JP6484357B2 - Communication apparatus and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device and a program for performing wireless communication via a wireless channel.

  In a wireless communication system, in addition to a method (for example, infrastructure mode) for establishing a wireless connection with a counterpart device via an access point, the own device or the counterpart device operates as an access point, There is known a peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless connection method in which a wireless connection is directly established with a device on the other side without going through any other device.

  As a standard for realizing such a P2P wireless connection method, for example, Wi-Fi Direct (registered trademark) is known. A device that supports Wi-Fi Direct can operate as an access point (GroupOwner), thereby enabling direct wireless connection with a counterpart device. At this time, which of the counterpart device and the own device operates as an access point is determined by a sequence called GroupOwner Negotiation (Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-249960 A

  Two different wireless connection schemes as described above can be executed simultaneously in one device. For example, the self apparatus establishes a wireless connection with an access point as a client, while the self apparatus establishes a P2P wireless connection with the client as a Group Owner with another apparatus. In that case, two channels are required as a radio interface. However, assigning a plurality of channels to one wireless IC chip makes the configuration extremely complicated. Therefore, it is desirable to use a common channel for each of the two wireless connection methods at the same time.

  In general, when the own apparatus operates as a client, the access point takes the lead in determining the use channel. When the own apparatus operates as a Group Owner, a channel to be used is determined by comparing the channel information of the client obtained by Group Owner Negotiation with the channels that can be used by itself.

  Here, if the own device, access point, and client are connected wirelessly via a common channel and the own device and the access point are disconnected, the own device has no right to determine the channel. Reconnection with other channels may not be possible.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such conventional problems. In view of the above points, the present invention provides a communication device and program capable of appropriately restarting a wireless connection even when a part of the wireless connection is disconnected when performing wireless communication in parallel by a plurality of wireless communication methods. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above problems, a communication apparatus according to the present invention is a communication apparatus capable of communicating with an external apparatus, and is a first that conforms to a predetermined communication standard between the communication apparatus and an external access point of the external apparatus. Communication means capable of performing wireless connection by the wireless communication method according to the second wireless communication method compliant with the predetermined communication standard with the external device not via the external access point, and the communication Wireless connection by the first wireless communication method using a predetermined communication channel selected from a plurality of communication channels and the external access point executed by means, the external device executed by the communication means, and the The external access point in a situation where a wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using a predetermined communication channel is maintained in parallel And the second wireless communication method with the external device is maintained when wireless connection is maintained by the second wireless communication method using the predetermined communication channel with the external device. The predetermined communication channel used for wireless connection is preferentially used in a plurality of communication channels to search for the external access point, and the predetermined communication channel is preferentially used in the plurality of communication channels. And when the external access point cannot be searched for using the second wireless communication method using the predetermined communication channel with the external device, and sequentially using the plurality of communication channels Search means for executing processing for searching for the external access point.

  According to the present invention, when performing wireless communication in parallel using a plurality of wireless communication methods, it is possible to appropriately restart the wireless connection even when some of the wireless connections are disconnected.

