JP2012065208A - Radio communication device, information processing device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent congestion of processing to be essentially done due to unnecessary processing resulting from a radio wave state in wireless connection work generated on upper layer side.SOLUTION: A wireless LAN device 210 installed on MFP 1000 includes an antenna 240 for receiving beacon transmitted from an AP 20 and a communication control circuit 214 that gains access to the AP 20 at a lower layer without receiving a request from a main part 230 operating at an upper layer when the beacon had been impossible to receive and further beacon has not been received until a first threshold time is reached after the impossible reception of the beacon.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication device, an information processing device, and a program.

  In recent years, when a network is used for printing or scanning a document by an information device used in an office such as an image forming apparatus, a wireless LAN has been used. The wireless LAN is mounted on a PC (Personal Computer), an office device, or the like based on an access method defined by IEEE 802.11.

  A wireless LAN device is a convenient communication device that can be connected to an office device and print information without selecting a location because a cable or the like is not required. On the other hand, as one of the characteristics of the wireless LAN, there is an adverse effect of handling radio waves.

  For example, in an office space, not only radio waves of a wireless LAN jump around innumerably, but also radio waves interfere with a microwave oven, mechanical radiation noise, etc., and communication may not be performed normally.

  In Patent Document 1, in order to stably connect and communicate with a wireless LAN device in such an environment, the best condition is determined according to the connection state while monitoring the state of the environment. A technique for performing connection with the network is disclosed.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, when information transmission between access points (APs) is not accompanied by the actual state of movement of a child device (STA: station), the child device is assigned to the AP by the movement of the child device. A procedure for performing a scan is disclosed.

  A general wireless LAN device performs control from the physical layer in the OSI reference model to the MAC layer, which is a lower layer of the data link layer. On the other hand, the image forming apparatus and information processing apparatus on which the wireless LAN device is mounted perform encryption-related settings called supplicants and wireless connection operations. This supplicant process is an application in the OSI reference model. Executed in layers. That is, although the wireless LAN connection / disconnection frame generation and transmission / reception control operations are performed in the MAC layer, the connection layer itself is determined by the upper application layer.

  In such a situation, when performing communication in a wireless environment where the radio wave environment is poor as described above, performing the disconnection operation frequently while notifying the upper layer from the MAC layer is a wireless problem from the upper layer. Where a process is originally assigned to a process other than the operation cannot be assigned, for example, it may be difficult to perform image processing or the like in the main body of the image forming apparatus.

  For example, when a wireless LAN device cannot detect a beacon (notification signal) transmitted by an AP due to deterioration of the radio wave environment and loses sight of the AP, the upper layer displays an out-of-range (OOR) indicating a radio wave environment instability. To the main body. When the radio wave environment returns to a favorable state, the wireless LAN device notifies the main unit of In-Range (IR) indicating a normal connection environment state. Here, “Range” means that the AP exists where it can be seen from the wireless LAN terminal. When the OOR state continues, the disconnection determination is performed on the main body side of the upper layer, and the wireless LAN device that is the lower MAC layer that receives the determination result performs the disconnection process. Thereafter, the wireless LAN device searches for an AP, and maintains a disconnected state when a connection with a new AP or a corresponding connectable AP is not found as a result of the AP search.

  In other words, when connection / disconnection processing occurs on the upper layer side separately from the original necessary data communication performed by the upper layer, it is difficult to execute processing that should be originally performed on the upper layer side There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to prevent the processing related to wireless connection that occurs on the upper layer side from being stagnant in processing that should be originally performed due to unnecessary processing caused by radio wave conditions. An object is to provide a communication device, an information processing device, and a program.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a wireless communication device according to the present invention is a wireless communication device mounted on an information processing device, and receives a notification signal transmitted from a parent device. And, when the notification signal cannot be received, operates in a higher layer when the notification signal is not received within a predetermined first threshold time from the time when the notification signal cannot be received. Communication control means for accessing the parent device at a lower layer without receiving a request from the main body of the information processing device.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus including a main body that operates in an upper layer and a wireless communication device, and the wireless communication device transmits a notification signal transmitted from a parent device. A receiving means for receiving, and when the notification signal cannot be received, and when the notification signal is not further received during a predetermined first threshold time from the time when the notification signal cannot be received, And a communication control means for accessing the parent device at a lower layer without receiving a request from the main body.

