control circuit 215 to communicate with other communication terminal devices via the wireless LAN 102. The CPU 211 controls the NFC unit 201 via the NFC control circuit 216 to detect connections with other NFC terminals via NFC 101 and to transmit and receive data to and from other NFC terminals. The CPU 211 controls the line connection unit 206 via the line control circuit 217 to connect to the mobile phone line network 105 and to make calls and transmit and receive data.

The CPU 211 controls the operation unit control circuit 218 to display on the operation unit 204 and to accept operations from the user. The CPU 211 controls the camera unit 219 to capture images, and stores the captured images in the image memory 220 in the data memory 214. In addition to captured images, it is also possible to store images acquired from the outside via the mobile phone network 105 and wireless LAN 102 in the image memory 220, or conversely, to transmit them to the outside.

The non-volatile memory 221 is composed of a memory such as a flash memory, and stores data that is to be kept even after the power is turned off. For example, it stores phone book data, various communication connection information, information on previously connected devices, image data that is to be kept, or programs such as application software that realize various functions on the terminal device 200.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printing device. The printing device 300 is composed of a main board 310 that controls the entire device, a line connection unit 322, a wireless LAN unit 308, an NFC unit 306, and an operation display unit 305. Here, the line connection unit 322, the wireless LAN unit 308, and the NFC unit 306 function as the communication unit of the printing device 300.

The microprocessor-type CPU 311 arranged on the main board 310 operates according to a control program stored in the ROM-type program memory 313 connected via the internal bus 312 and the contents of the RAM-type data memory 314.

The CPU 311 controls the scanner unit 315 to read an original document and store the image in the image memory 316 in the data memory 314. The CPU 311 can also control the printing unit 317 to print the image in the image memory 316 in the data memory 314 onto a recording medium.

The CPU 311 controls the wireless LAN unit 308 via the wireless LAN control circuit 318 to communicate with other communication terminal devices via the wireless LAN 102. The CPU 311 also controls the NFC unit 306 via the NFC control circuit 319 to detect connections with other NFC terminals via NFC 101 and to transmit and receive data to and from other NFC terminals. The CPU 311 controls the line connection unit 322 via the line control circuit 321 to connect to the telephone line network 323 and transmit and receive faxes and data.

The CPU 311 controls the operation display unit control circuit 320 to display the status of the printing device 300 and a function selection menu on the operation display unit 305, and can accept operations from the user.

Figure 6 is a block diagram showing the details of the NFC unit 600 used in the NFC unit 201 or NFC unit 306.

In NFC communication, when short-distance wireless communication is performed using the NFC unit 600, the device that first outputs an RF (Radio Frequency) field to start communication is called the initiator. Also, the device that responds to a command issued by the initiator and communicates with the initiator is called the target.

The NFC unit 600 has an NFC controller section 601, an antenna section 602, an RF section 603, a transmission/reception control section 604, an NFC memory 605, a power supply 606, and a device connection section 607. The antenna section 602 receives radio waves from other NFC devices and transmits radio waves to other NFC devices. The RF section 603 has a function of modulating and demodulating analog signals to digital signals. The RF section 603 has a synthesizer, identifies the frequencies of bands and channels, and controls the bands and channels using frequency allocation data.

The NFC memory 605 is, for example, a non-volatile memory, and data stored in the NFC memory 605 can be read and written even when power is not being supplied from the power source. Data storage control, including reading and writing data from and to the NFC memory 605, is realized by the NFC controller unit 601.

The transmission/reception control unit 604 controls transmission and reception, such as assembling and disassembling transmission and reception frames, adding and detecting preambles, and identifying frames. The transmission/reception control unit 604 also controls the NFC memory 605, and reads and writes various data and programs. When operating in an active mode that enables two-way communication with the device, power is supplied via the power source 606. Furthermore, it communicates with other NFC devices via the device connection unit 607, and communicates with other NFC devices within communication range using radio waves transmitted and received via the antenna unit 602.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 200 and the printing device need to perform two-way communication via NFC, so NFC always operates in active mode.

In the following, the operation of bringing the NFC unit 201 of the terminal device 200 and the NFC unit 306 of the printing device 300 close to each other is referred to as the "NFC touch operation."

In this embodiment, a use case will be described in which a user operates the terminal device 200 to select an image to be printed, and then performs an NFC touch operation on the printing device 300 to print the selected image on the printing device 300.