It is a figure which shows the structure of a system. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of a portable communication terminal device. 2 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of an MFP. FIG. It is a top view of an operation display part. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a portable communication terminal device. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an MFP. FIG. It is a figure which shows the channel determination sequence between MFP and an access point. It is a figure for demonstrating being wirelessly connected by the channel common to a system. 6 is a diagram illustrating a case where communication between an MFP and an access point is disconnected. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the channel determination sequence in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the channel determination method. It is a figure for demonstrating the channel determination sequence in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the channel determination method.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following examples do not limit the present invention according to the scope of claims, and all the combinations of features described in the present embodiment are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the present invention. . The same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless communication system including a portable communication terminal device and a printing device (MFP). The portable communication terminal device 200 is a device having a wireless LAN (WLAN) communication unit and a proximity wireless communication unit. Note that the proximity wireless communication means wireless communication represented by NFC in which a communication range is a relatively small predetermined range (for example, 1 meter to several centimeters or less). The portable communication terminal device 200 may be a personal information terminal such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a mobile phone, a digital camera, or the like, and can perform wireless communication (WLAN) with the printing device 200. The printing apparatus (MFP) 300 only needs to be able to perform wireless communication with the portable communication terminal apparatus 200, and may have a reading function (scanner), a FAX function, and a telephone function. In this embodiment, a Multi Function Printer (MFP) having a reading function and a printing function is taken as an example. Both the portable communication terminal apparatus 200 and the MFP 300 have a near field wireless communication unit using NFC, and the portable communication terminal apparatus 200 can be connected to the MFP 300 at a predetermined distance that allows NFC communication even when no power is supplied to the portable communication terminal apparatus 200. Proximity wireless communication is also possible by approaching. Further, the MFP 300 can wirelessly communicate with a terminal on a network (a network capable of communication according to TCP / IP) by a WLAN communication unit. Either or both of the portable communication terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 may perform wireless communication only by the WLAN communication unit without the proximity wireless communication unit. Note that the portable communication terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 can execute processing corresponding to a plurality of print services via a WLAN, as will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of the portable communication terminal device 200. In this embodiment, a smartphone is taken as an example. A smartphone is a multi-function mobile phone equipped with a camera, a web browser, an e-mail function, etc. in addition to the functions of a mobile phone. The NFC unit 201, which is a close proximity wireless communication unit, is a unit that performs communication using NFC, and performs communication by NFC by bringing the NFC unit 201 close to a partner NFC unit within a predetermined distance (for example, about 10 cm). be able to.

  The WLAN unit 202 is a unit for performing communication by WLAN. It is assumed that the WLAN unit 202 is capable of data (packet) communication in a WLAN system compliant with, for example, the IEEE 802.11 series. In addition, in wireless communication using the WLAN unit 202, communication based on Wi-Fi Direct (WFD), communication in software AP mode, ad hoc mode, infrastructure mode, and the like are possible. The display unit 203 is, for example, a display provided with an LCD type display mechanism. The operation unit 204 includes a touch panel type operation mechanism, and detects an operation by the user. As a typical operation method, there is a method in which the display unit 203 displays a button icon or a software keyboard, and an operation event is detected by the user touching those portions. A power key 205 is a hard key used when the power is turned on and off.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of the MFP 300. In FIG. 3A, a document table 301 is a glassy transparent table on which a document to be read by a scanner (reading unit) is placed. The document cover 302 is a cover for holding down the document when reading with the scanner or preventing light from the light source that irradiates the document from being leaked to the outside during reading. The printing paper insertion port 303 is an insertion port through which various sizes of paper can be set. The sheets set in the printing sheet insertion port 303 are conveyed one by one to the printing unit, printed by the printing unit, and discharged from the printing sheet discharge port 304.

  In FIG. 3B, the operation display unit 305 and the NFC unit 306 are arranged on the upper part of the document cover 302. The operation display unit 305 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The NFC unit 306 is a unit for performing close proximity wireless communication, and is a place where the portable communication terminal apparatus 200 is brought close to the MFP 300. An NFC communication effective distance is within a predetermined distance (about 10 cm) from the NFC unit 306. The WLAN antenna 307 is embedded with an antenna for communicating by WLAN.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the operation display unit 305. The display unit 406 is a display screen that displays a user interface such as an image or an operation menu. For example, a dot matrix LCD is given as an example. A cross key 401 is used for operations such as cursor movement on the display unit 406. A set key 402 is a key for setting input. The function key 403 is used for operations such as function setting. A start key 404 instructs execution of functions such as printing start.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the portable communication terminal device 200. The portable communication terminal device 200 includes a main board 701 that performs main control of the device itself, a WLAN unit 717 that performs WLAN communication, an NFC unit 718 that performs NFC communication, and a BT (BlueTooth) that performs Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication. (Registered trademark)) unit 721.