  In addition, the program according to the present invention includes a reception step of receiving a notification signal transmitted from a parent device, and a predetermined first time from when the notification signal cannot be received when the notification signal cannot be received. A communication control step for accessing the master device in the lower layer without receiving a request from the main body operating in the upper layer when the notification signal is not further received during the threshold time. To run.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent a process that should be originally performed due to an unnecessary process caused by a radio wave condition from being delayed in a process related to wireless connection that occurs on the upper layer side.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a radio communication system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of MFP 1000 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the connection establishment process. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of a Probe Request frame. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the Probe Response frame. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the Association Request frame. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the Association Response frame. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of communication processing according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a communication processing procedure performed by the wireless LAN device 210 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the roaming process. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of communication processing between the conventional wireless communication apparatus and the AP 20. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram of communication processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a communication processing procedure performed by the wireless LAN device 210 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram of communication processing according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a communication processing procedure performed by the wireless LAN device 210 according to the third embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of a wireless communication device, an information processing device, and a program according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment described below, an example in which a wireless communication device is applied to a wireless LAN device, an information processing device, a multifunction device having a wireless LAN device and having a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, a facsimile function, and the like An example applied to an image forming apparatus such as (MFP: Multi Function Peripherals) is shown, but the present invention is not limited to these. For example, the wireless communication device can be applied to a wireless communication device other than the wireless LAN, and the information processing device can be applied to a PC (Personal Computer) or a portable information terminal equipped with a wireless LAN device.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a radio communication system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system is mainly composed of a multifunction peripheral (hereinafter referred to as “MFP”) 1000 equipped with a wireless LAN device, and APs (access points) 20a and 20b as parent devices. ing.

  The MFP 1000 is equipped with a wireless LAN device 210 (see FIG. 2). In the present embodiment, the wireless LAN device 10 is a communication device that can function as an STA (child device). The STA is a terminal station compliant with, for example, IEEE 802.11. APs 20a and 20b (hereinafter collectively referred to as AP 20 unless otherwise specified) are relay apparatuses that relay wireless communication. In the example of FIG. 1, since the MFP 1000 exists within the communication range 31 of the AP 20a, the MFP 1000 is connected to the AP 20a.

  The AP 20 is a wireless LAN base station compliant with, for example, IEEE 802.11. As shown in FIG. 1, the AP 20a sets the communication range 31 and the AP 20b sets the communication range 32 to reach the radio waves. In FIG. 1, two relay apparatuses, AP 20a and AP 20b, are illustrated, but the number of relay apparatuses is not limited to this.

  The MFP 1000 receives a signal including information related to the AP 20 necessary for connection with the AP 20 (hereinafter referred to as “AP information”), and acquires the AP information from the received signal. As a method of receiving AP information, there are an active scan and a passive scan.

  The active scan is a method in which the MFP 1000 transmits a Probe Request frame, and acquires AP information from the Probe Response frame returned by the AP 20 in response. On the other hand, in the passive scan, the MFP 1000 receives a beacon frame, which is a packet as a notification signal transmitted at a fixed interval by the AP 20 without transmitting a ProbeRequest frame, and receives a beacon frame (hereinafter referred to as a “beacon”). This is a method for acquiring AP information included in. In the present embodiment, an example in which AP information is acquired by passive scanning will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of MFP 1000 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, MFP 1000 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which wireless LAN device 210 is connected to main unit 230.