If the printing device 300 is on the same network as the terminal, the connection is maintained and printing is performed; if not, a P2P connection is established with the printing device 300 and printing is performed.

This embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 shows the process when an image specified on the terminal device 200 is printed by the printing device 300. Note that each step of the flowchart related to the terminal device 200 in this application is realized by the CPU 211 reading and executing a program related to the flowchart.

The user operates the terminal device 200, selects image data, and performs an NFC touch operation on the printing device 300. FIG. 9 is an example of a UI of the terminal device. For example, the user can launch a print application installed on the terminal device to display the selection screen (selection UI) of FIG. 9. The UI of FIG. 9 displays thumbnail images of the image data in the terminal device 200, and when the user taps the thumbnail of the image they want to print by a touch operation, a check mark indicating selection is displayed on the thumbnail. When an image is selected and an NFC touch operation is performed on the printing device 300, the print process begins.

First, in step S1101, the terminal device 200 acquires tag information from the NFC tag of the printing device 300. The tag information includes at least three types of information related to the network settings of the printing device 300. Specifically, the three types of information are (1) the MAC address of the printing device 300, (2) the SSID and password when the printing device 300 is in AP mode, and (3) the current wireless mode of the printing device 300. Note that (3) is either the AP mode or the infrastructure mode. Note that the tag information in this application is sometimes simply referred to as communication information, since it is information related to communication.

In S1102, the terminal device 200 checks whether the WiFi setting is enabled. If the WiFi setting is enabled, this means that the terminal device 200 is capable of WiFi communication. If the WiFi setting is enabled, the process proceeds to S1103; if the WiFi setting is disabled, the process proceeds to S1110.

In S1103, the terminal device checks the current wireless mode of the (3) printing device 300 obtained in S1101, and proceeds to S1112 if it is AP mode, and proceeds to S1104 if it is infrastructure mode. In other words, if the terminal device 200 determines that the printing device 300 is operating in a peer-to-peer communication method, it proceeds to S1112.

In S1104, the terminal device 200 detects a printing device 300 whose MAC address matches the MAC address of the (1) printing device 300 acquired in S1101. Specifically, the terminal device broadcasts a device search command to the network in which it participates, and receives responses from each device participating in the network. The terminal device then executes the process of S1104 by detecting a response that includes a MAC address that matches the MAC address acquired in S1101.

If the printing device 300 is detected in S1104, the terminal device 200 connects to the printing device 300 detected in S1104 via wireless LAN using the wireless LAN unit 202 in S1106. Specifically, the access point 100 to which the terminal device 200 is connected is determined (maintained) as the connection destination. Then, the terminal device 200 transmits a print job to the printing device 300 via the wireless LAN via the access point 100 in S1109. Specifically, the terminal device 200 issues a specific command to the printing device 300 to establish a session with the printing device 300. Then, the terminal device 200 generates a print job based on the image data selected on the selection screen in FIG. 9, and transmits the print job in S1109.
The print job may be generated before the process in the flowchart of FIG. 7 is executed, or after the connection is established in S1106.

The printing device 300 receives the print job, prints an image on paper based on the print job, and then finishes.

On the other hand, if the printing device 300 is not detected in S1104, the processing of the mobile terminal 200 proceeds from S1105 to S1107.

In S1107, the terminal device 200 writes an instruction to transition to AP mode to the NFC tag of the printing device 300. The information written as the transition instruction may be a command to transition to AP mode, or may be information indicating that a printing device corresponding to the MAC address was not found. Then, when the printing device 300 detects that an instruction to transition to AP mode has been written to the NFC tag, it performs the transition process to AP mode.

In S1108, the terminal device 200 uses the SSID and password of the access point of the printing device 300 (2) acquired in S1101 to establish a wireless LAN connection with the printing device 300 that was switched to the AP mode in S1107. Specifically, the terminal device 200 changes the access point connection destination from the access point 100 to the access point of the printing device 300. That is, in S1108, the access point of the printing device 300 is determined as the access point of the connection destination. By this process, a P2P connection is established between the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300, and the terminal device 200 transmits a print job to the printing device 300 in S1109. The process of the printing device that received the print job is the same as the above process. If the printing device 300 is already in the AP mode at the time of the NFC touch operation, the process proceeds to S1109 via S1102. Note that the communication mode of the printing device is acquired by the process of S1101.