  In the main board 701, the CPU 702 is a system control unit and controls the entire portable communication terminal device 200. The processing of the portable communication terminal device 200 shown below is executed under the control of the CPU 702. The ROM 703 stores a control program executed by the CPU 702, an embedded operating system (OS) program, and the like. In the present embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 703 performs software control such as scheduling and task switching under the management of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 703.

  The RAM 704 is configured by SRAM (Static RAM) or the like, stores data such as program control variables, and stores data such as setting values registered by the user and management data of the portable communication terminal device 200. A buffer area is provided.

  The image memory 705 is configured by a memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic RAM), and temporarily stores image data received via the communication unit and image data read from the data storage unit 712 for processing by the CPU 702. Here, the communication unit is a general term for communication functions including the WLAN unit 717, the NFC unit 718, and the BT unit 721.

  The nonvolatile memory 722 is configured by a memory such as a flash memory and continues to store data even when the power is turned off. Note that the memory configuration is not limited to this. For example, the image memory 705 and the RAM 704 may be shared, or data backup or the like may be performed in the data storage unit 712. In the present embodiment, a DRAM is used for the image memory 705, but this is not a limitation because other storage media such as a hard disk or a nonvolatile memory may be used.

  The data conversion unit 706 performs analysis of various types of data, and data conversion such as color conversion and image conversion. The telephone unit 707 performs telephone communication by controlling the telephone line and processing voice data input / output via the speaker unit 713. The operation unit 708 controls the signal of the operation unit 204 (FIG. 2). A GPS (Global Positioning System) 709 acquires position information such as the current latitude and longitude of the portable communication terminal device 200. A display unit 710 electronically controls the display content of the display unit 203 (FIG. 2), and can perform various input operations, display the operation status and status status of the MFP 300, and the like.

  The camera unit 711 has a function of electronically recording and encoding an image input via a lens. An image captured by the camera unit 711 is stored in the data storage unit 712. The speaker unit 713 implements a function for inputting or outputting voice for a telephone function, and other functions such as alarm notification. The power supply unit 714 is a portable battery and controls power supply to the apparatus. The power state includes a battery exhausted state with no remaining battery power, a power off state in which the power key 205 is not pressed, a normal starting state, and a power saving state in which the power is activated but is in a power saving state. is there.

  The portable communication terminal apparatus 200 is equipped with three communication units for wireless communication, and can perform wireless communication using WLAN, NFC, and BlueTooth (registered trademark). As a result, the portable communication terminal apparatus 200 performs data communication with other devices such as an MFP. This communication unit converts data into a packet and transmits the packet to another device. Conversely, a packet from another external device is restored to the original data and transmitted to the CPU 702. The WLAN unit 717, NFC unit 718 and BT unit 721 are connected to the main board 701 via bus cables 715, 716 and 720, respectively. The WLAN unit 717, the NFC unit 718, and the BT unit 721 are units for realizing communication complying with the respective standards.

  Various components in the main board 701 (ROM 703-power supply unit 714, WLAN unit 717, NFC unit 718, BT unit 721 and nonvolatile memory 722) are connected to each other via a system bus 719 managed by the CPU 702. Yes.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of MFP 300. The MFP 300 includes a main board 801 that performs main control of the apparatus itself, a WLAN unit 817 that performs WLAN communication, an NFC unit 818 that performs NFC communication, and a BT unit 819 that performs Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication.

  In the main board 801, the CPU 802 is a system control unit and controls the entire MFP 300. The following processing of the MFP 300 is executed under the control of the CPU 801. The ROM 803 stores a control program executed by the CPU 802, an embedded operating system (OS) program, and the like. In the present embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 803 performs software control such as scheduling and task switching under the management of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 803. The RAM 804 is composed of SRAM (Static RAM) or the like, stores data such as program control variables, stores data such as setting values registered by the user and management data of the MFP 300, and provides various work buffer areas. It has been.