  First, the wireless LAN device 210 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless LAN device 210 mainly includes an antenna (ANT) 240, a CPU 211, a memory 212, I / F units 213 and 215, and a communication control circuit 214.

  The antenna 240 transmits and receives radio waves for performing wireless communication with an external device such as the AP 20. The I / F unit 213 is an interface with the antenna 240 and controls the physical layer in the OSI reference model.

  The communication control circuit 214 performs wireless LAN connection / disconnection frame generation and transmission / reception control processing as control of the MAC layer (lower layer of the data link layer) in the OSI reference model.

  In the present embodiment, when the communication control circuit 214 becomes unable to receive a beacon from the AP 20, when the beacon is not received during a predetermined first threshold time from when the beacon cannot be received, Without receiving a request from the main unit 230 operating in the application layer, access to the AP 20, that is, roaming (search and connection of another AP 20) and disconnection processing are performed.

  The memory 212 is used for storing work data and the like, and the CPU 211 executes a communication program. The I / F unit 215 is an interface with the main body unit 230.

  Next, the main body 230 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the main body unit 230 mainly includes an I / F unit 233, a CPU 231, and a memory 232.

  The I / F unit 233 is an interface with the wireless LAN device 210. The memory 231 stores various programs. The CPU 231 executes various programs stored in the memory 232, and performs encryption-related settings called supplicant and wireless connection processing. That is, the CPU 231 executes processing of the application layer in the OSI reference model.

  Next, communication processing according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. First, connection establishment processing between the MFP 1000 and the AP 20 will be described. Here, the connection establishment process is a process in which the MFP 1000 acquires connection information and establishes a connection with the AP 20 based on the acquired connection information. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the connection establishment process.

  The MFP 1000 transmits a Probe Request frame to the AP 20 (step S11). Here, the Probe Request frame is a request message for requesting a response to the connectable AP 20.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of a Probe Request frame. As shown in FIG. 4, the Probe Request frame conforms to IEEE 802.11, and includes a MAC address (Media Access Control address) (Src.Address and Des.Address), BSSID, SSID, and the like. The MAC address is an address uniquely determined for each device, and can be used as one piece of identification information for identifying the AP 20. Src. In the address, “FF: FF: FF: FF: FF: FF”, which indicates that the frame is transmitted as a broadcast frame, is set according to the IEEE 802.11 standard. As will be described later, Des. You may comprise so that the MAC address of AP20 may be set to Address.

  If the SSID is specified in the Probe Request frame and the BSSID is not specified, a Probe Response frame is returned from the AP 20 having the same SSID. If both the SSID and BSSID are specified in the Probe Request frame, a Probe Response frame is returned from the AP 20 having the same SSID and BSSID. Here, the Probe Response frame is a response message to the Probe Request.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the AP 20 receives the probe request and returns a probe response frame to the MFP 1000 (step S <b> 12). Here, the MFP 1000 extracts information necessary for connection from the Probe Response frame, and determines connection parameters.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the Probe Response frame. As shown in FIG. 5, the Probe Response frame conforms to IEEE 802.11, and includes a MAC address (Src.Address and Des.Address), a BSSID, an SSID, and the like. Src. In the Address, the MAC address of the AP 20 is set. Des. In the address, the MAC address of the MFP 1000 is set. In addition, the Probe Response frame includes a lot of information related to the AP 20 such as a usable channel, a connection protocol, and country information.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the MFP 1000 and the AP 20 transmit and receive the authentication to each other (steps S13 and S14). Here, the Authentication is a message for mutual authentication. If authenticated, the MFP 1000 attempts to establish a connection with the AP 20 using the SSID included in the Probe Response frame. Specifically, the MFP 1000 transmits an association request including the SSID to the AP 20 (step S15).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the Association Request frame. As shown in FIG. 6, the Association Request frame is compliant with IEEE 802.11, and includes MAC addresses (Src.Address and Des.Address), BSSID, SSID, and the like, as in FIGS. The Association Request frame also includes the number of times authentication is requested as Listen Interval.