Also, if the process proceeds to S1110 from S1102, the terminal device 200 changes the WiFi setting of the terminal device 200 to enabled in S1110. Then, in S1111, the terminal device 200 writes an instruction to transition to AP mode to the NFC tag of the printing device 300. Then, when the printing device 300 detects that an instruction to transition to AP mode has been written to the NFC tag, it performs processing to transition to AP mode.

Note that the processing of S1112 is the same as S1106, so it will be omitted.

Also, if the process proceeds to S1112 from S1103, the printing device 300 is already in AP mode. Therefore, the terminal device 200 establishes a connection with the printing device 300 using (2) the SSID and password for the printing device 300 in AP mode acquired in S1101, and sends a print job to the printing device 300 in S1109. The printing device 300 that has received the print job executes the print process and ends the process.

Note that each step in the flowchart in FIG. 7 may be executed by a print application that provides the screen in FIG. 9.

If the connection between the printing device 300 and the terminal device is established in infrastructure mode through the series of processes shown in the above flowchart, the connection state is maintained and printing is performed. On the other hand, if the connection between the printing device 300 and the terminal device is not in infrastructure mode, the mobile terminal 200 instructs the printing device 300 to switch to AP mode and performs printing.

As a result, the connection in infrastructure mode is maintained as much as possible, so the connection of the printing device 300 and the terminal device 200 to the Internet can also be maintained as much as possible.

The WiFi settings of the terminal device 200 can be easily enabled or disabled by the user at will in the WiFi settings item in the system settings menu of the terminal device 200. Here, a user who does not own the access point 100 does not need to connect the access point 100 and the terminal device 200 via WiFi. Therefore, it is highly likely that the WiFi settings of the terminal device 200 are disabled to reduce battery consumption of the terminal caused by unnecessary functions. Even in such a case, in S1102, the terminal device 200 checks the WiFi settings, and if the WiFi settings are disabled, it enables the WiFi settings and establishes a wireless connection with the printing device 300 in AP mode, thereby enabling printing in AP mode.

Furthermore, in S1103, if the portable terminal 200 checks the wireless mode of the printing device 300 and determines that the printing device 300 is already operating in AP mode, the portable terminal 200 does not perform detection processing in which detection of the printing device 300 is not expected. Through the above processing, it is possible to efficiently establish a connection between the printing device 300 and the terminal device 200.

As mentioned above, the process of checking the validity of the WiFi settings of the terminal device 200 in S1102 and the process of checking the wireless mode of the printing device 300 in S1103 are not essential processes for the present invention, but are processes for increasing user convenience, such as speeding up processing. Therefore, even if either or both of steps S1102 and S1103 are not present, it is possible to achieve the objective of the present invention, which is to maintain a connection in infrastructure mode as much as possible.

Here, we will explain the processing flow of this embodiment using the screen displayed on the mobile device 200.

When the print application is started on the terminal device 200, the screen in FIG. 9(a) is displayed. If the user selects photo printing, the print application displays a list of images stored in the terminal device 200, as shown in FIG. 9(b). On the other hand, if the user selects document printing, a list of documents stored in the terminal device 200 is displayed.

When the user selects an image to be printed in FIG. 9(b) and performs an NFC touch operation with the terminal device 200 against the printing device 300, the print application displays the screen in FIG. 9(c). Note that performing the NFC touch operation executes the process in FIG. 7 of the present application described above.

In addition, when the user presses the print button after selecting the image to be printed in FIG. 9(b), FIG. 9(d) is displayed. When the user performs an NFC touch operation with the terminal device 200 against the printing device 300 while FIG. 9(d) is displayed, printing is performed using the print setting information displayed in FIG. 9(d).

Furthermore, the user can register a printing device to the printing application.
Then, when the user performs an NFC touch operation on a printing device 300 different from the registered printing device while the screen of FIG. 9(d) is displayed, FIG. 9(e) is displayed. At this time, the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 are connected wirelessly by the process of FIG. 7. Then, the terminal device 200 acquires function information of the printing device 300 (e.g., paper size and paper type that the printing device 300 can handle) via the wireless connection, and reflects the acquired result on the screen of FIG. 9(e). In other words, the options displayed when the user presses the paper size and paper type are determined based on the function information of the printing device 300 acquired via the wireless connection. After the user sets the print setting information on the screen of FIG. 9(e), the user presses the print button, and a print job is transmitted via a wireless connection to the printing device 300 on which the user performed the NFC touch operation.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, when the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 are not on the same network, the mobile terminal 200 instructs the printing device 300 to switch to the AP mode. However, when the printing device 300 can reconnect to the same access point as the terminal device 200, the printing device 300 may reconnect.