  The nonvolatile memory 805 is configured by a memory such as a flash memory, and continues to store data even when the power is turned off. The image memory 806 is configured by a memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic RAM), and is acquired through the image data received via the communication unit, the image data processed by the encoding / decoding processing unit 812, or the memory card controller 516. Accumulate image data. Further, like the memory configuration of the portable communication terminal apparatus 200, such a memory configuration is not limited to this. A data conversion unit 807 performs analysis of various types of data, conversion from image data to print data, and the like. Here, the communication unit is a general term for communication functions including the WLAN unit 817, the NFC unit 818, and the BT unit 819.

  A reading control unit 808 controls a reading unit 810 (for example, a CIS image sensor (contact image sensor)) to optically read an image on a document. Next, an image signal obtained by converting this into electrical image data is output. At this time, various image processing such as binarization processing and halftone processing may be performed before outputting.

  An operation unit 809 and a display unit 811 correspond to the operation display unit 305 in FIG. The code decoding processing unit 812 performs code decoding processing and enlargement / reduction processing on image data (JPEG, PNG, etc.) handled by the MFP 300. A paper feed unit 814 holds paper for printing. Paper can be fed from the paper feed unit 814 under the control of the recording control unit 816. In particular, the paper feeding unit 814 can prepare a plurality of paper feeding units in order to hold a plurality of types of paper in one apparatus. The recording control unit 816 can control from which paper feeding unit the paper is fed.

  The recording control unit 816 performs various image processing such as smoothing processing, recording density correction processing, and color correction on the image data to be printed, and then outputs the image data to the recording unit 815. The recording unit 815 can employ, for example, an inkjet printer that prints an image by ejecting ink supplied from an ink tank from a recording head. In addition, the recording control unit 816 also plays a role of periodically reading information in the recording unit 815 and updating information in the RAM 804. Specifically, the status information such as the remaining amount of the ink tank and the state of the recording head is updated.

  Similarly to the portable communication terminal apparatus 200, the MFP 300 is also equipped with three communication units for performing wireless communication, and the functions are the same, and thus description thereof is omitted. However, the WLAN unit 817 of the MFP 300 can perform wireless communication in parallel in a plurality of wireless communication modes, but the same wireless channel is used at this time. Here, the WLAN unit 817, the NFC unit 818, and the BT unit 819 are connected to the main board 801 via bus cables 820, 821 and 822, respectively. Various components (CPU 802 to BT unit 819) in the main board 801 are connected to each other via a system bus 823 managed by the CPU 802.

[Peer-to-peer wireless connection method]
The portable communication terminal apparatus 200 and the MFP 300 can establish a peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless connection in accordance with WFD. WFD is a standard established by WiFi Alliance and is described in “WiFi Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Technical Specification Version 1.1”. The portable communication terminal device 200 and the MFP 300, which are WFD compatible devices, have a software access point (soft AP) function for operating as an access point. Therefore, the portable communication terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 can be wirelessly connected to each other directly by WFD without using other access points. Which of the plurality of WFD compatible devices operates as a soft AP is determined according to a sequence called GroupOwner Negotiation. Hereinafter, a device that is a WFD compatible device and plays the role of an access point is particularly referred to as GroupOwner.

  In a wireless communication system including an access point and a client, not limited to P2P wireless connection, a device serving as an access point first transmits a beacon signal. Then, when the client receives the beacon signal, the client transmits a probe request command (Probe Request frame) to the access point. Particularly in the case of P2P wireless connection, the probe request command includes information (P2P element) related to P2P wireless connection. When the access point transmits a probe response command (Probe Response frame) with reference to the received probe request command, it can discover each other's devices (device discovery (Discovery)). Thereafter, a sequence such as confirmation of device information indicating the type of apparatus and IP address is executed, and thereafter, various applications such as printing can be executed.