  Returning to FIG. 3, when the AP 20 can be connected by the received Association Request, the AP 20 returns a success indicating the connection success by the Association Response to the MFP 1000 (Step S <b> 16).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the Association Response frame. As shown in FIG. 7, the Association Response frame conforms to IEEE 802.11 and includes MAC addresses (Src.Address and Des.Address), BSSID, SSID, and the like, as in FIG.

  Thereby, the connection between the MFP 1000 and the AP 20 is established, and data communication is possible. When data communication encryption is necessary, message transmission / reception for encryption authentication may be performed after this. Thereafter, roaming for maintaining the connection is performed. Roaming is establishing a reconnection with another AP 20 having the same SSID. Therefore, after performing the disconnection process with the AP 20, the MFP 1000 can establish a connection with another AP 20 by a series of processes from step S11 to step S16.

  Next, communication processing between MFP 1000 and AP 20 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of communication processing according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a communication processing procedure performed by the wireless LAN device 210 according to the first embodiment. 8 and 9, a case where the MFP 1000 is located within the communication range of the AP 20a and communicates with the AP 20a will be described as an example.

  First, a connection request with the AP 20 is sent from the main body 230 of the MFP 1000 to the wireless LAN device 210 (step S21). The wireless LAN device 210 that has received the connection request performs the connection establishment process with the AP 20 by the I / F unit 213 and the communication control circuit 214 (steps S22 to S27, S51).

  Then, the communication control circuit 214 determines whether or not the connection establishment has succeeded (step S52), and if it has failed (step S52: No), the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the connection has been successfully established (step S52: Yes), the communication control circuit 214 sends a connection response indicating that the connection has been successfully established to the main body 230, which is a supplicant (step S28). In the example of FIG. 8, the connection establishment with the AP 20a is successful.

  Next, the communication control circuit 214 confirms the connection state (step S53), and determines whether or not a beacon is detected from the AP 20a (step S54). When a beacon is detected (steps S29 and S54: Yes), the processes of steps S53 and S54 are repeated.

  On the other hand, when the beacon cannot be detected (step S54: No, S30), it is determined whether or not the elapsed time from the time when the beacon can no longer be detected exceeds the first threshold time (step S55). Here, the reason why the beacon from the AP 20a cannot be detected is that the radio wave environment of the AP 20 has deteriorated, the MFP 1000 itself equipped with the wireless LAN device has moved out of the communication range of the AP 20, or the AP 20 has some reason. A case where the power is shut off at the time is considered.

  Then, while the elapsed time is within the first threshold time (step S55: No), the first threshold time is waited by repeating the confirmation of the connection state (step S53) and the determination of the presence or absence of beacon detection (step S54). (Step S31). This is because a beacon from the AP 20a can be detected within a short time if the radio wave environment is slightly degraded.

  If the beacon cannot be detected even after the first threshold time has elapsed (step S54: No, S55: Yes), the main body 230 is not notified and the request from the main body 230 is not received. In addition, the communication control circuit 214 executes roaming processing (search and reconnection of a new AP 20) or disconnection processing for the AP 20a (steps S56, S32, and S33).

  When the communication control circuit 214 performs a disconnection process, a disconnection notification is sent to the main body 230, which is the upper layer (step S34). Receiving the notification, the main body 230 notifies the disconnection by displaying a message or the like, so that the user can recognize the disconnection performed by the wireless LAN device 210.