Unless otherwise specified, the configuration of each device in this embodiment is the same as in embodiment 1 and will not be described here. The following description will be given with reference to FIG. 8.

In step S1201, the terminal device 200 acquires tag information from the NFC tag of the printing device 300. The tag information includes four types of information related to the network settings of the printing device 300. Specifically, in addition to (1) to (3) above, it also includes (4) the connection history of the SSID corresponding to the access point of the printing device 300. In addition, for the connection history of (4), the password corresponding to that SSID is also stored separately in the printing device 300, not in the tag.

S1202 is the same as S1104, and S1203 is the same as S1105, so detailed explanations will be omitted. If the printing device 300 is not detected in S1203, the process proceeds from S1203 to S1206.

In S1206, the SSID of the access point to which the terminal device 200 is currently connected is compared with the connection history of the SSID of the access point (4) acquired in S1201 to check whether there is a match. If there is no match, proceed to S1207, and if there is a match, proceed to S1209.

Note that the processing from S1207 to S1208 and S1205 is the same as the processing from S1107 to S1108 and S1109, so detailed explanation will be omitted. If the determination in S1206 is Yes, in S1209, the terminal device 200 writes the SSID matched in S1206 and an instruction to connect to the access point to the NFC tag of the printing device 300. Then, when the printing device 300 detects that an instruction to connect to the access point has been written to the NFC tag, it reconnects to the access point using the SSID specified by the terminal device 200 and the corresponding password stored together with the access point history. As a result, the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 are connected to the same access point and are connected to the same network.

In S1210, the terminal device 200 broadcasts within the network, detects a printing device 300 whose MAC address matches the MAC address of the (1) printing device 300 acquired in S1201, and establishes a wireless connection with the detected printing device 300. Note that the specific processing of S1210 is the same as that of S1106. Then, in S1205, the terminal device 200 transmits a print job to the printing device 300 via the established wireless connection. The printing device 300 that received the print job executes the print processing and ends.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the terminal device 200 can connect to the printing device 300 via an access point by using the access point connection history stored in the printing device 300. As a result, it becomes possible to maintain a state in which both the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 can connect to the Internet with a higher probability.

In the description of this embodiment, an example was shown in which the connection history of the access point of the printing device 300 was stored, but conversely, the terminal device 200 may store a connection history (SSID) to its own access point. In this case, in S1201, the terminal device 200 acquires (4) the SSID of the access point to which the printing device 300 is currently connected, rather than the connection history of the SSID corresponding to the access point of the printing device 300. Then, in S1206, the terminal device 200 compares the SSID in the connection history of the terminal device 200 with the SSID of the access point to which the printing device 300 is currently connected acquired in S1201. Then, if a matching SSID is included in the connection history, the terminal device 200 may reset the connection destination to the access point of that SSID.

In addition, while the embodiment of the present invention shows an example of application to a printing device 300, the present invention can also be applied to a digital camera having Wi-Fi connection and P2P connection functions, just like a printing device. Specifically, if you want to use a terminal device as a remote control for a digital camera, you can perform operations such as releasing the shutter of a connected digital camera from the terminal device while maintaining the Internet connection of the terminal device and digital camera as much as possible.

In addition, when using a terminal device as a remote control for devices such as a network audio player or video recorder, it is possible to realize the remote control function while maintaining the Internet connection of each device as much as possible.

Therefore, the scope of application of this invention is not limited to printing devices.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, an example of AP mode is presented as an example of a P2P connection between a terminal device and a device. However, the present invention may also be applied to other P2P connection methods, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) connection or Wi-Fi Direct connection, if the connection method is in a situation where it prevents the connection of the terminal and/or device to the Internet. As a result, it is possible to obtain the effect of maintaining the Internet connection of each device as much as possible.

Although an example of AP mode has been presented as an example of a P2P connection between a terminal device and a device, the printing device 300 does not need to function as an AP during a P2P connection. Specifically, in a P2P connection using Wi-Fi Direct, one side acts as the host and the other as the AP, but according to the standard, which side becomes the AP varies depending on the situation. In this invention, as long as a P2P connection is possible, the object of the invention can be achieved regardless of whether the terminal or the printing device becomes the AP, so there is no need to limit the printing device to functioning as an AP. Note that when a P2P connection is executed using Wi-Fi Direct via the processing of this application, negotiation is executed between the terminal device and the printing device to determine which side will operate as the AP.