Here, two types of wireless communication modes in the WLAN of the apparatus in this embodiment are defined. One is a mode (referred to as an infrastructure mode) in which a wireless connection is established with a counterpart device via a device serving as another access point, unlike the P2P wireless connection. In the infrastructure mode, the device operates as a client. One is a mode that operates as a WFD-compatible device and as a Group Owner.
[Channel determination sequence in each mode]
The wireless connection is performed using a specific frequency band (wireless channel). When deciding which channel to use, the client checks with the access point whether or not wireless connection is possible using the channels that the client can use in order, identifies the channel that has responded from the access point, and uses subsequent channels. Determine as. That is, the access point transmits a response command to the client only when a request command from the client is transmitted on a channel that can be used by the access point.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing a channel determination sequence between MFP 300 operating in infrastructure mode and access point 700. In phase 701, the MFP 300 and the access point 700 are already wirelessly connected via the nth channel (n is an arbitrary positive integer) channel. In phase 702, it is assumed that the wireless connection is disconnected for some reason, such as application termination or radio wave conditions. In phase 703, the MFP 300 operating as a client sequentially tries wireless connection using a channel that can be used by itself when transmitting a device search request command. Here, the device search request command corresponds to the probe request command described above.

  The access point 700 does not transmit a response command to a device search request command transmitted through a channel other than the channel that can be used by the access point 700. For example, if the channel that can be used by the access point 700 is the n-th channel, a response command is not transmitted for the device search request command transmitted using the first channel. When the MFP 300 determines that there is no response from the access point 700 due to a timeout or the like after transmitting the device search request command using the first channel, the MFP 300 transmits the device search request command using the second channel. . When the MFP 300 repeats the above trial while incrementing the channel number and transmits a device search request command using the nth channel, the access point 700 issues a device search response command because the channel is unused. Send. Here, the device search response command corresponds to the probe response command described above. In the subsequent phase 704, the nth channel is used. In the phase 704, for example, an identification ID such as an SSID, a password, and the like are set, and an IP address is confirmed, and then connection at an application level such as printing or fax is performed. In the above example, usable channels are searched while being incremented one by one from the first channel, but the trial order is not limited to this.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing a channel determination sequence among portable communication terminal device 200 that operates as a client of a WFD-compatible device, MFP 300 that operates as an infrastructure mode and Group Owner, and access point 700. In FIG. 8, the MFP 300 operates as an infrastructure mode for the access point 700, and at the same time operates as a Group Owner for the portable communication terminal device 200. The MFP 300 can determine itself as a GroupOwner by a sequence called GroupOwner Negotiation with the portable communication terminal device 200.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when two modes are operating simultaneously in the MFP 300, first, in the phase 801, the MFP 300 determines a channel for the access point 700 according to the sequence as described in FIG. Establish a wireless connection. Here, it is assumed that the wireless connection is made through the nth channel that the access point 700 can use.

  In phase 802, the MFP 300 performs Group Owner Negotiation with the portable communication terminal apparatus 200, and connects with the n-th channel used for communication with the access point 700. As described above, the phase 802 is performed after the phase 801 because the MFP 300 operates as a client with respect to the access point 700 and thus does not have the right to determine a channel. Accordingly, the access point 700 takes the lead in determining the channel between the MFP 300 and the access point 700, and then the MFP 300 takes the lead in determining the channel between the portable communication terminal device 200 and the MFP 300. In the phase 802, after GroupOwner Negotiation is performed, information such as a push button and a PIN code and confirmation of an IP address are executed, and then connection at an application level such as printing and fax is performed.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a case where communication between MFP 300 and access point 700 is disconnected after phase 802. As shown in FIG. 9, after phase 802, in phase 901, communication between MFP 300 and access point 700 is disconnected for some reason such as application termination or radio wave conditions. In this case, the MFP 300 cannot make an attempt to transmit a device search request command (phase 904) as shown in FIG. This is because the MFP 300 is already wirelessly connected to the portable communication terminal device 200 via the n-th channel, and it is necessary to maintain the wireless connection as a Group Owner, so that a search request command is transmitted to another channel. It is because it is not possible.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a channel determination sequence in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, after communication between the MFP 300 and the access point 700 is disconnected in the phase 901, the MFP 300 transmits a device search request command to the access point 700 using the nth channel used in the phase 802. To do. In phase 1001, when the MFP 300 transmits a device search request command on the nth channel and then the access point 700 transmits a device search response command, in the subsequent phase 1002, wireless connection on the nth channel is performed. As a result, before disconnecting, the MFP 300 can recover the state in which the nth channel is used in common as a client for the access point 700 and a Group Owner for the portable communication terminal device 200.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the channel determination method in the present embodiment. Each process shown in FIG. 11 is realized by, for example, the CPU 802 of the MFP 300 developing and executing a control program stored in the ROM 803 on the RAM 804. The flowchart of FIG. 11 shows processing performed in the wireless communication system shown in FIG.