  Here, when reconnecting to a new AP 20b, the communication control circuit 214 according to the present embodiment searches for an AP 20 having the same SSID (Service Set Identifier) and reconnects it. In other words, the search and reconnection of the AP 20 having a different SSID cannot be performed without setting from the main body 230 side of the application layer, which is an upper layer. For this reason, the communication control circuit 214 which is the MAC layer searches for and reconnects the AP 20b having the same SSID as the SSID of the AP 20a in the roaming process. Thereby, in the MAC layer, in the case of the AP 20 having the same SSID, the communication control circuit 214 can reconnect to another AP 20b having the same SSID even if the AP 20a is lost. is there.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the roaming process. The AP 20a and AP 20b share information of terminals such as the MFP 1000 equipped with the wireless LAN device 210 via their wired networks. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, when there are a plurality of APs 20 having the same SSID, the communication control circuit 214 and the I / F unit 213 of the MFP 1000 perform roaming with the AP 20b having a good radio wave environment.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the wireless LAN device 210 can no longer detect the beacon of the AP 20, the main unit that is the upper layer (application layer) has an Out-of-Range (indicating an unstable radio wave environment). OOR) is not notified, and roaming or disconnection processing is performed without receiving a request from the main body 230. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of communication processing between the conventional wireless communication apparatus and the AP 20. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 11, when the wireless LAN device can no longer detect the beacon from the AP 20 (step S70), the OOR is transmitted to the main unit 230 of the upper layer (step S71). It is determined whether to perform roaming and whether to perform a cutting process (step S72). Then, depending on the determination result of the upper layer main unit, a connection request (step S73) and a disconnection request (step S75) are sent to the wireless LAN device. Cutting is performed (steps S74 and S76).

  For this reason, in a conventional wireless communication device, processing related to connection / disconnection also occurs on the upper layer side separately from the original necessary data communication performed by the upper layer. It becomes difficult to execute.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, when the wireless LAN device 210 can no longer detect the beacon of the AP 20, it does not notify the upper layer main body unit of the OOR and sends a request from the main body unit 230. The wireless LAN device itself is performing roaming or disconnection processing without receiving it. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid an increase in the load on the CPU 231 of the main body unit 230 due to unnecessary processing caused by radio wave conditions for processing related to the wireless connection generated in the main body unit 230 on the upper layer side. As a result, it is possible to prevent stagnation of processing that should be originally performed, such as image processing and data communication processing.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the AP 20 is detected only by the beacon. However, in the second embodiment, the AP 20 is detected based on whether or not a data frame is received in addition to the reception of the beacon.

  The configuration of the wireless communication system of this embodiment and the configuration of MFP 1000 are the same as those of Embodiment 1 described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram of communication processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a communication processing procedure performed by the wireless LAN device 210 according to the second embodiment.

  Processing from the connection request from the main body 230 of the MFP 1000 to the AP 20 to the wireless LAN device 210 to connection establishment by the wireless LAN device 210, connection response transmission, connection status confirmation, and beacon detection determination (steps S91 to S99, S121 to S124) is performed in the same manner as the processing of the first embodiment (steps S21 to S29, S51 to S54).

  Next, when a beacon from the AP 20a cannot be detected in step S124 (step S124: No, S100), the communication control circuit 214 further determines whether data has been received from the AP 20a (step S124). S125). If data is received (step S125: Yes, S101), the communication control circuit 124 transmits an ACK packet to the AP 20a (step S102).

  On the other hand, when the data cannot be received from the AP 20a (step S125: No), it is determined whether or not the elapsed time from the time when the data cannot be received exceeds the first threshold time (step S126).

  Then, if the radio wave environment is slightly deteriorated, the beacon can be detected from the AP 20a or the data can be received within a short time, so that the elapsed time is within the first threshold time (step S126: No). ), Confirmation of connection state (step S123), determination of presence / absence of beacon detection (step S124), determination of presence / absence of data reception (step S125), and standby for a first threshold time (step S105).