Furthermore, although NFC has been used as an example of short-range wireless communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark) may be used instead of NFC.

In the present application, the process in which the terminal device 200 searches for the printing device 300 using the MAC address acquired from the printing device 300 has been described. However, as an alternative method, the terminal device 200 can acquire an IP address and a MAC address using NFC, and search for the printing device 300 using the IP address. Then, if the terminal device 200 is unable to search for the printing device 300 using the IP address, it may search again using the MAC address. This process makes it possible to perform the search process efficiently.

Device information such as the model name and type of the printing device 300 may also be notified to the terminal device 200 via NFC. If the device information of the printing device that can be used by the printing application of the terminal device 200 does not match the device information acquired by the NFC touch operation (for example, if the model names do not match), the printing application displays an error screen. Then, a message indicating that the printing process cannot be continued is displayed on the error screen. Note that the error screen may also display a message indicating the printing device that can be used by the printing application, a message recommending the use of another printing application, etc.

Alternatively, the function information of the printing device 300 may be notified to the terminal device 200 via NFC.
If the function selected on the screen of Fig. 9A provided by the printing application of the terminal device 200 is not included in the function information acquired by the NFC touch operation, the printing application displays an error screen. The error screen may display a message indicating that the process cannot be continued. Specifically, if FAX is selected on Fig. 9A and the function information acquired from the printing device 300 by the NFC touch operation does not include the scan function, the printing application stops the FAX process and displays an error screen.

[Embodiment 3]
In the first embodiment, if the WiFi setting of the terminal device 200 is enabled and the printing device 300 is not connected to WiFi, the process proceeds from S1101 to S1107 via S1105. At this time, in S1107, the terminal device 200 writes an instruction to switch to AP mode to the NFC tag of the printing device 300, thereby switching the printing device 300 to AP mode. Therefore, the user must not move the terminal away from the printing device until the processes from S1101 to S1107 are completed. Specifically, the distance between the terminal device and the printing device must not be such that NFC communication is not possible.

However, before the processing of S1107 is completed by the terminal device 200, there is a possibility that the user may move the terminal device that they are touching or remove it from the printing device. As a result, NFC communication may not be possible in S1107, the instruction to switch to AP mode may fail, and communication between the terminal device and the printing device may result in a connection error. If a connection error occurs in S1107, the user performs a touch operation again, and the flow from S1101 to S1107 is executed again. In this case, if the same processing is simply repeated, there is a concern that the user may again move the terminal device away from the printer or move it away, causing another connection error.

Therefore, when a connection error occurs in S1107, processing may be performed to reduce the possibility of a connection error occurring.

Unless otherwise specified, the configuration of each device in this embodiment is the same as in embodiment 1 and will not be described. The following description will be given with reference to FIG. 10.

Before describing the process of FIG. 10, let us assume that the user performs an NFC touch operation on the terminal device 200 to the printing device 300 to attempt a connection, and then moves the terminal device 200 away from the printing device 300 before the process of S1107 is completed. In this case, the printing device 300 does not properly receive an instruction to switch to the AP mode, so the printing device 300 does not switch to the AP mode. As a result, the terminal device 200 cannot connect to the printing device 300. In this case, the terminal device 200 holds connection error information in the non-volatile memory 221 in the terminal device 200. This connection error information is updated at the end of the process of S1307 described later, and if a connection error occurs to the printing device 300 in the process of S1307, the MAC address of the printing device 300 to which the connection was attempted is saved together with a setting value indicating that a connection error has occurred. On the other hand, if no connection error occurs in S1307, a setting value indicating that there was no connection error is saved. Furthermore, if the process of S1307 has never been performed, the setting value in the case where no connection error occurs is saved as the initial value.

Next, we will explain the process that uses this error information.

In step S1301, the terminal device 200 acquires tag information from the NFC tag of the printing device 300. The tag information includes three types of information related to the network settings of the printing device 300, similar to the first embodiment.

S1302 and S1309 are the same as S1103 and S1112, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

If it is determined in S1302 that the printing device 300 is not in AP mode, proceed to S1303.