  First, in S1101, the MFP 300 operates as an infrastructure mode client with respect to the access point 700, and in parallel with this, operates as a Group Owner with respect to the portable communication terminal device 200.

  In step S1102, the MFP 300 determines whether communication between the MFP 300 and the access point 700 has been disconnected due to some reason, such as application termination or radio wave conditions. If it is determined that the communication is not disconnected, the process returns to S1101. On the other hand, if it is determined that the communication has been disconnected, the processing proceeds to S1103.

  In step S <b> 1103, the MFP 300 transmits a device search request command to the access point 700 through the channel used in the P2P wireless connection as the Group Owner before the disconnection determined in step S <b> 1102. Here, the channel used in the P2P wireless connection as the Group Owner is the n-th channel used in the phase 802 with the portable communication terminal apparatus 200 shown in FIG. In step S <b> 1104, the MFP 300 determines whether a device search response command from the access point 700 has been received. Here, if it is determined that it has been received, the process proceeds to S1105. If it is determined that it has not been received due to a timeout or the like, the process proceeds to S1106. In step S1105, the MFP 300 executes the subsequent phase 1002 on the channel used in step S1103, and returns to step S1101.

  On the other hand, the case where it is determined in S1104 that reception has not been performed corresponds to, for example, the case where the channel used by the access point 700 is changed from the channel used previously (the nth channel). In step S <b> 1106, the MFP 300 disconnects the wireless connection with the portable communication terminal device 200. In step S <b> 1107, the MFP 300 sequentially tries channels that can be used by the MFP 300 when transmitting a device search request command to the access point 700.

  In step S <b> 1108, the MFP 300 determines whether a device search response command is received from the access point 700. Here, if it is determined that it has been received, the process proceeds to S1109, and if it is determined that it has not been received due to a timeout or the like, the process proceeds to S1110. In step S1109, the MFP 300 executes the subsequent sequence on the channel used in the device search response command determined to have been received in step S1108. The channel used in S1109 is not necessarily the nth channel. In step S1110, the MFP 300 waits for a P2P connection with the portable communication terminal apparatus 200.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with respect to differences from the first embodiment. Those denoted by the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment perform the same processing as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a channel determination sequence in the present embodiment. In FIG. 12, after the wireless communication is established between the portable communication terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 via the nth channel in the phase 802, printing by the printing application is executed (phase 1201).

  In this embodiment, when the wireless connection between the MFP 300 and the access point 700 is disconnected in the phase 901, a process such as printing is being executed between the portable communication terminal device 200 and the MFP 300. If so, wait for the end of the execution. That is, in FIG. 12, the MFP 300 transmits a device search request command to the access point 700 after printing by the printing application in the phase 1201 is completed and the wireless connection with the portable communication terminal device 200 is disconnected. (Phase 1203). When the transmission is performed, the channels that can be used by the MFP 300 are sequentially confirmed. For example, assuming that the channel that can be used by the access point 700 at that time is the x-th channel (x is an arbitrary positive integer), the access point 700 is transmitted when the MFP 300 transmits a device search request command on the x-th channel. Transmits a device search response command on the x-th channel. Thereafter, in phase 1204, wireless connection is performed between the MFP 300 and the access point 700 through the x-th channel. Thereafter, in phase 1205, when a device search request command is received from portable communication terminal apparatus 200, a wireless connection is established by transmitting a device search response command using the xth channel.