  And even if 1st threshold time passes, a beacon cannot be detected (step S124: No, S103, S126: Yes), and when data cannot be received (step S125: No, S104, S126: Yes). The communication control circuit 214 performs the roaming process or the disconnection process for the AP 20a without performing the notification to the main body part 230 and receiving the request from the main body part 230 (steps S127, S106, S107). Here, the roaming process by the communication control circuit 214 is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  When the communication control circuit 214 performs a disconnection process, a disconnection notification is sent to the main body 230, which is an upper layer (step S108).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the wireless LAN device 210 cannot detect the beacon of the AP 20 and cannot receive data from the AP 20, the main body unit is not notified of the OOR to the main body unit that is the upper layer. The wireless LAN device itself performs roaming or disconnection processing without receiving a request from 230. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid an increase in the load on the CPU 231 of the main body unit 230 due to unnecessary processing caused by radio wave conditions for processing related to the wireless connection generated in the main body unit 230 on the upper layer side. As a result, it is possible to prevent stagnation of processing that should be originally performed, such as image processing and data communication processing.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, since AP20 is detected by the presence or absence of data reception other than reception of a beacon, the accuracy of non-detection of AP20 can be improved.

(Embodiment 3)
In the third embodiment, the wireless LAN device 210 cannot detect the beacon from the AP 20, and when the beacon cannot be detected during the first threshold time from when the wireless LAN device 210 cannot detect the beacon, the main body unit 230 that is the application layer When the beacon is not detected within a predetermined second threshold time from the notification time point, the wireless LAN device 210 performs roaming or disconnection processing without receiving a request from the main unit 230. I do.

  The configuration of the wireless communication system of this embodiment and the configuration of MFP 1000 are the same as those of Embodiment 1 described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram of communication processing according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a communication processing procedure performed by the wireless LAN device 210 according to the third embodiment.

  Processing from the connection request from the main body 230 of the MFP 1000 to the AP 20 to the wireless LAN device 210 to connection establishment by the wireless LAN device 210, connection response transmission, connection status confirmation, and beacon detection determination (steps S141 to S149, S171) S174) is performed in the same manner as the processing of the first embodiment (steps S21 to S29, S51 to S54).

  Next, when the beacon from the AP 20a cannot be detected in step S174 (step S174: No, S150), it is determined whether or not the elapsed time from when the beacon can no longer be detected exceeds the first threshold time. Judgment is made (step S175).

  And while the elapsed time is within the first threshold time (step S175: No), the first threshold time is waited by repeating the confirmation of the connection state (step S173) and the determination of the presence or absence of beacon detection (step S174). (Step S151).

  If the beacon cannot be detected even after the first threshold time has elapsed (steps S174: No, S175: No), the communication control circuit 214 is in an unstable radio wave environment, that is, Out-Of-. Range (OOR) is set (step S176), and OOR is notified to the main body 230 (step S152). Then, the communication control circuit 214 determines whether or not a beacon is detected from the AP 20a (step S177).

  When a beacon is detected (step S177: Yes), the main unit is in an In-Range (IR) state indicating a normal connection environment state (step S178), and the process returns to step S173 to confirm the connection state. Repeat the process.

  On the other hand, if the beacon cannot be detected in step S177 (step S177: No, S153), it is determined whether or not the elapsed time from when the beacon can no longer be detected exceeds the second threshold time (step S177). S179).

  Then, while the elapsed time is within the second threshold time (step S179: No), the second threshold time is waited by repeating the determination of the presence or absence of beacon detection (step S174) while maintaining the OOR state (step S176). (Step S154).

  If the beacon cannot be detected even after the second threshold time has elapsed (step S177: No, S179: Yes), the main unit 230 is not notified and the request from the main unit 230 is not received. In addition, the communication control circuit 214 executes a roaming process or a disconnection process for the AP 20a (steps S180, S155, and S156). Here, the roaming process by the communication control circuit 214 is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  When the communication control circuit 214 performs the disconnection process, a disconnection notification is sent to the main body 230, which is the upper layer (step S157).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the wireless LAN device 210 cannot detect the beacon of the AP 20 and enters the OOR state, the roaming or disconnection process is not performed immediately after the first threshold time elapses. When a beacon is detected, the state is returned to the IR state. In the present embodiment, the wireless LAN device itself performs roaming or disconnection processing without receiving a request from the main body 230 after the elapse of the second threshold time without detecting a beacon. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid an increase in the load on the CPU 231 of the main body unit 230 due to unnecessary processing caused by radio wave conditions for processing related to the wireless connection generated in the main body unit 230 on the upper layer side. As a result, it is possible to prevent stagnation of processing that should be originally performed, such as image processing and data communication processing.