In S1303, the terminal device 200 acquires connection error information stored in the terminal device 200. It then determines whether the connection error information is a setting value indicating that an error has occurred, and whether the MAC address of the printing device 300 acquired in S1301 matches the MAC address of the printing device 300 included in the error information. If the determination in S1303 is Yes, the terminal device 200 skips S1304-S1305 and proceeds to S1307.

On the other hand, if the answer is No in S1303, the process proceeds to S1304. S1304-S1306 are the same as S1104-S1106, so detailed explanations are omitted.

In S1307, the same process as S1107 is performed, and finally the connection error information is updated.

S1310 is the same process as S1109, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

As described above, in this embodiment, if a connection error caused by an NFC touch occurred last time, it is possible to skip the relatively time-consuming printing device identification process (the process of S1305, also called the determination process). As a result, it is possible to shorten the time required to issue an instruction to transition to AP mode when touching again. This makes it possible to reduce the possibility of a connection error occurring again, even if the user removes the terminal device 200 from the printing device 300 immediately after performing a touch operation.

In addition, since there is a high possibility that the user will immediately perform a retouch operation when a connection error occurs, the connection error information may include the time when the error occurred. Specifically, in the determination of S1303, the difference between the current time and the time when the error occurred included in the connection error information is compared. Then, if the difference between the previous error occurrence time and the current time is within a predetermined time (e.g., within 10 seconds) and the MAC addresses match, the process may proceed to S1307.

The current connection state of the printing device 300 may also be used as a judgment criterion. Specifically, information on whether the printing device 300 is connected in infrastructure mode may be included in the tag information acquired in S1301, and this information may be saved as connection error information when an error occurs. Then, in the judgment in S1303, if a connection error occurred previously in S1307 and the infrastructure connection mode state of the printing device 300 acquired in S1301 matches the infrastructure connection mode state included in the connection error information, the process may proceed to S1307.

In S1303, the criteria for determining whether to skip the process of identifying the printing device and proceed to S1307 may be a single criterion, such as the MAC address, elapsed time, or a change in the connection status of the printing device, or a combination of multiple criterions. In addition, the criteria themselves may be anything that indicates that the status of the printing device 300 may have changed, such as a change in the IP address of the printing device 300 or the SSID in AP mode.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following process. That is, software (programs) that realize the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments are supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or a CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads and executes the program. The computer that executes the program may be one, or multiple computers may work together to execute the program. Furthermore, hardware such as a circuit that executes part of the program may be provided, and the hardware and a computer that executes the software may work together to execute the process described in this embodiment.

100 Network 200 Terminal device 201 NFC unit 202 Wireless LAN unit

Claims (19)