  As a result, even when processing by the application is executed with the portable communication terminal device 200 when the wireless connection with the access point 700 is disconnected, the application processing is not impaired. After the completion of the wireless connection, the wireless connection by the channel common to the system can be recovered.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the channel determination method in the present embodiment. Each process illustrated in FIG. 13 is realized, for example, by the CPU 802 of the MFP 300 developing and executing a control program stored in the ROM 803 on the RAM 804. The flowchart of FIG. 13 is processing performed in the wireless communication system shown in FIG.

  First, in S1301, the MFP 300 operates in the infrastructure mode for the access point 700, and in parallel, operates as a Group Owner for the portable communication terminal device 200.

  In step S <b> 1302, the MFP 300 determines whether communication between the MFP 300 and the access point 700 has been disconnected for some reason, such as application termination or radio wave conditions. If it is determined that the communication is not disconnected, the process returns to S1301. On the other hand, if it is determined that the communication has been disconnected, the processing proceeds to S1303.

  In step S <b> 1303, the MFP 300 determines whether the MFP 300 is executing establishment of a P2P wireless connection as a Group Owner. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, when printing by a printing application is being executed with the portable communication terminal device 200, it is determined in S1303 that establishment of a P2P wireless connection is being executed, and in S1303 Repeat the process. On the other hand, if it is determined that the establishment of the P2P wireless connection is not being executed, the process proceeds to S1304.

  In step S <b> 1304, the MFP 300 disconnects the wireless connection with the portable communication terminal apparatus 200. In step S <b> 1305, the MFP 300 transmits a device search request command to the access point 700 using the channels that can be used by the MFP 300 in order. In step S <b> 1306, the MFP 300 determines whether a device search response command is received from the access point 700. Here, if it is determined that it has been received, the process proceeds to S1307, and if it is determined that it has not been received due to a timeout or the like, the process proceeds to S1308.

  In step S1307, the MFP 300 executes the subsequent wireless connection sequence on the channel used in the device search response command determined to have been received in step S1306. In step S <b> 1308, the MFP 300 waits for a P2P connection with the portable communication terminal device 200. According to the first and second embodiments, when the MFP 300 operates as a group owner at the same time as the infrastructure mode, even when the wireless connection with the access point is disconnected, the wireless connection on the channel common to the system is recovered. be able to. That is, when performing wireless communication in parallel in a plurality of wireless communication modes, if MFP 300 is a client in one mode and an access point in the other mode, it is appropriate even if one of the wireless connections is disconnected Wireless communication on a common channel can be resumed. Further, when performing wireless communication in parallel in a plurality of wireless communication modes, it is not necessary to set different channels in each mode, and the processing load can be reduced.

  The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. In other words, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various computer-readable storage media, and the computer of the system or apparatus (or CPU, MPU, or the like). This is a process of reading and executing a program. Further, the number of computers that execute the program may be one, or a plurality of computers may cooperate to execute the program. Furthermore, hardware such as a circuit that executes a part of the program may be provided, and the hardware and the computer that executes the software may cooperate to execute the processing described in the present embodiment.