  Note that the above-described communication processing performed by the communication control circuit 214 of the wireless LAN device 210 of the first to third embodiments may be implemented by executing a wireless communication program by the CPU 211.

  In this case, the wireless communication program executed by the wireless LAN device 210 of the first to third embodiments is provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The wireless communication program executed by the wireless LAN device 210 of the first to third embodiments is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and is a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD (Digital The recording medium may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as Versatile Disk).

  Further, the wireless communication program executed by the wireless LAN device 210 of the first to third embodiments is stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and is provided by being downloaded via the network. May be. The wireless communication program executed by the wireless LAN device 210 according to the first to third embodiments may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The wireless communication program executed by the wireless LAN device 210 according to the first to third embodiments has a module configuration having the function executed by the communication control circuit 214 described above. As actual hardware, the CPU 211 is the ROM. By reading and executing the communication program from the module, a module having a function executed by the communication control circuit 214 is loaded onto the main storage device and generated as a communication control unit on the main storage device.

20, 20a, 20b Access point (AP)
210 Wireless LAN device 211, 231 CPU
212, 232 Memory 213, 215, 233 I / F unit 214 Communication control circuit 230 Main unit 240 Antenna (ANT)
1000 MFP

Japanese Patent No. 3109701 Japanese Patent No. 3845347

Claims (10)

A wireless communication device mounted on an information processing device,
Receiving means for receiving a notification signal transmitted from the parent device;
When the notification signal cannot be received, the information that operates in the upper layer when the notification signal is not further received within a predetermined first threshold time from the time when the notification signal cannot be received. A communication control means for accessing the master device at a lower layer without receiving a request from the main body of the processing device;
A wireless communication apparatus comprising: The receiving means further receives data from the parent device,
When the communication control unit becomes unable to receive the notification signal, the communication control unit further determines whether or not data is received from the parent device, and the first threshold time from when the data cannot be received. 2. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the data is not received, the base unit is accessed in a lower layer without receiving a request from the main unit.   When the communication control unit cannot receive the notification signal, the communication control unit does not receive the notification signal within a predetermined first threshold time from the time when the notification signal cannot be received. The information processing apparatus is notified when the main body of the apparatus is notified that it is outside the communication range of the parent apparatus, and the notification signal is not received within a predetermined second threshold time from the notification time. 2. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein access to the parent device is performed in a lower layer without receiving a request from the main body unit.   When the notification signal is received between the notification time point and the second threshold time, the communication control means indicates that the communication control unit exists within the communication range of the base device with respect to the main body of the information processing device. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein notification is performed.   The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the communication control unit connects to another parent device as the access.   The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the communication control unit searches for and connects to another parent device having the same identification information as the identification information of the parent device.   The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication control unit disconnects the base device as the access.   The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the communication control unit transmits a disconnection notification to the main body unit. An information processing apparatus including a main body that operates in an upper layer and a wireless communication device,
The wireless communication device
Receiving means for receiving a notification signal transmitted from the parent device;
When the notification signal cannot be received, and when the notification signal is not further received within a predetermined first threshold time from the time when the notification signal cannot be received, a request from the main body is received. Communication control means for accessing the parent device in the lower layer without receiving,
An information processing apparatus comprising: A receiving step for receiving a notification signal transmitted from the parent device;
When the notification signal cannot be received, the main body that operates in the upper layer when the notification signal is not further received within a predetermined first threshold time from when the notification signal cannot be received. Communication control step for accessing the parent device in the lower layer without receiving a request from
A program that causes a computer to execute.

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