A computer of the communication device,
An acquisition means for acquiring communication information through a first wireless communication with a target device;
a broadcasting means for broadcasting a predetermined command to a predetermined network in which the communication device participates by connecting the communication device to an external device that is an external device of the communication device and an external device of the target device via a wireless LAN;
operate the communication device as an execution means for executing a second wireless communication to transmit predetermined information to the target device using a peer-to-peer wireless connection between the communication device and the target device not via the external device, the second wireless communication being established based on the communication information acquired by the first wireless communication with the target device, based on a result of broadcasting the predetermined command executed in a state in which the target device does not belong to the predetermined network;
The program, wherein the first wireless communication is executed by Near Field Communication (NFC), which is a short-range wireless communication method different from a communication method used for the second wireless communication. the execution means executes a third wireless communication to transmit the predetermined information to the target device using a wireless connection between the communication device and the target device via the external device based on a result of broadcasting the predetermined command executed in a state in which the target device belongs to the predetermined network;
2 . The program according to claim 1 , wherein the first wireless communication is performed by a short-range wireless communication method different from a communication method used for the second wireless communication and a communication method used for the third wireless communication. performing the second wireless communication based on the target device already operating in a mode for wirelessly communicating peer-to-peer;
performing the second wireless communication based on a result of execution of the broadcast of the predetermined command when the target device is not operating in a mode for wirelessly communicating peer-to-peer and the target device does not belong to the predetermined network;
The program according to claim 2, characterized in that the third wireless communication is performed based on the result of the execution of the broadcast of the specified command when the target device is not operating in a mode for peer-to-peer wireless communication and the target device belongs to the specified network . a first determining means for determining whether the target device is already operating in a mode for peer-to-peer wireless communication;
4. The program according to claim 1, wherein the first determination means executes the determination based on information acquired by the short-distance wireless communication method. a second determination unit that determines whether the target device belongs to the predetermined network;
The program described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the second determination means performs a determination based on whether or not a specified response is detected by the communication device after the specified command is broadcast, the specified response being a response received from a device participating in the specified network based on execution of the broadcast of the specified command and corresponding to identification information of the target device. a second determination unit that determines whether the target device belongs to the predetermined network;
the second determination means, after the predetermined command is broadcast, performs a determination based on whether or not a predetermined response is detected by the communication device, the predetermined response being a response received based on the execution of the broadcast of the predetermined command from a device participating in the predetermined network and corresponding to identification information of a target device;
5. The program according to claim 4, characterized in that after the first determination means determines that the target device is not operating in a mode for peer-to-peer wireless communication, the second determination means determines whether or not the target device belongs to the specified network. 7. The program according to claim 5 , wherein the identification information of the target device is received from the target device by the short-range wireless communication method. 8. The program according to claim 5 , wherein the identification information of the target device includes a MAC address. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the peer-to-peer wireless connection between the communication device and the target device not via the external device is a peer-to-peer wireless connection between the communication device and the target device using an access point of the target device. 10. The program according to claim 1, wherein a communication method used for the second wireless communication is a wireless LAN. 11. The program according to claim 10 , wherein a communication method used for the second wireless communication is Wi-Fi Direct. 12. The program according to claim 1, wherein the short-distance wireless communication method used for the first wireless communication has a communication speed different from that of the communication method used for the second wireless communication. the target device further operates as a transmission means for transmitting, via the short-range wireless communication system, an instruction for operating the communication device in a mode for wireless communication in the peer-to-peer manner, based on a result of broadcasting the predetermined command executed in a state in which the target device does not belong to the predetermined network;
based on the communication device not operating in a mode for peer-to-peer wireless communication and the communication device receiving the instruction, the communication device transitions to the mode for peer-to-peer wireless communication;
13. The program according to claim 1, wherein the peer-to-peer wireless connection used to transmit the specified information is established after the communication device transitions to a mode for peer-to-peer wireless communication. 14. The program according to claim 13 , wherein the mode for peer-to-peer wireless communication is a mode in which the target device operates as an access point. the target device is a printing device that executes printing;
15. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined information is a print job for causing the target device to execute printing. further operating as a display means for displaying a selection screen for selecting image data;
16. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined information is information based on image data selected by a user on the selection screen. a result of the execution of the broadcast of the predetermined command when the target device does not belong to the predetermined network is that the communication device does not detect a predetermined response that is a response received based on the execution of the broadcast of the predetermined command from a device participating in the predetermined network and that corresponds to the identification information of the target device;
a result of the broadcast of the predetermined command when the target device belongs to the predetermined network is that the predetermined response is detected by the communication device.
17. The program according to claim 1 , 1. A communication device, comprising:
An acquisition means for acquiring communication information through a first wireless communication with a target device;
a broadcasting means for broadcasting a predetermined command to a predetermined network in which the communication device participates by connecting the communication device to an external device that is an external device of the communication device and an external device of the target device via a wireless LAN;
an execution means for executing a second wireless communication to transmit predetermined information to the target device using a peer-to-peer wireless connection between the communication device and the target device not via the external device, the second wireless communication being established based on the communication information acquired by the first wireless communication with the target device, based on a result of broadcasting the predetermined command executed in a state in which the target device does not belong to the predetermined network;
The communication device, wherein the first wireless communication is performed by Near Field Communication (NFC), which is a short-range wireless communication method different from a communication method used for the second wireless communication. A method for controlling a communication device, comprising:
an acquisition step of acquiring communication information through a first wireless communication with a target device;
a broadcast step in which the communication device broadcasts a predetermined command to a predetermined network in which the communication device participates by connecting to an external device that is an external device of the communication device and an external device of the target device via a wireless LAN;
and executing, based on a result of broadcasting the predetermined command executed in a state in which the target device does not belong to the predetermined network, a second wireless communication for transmitting predetermined information to the target device using a peer-to-peer wireless connection between the communication device and the target device not via the external device, the second wireless communication being established based on the communication information acquired by the first wireless communication with the target device;
The control method, wherein the first wireless communication is performed by Near Field Communication (NFC), which is a short-range wireless communication method different from a communication method used for the second wireless communication.

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