  200 Portable communication terminal device: 300 MFP: 700 Access point: 702, 802 CPU: 703, 803 ROM: 704, 804 RAM

Claims (26)

A communication device capable of communicating with an external device,
Wireless connection by a first wireless communication method compliant with a predetermined communication standard with the communication device and an external access point of the external device, and the predetermined communication standard with the external device not via the external access point Communication means capable of executing wireless connection by a second wireless communication method compliant with
Wireless connection by the first wireless communication method using a predetermined communication channel selected from the external access point and a plurality of communication channels executed by the communication means, and the external device executed by the communication means And the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using the predetermined communication channel is maintained in parallel, the connection with the external access point is disconnected, and the external device and the predetermined communication A plurality of the predetermined communication channels used for the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method with the external device when the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using the communication channel is maintained. The communication channel is preferentially used to search for the external access point, and the predetermined communication channel is selected from a plurality of communication channels. If the external access point cannot be searched preferentially, the process of disconnecting the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using the predetermined communication channel with the external device and the plurality of communication channels are sequentially Search means for executing the process of searching for the external access point using
A communication apparatus comprising:   The search means performs wireless connection by the first wireless communication method using the external access point executed by the communication means and a predetermined communication channel selected from a plurality of communication channels, and executed by the communication means. When the connection with the external access point is disconnected in a situation where the external connection and the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using the predetermined communication channel are maintained in parallel, The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the external access point is searched using a predetermined communication channel first among a plurality of communication channels.   Wireless connection is maintained by the first wireless communication method using a predetermined communication channel selected from a plurality of communication channels and the external access point executed by the communication means, and the external device and the predetermined When the wireless connection with the external access point by the first wireless communication method is disconnected in the situation where the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using the communication channel is not made, the search means The search for the external access point is performed using a plurality of communication channels in order without preferentially using the predetermined communication channel to search for the external access point. 2. The communication device according to 2.   The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the predetermined communication standard is an IEEE802.11 series.   5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the second wireless communication method includes a negotiation process for determining a device that operates as a role to allocate the communication channel. 6.   6. The wireless connection with the external device is maintained while the external access point is searched using the predetermined communication channel preferentially. The communication device described. The first wireless communication method is an infrastructure mode;
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second wireless communication method is a peer-to-peer communication mode.   After wirelessly connecting to the external access point using the predetermined communication channel, when wirelessly connecting to the external device in parallel with the wireless connection to the external access point, the wireless connection to the external device 8. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determining unit that determines the predetermined communication channel as a communication channel to be used.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a printing unit.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an NFC connection unit.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a Bluetooth connection unit.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of paper feeding units.   The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the search unit transmits a search request to the external access point.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second wireless communication method is a WiFi direct mode. A communication device capable of communicating with an external device, wherein the communication device and a wireless connection by a first wireless communication method compliant with a predetermined communication standard with an external access point of the external device, and the external access point A computer as the communication device comprising communication means capable of performing wireless connection by the second wireless communication method in conformity with the predetermined communication standard with the external device without intervention;
Wireless connection by the first wireless communication method using a predetermined communication channel selected from the external access point and a plurality of communication channels executed by the communication means, and the external device executed by the communication means And the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using the predetermined communication channel is maintained in parallel, the connection with the external access point is disconnected, and the external device and the predetermined communication A plurality of the predetermined communication channels used for the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method with the external device when the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using the communication channel is maintained. The communication channel is preferentially used to search for the external access point, and the predetermined communication channel is selected from a plurality of communication channels. If the external access point cannot be searched preferentially, the process of disconnecting the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using the predetermined communication channel with the external device and the plurality of communication channels are sequentially A program for functioning as search means for executing processing for searching for an external access point used in the above.   The search means performs wireless connection by the first wireless communication method using the external access point executed by the communication means and a predetermined communication channel selected from a plurality of communication channels, and executed by the communication means. When the connection with the external access point is disconnected in a situation where the external connection and the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using the predetermined communication channel are maintained in parallel, The program according to claim 15, wherein a predetermined communication channel is used first among a plurality of communication channels to search for the external access point.   Wireless connection is maintained by the first wireless communication method using a predetermined communication channel selected from a plurality of communication channels and the external access point executed by the communication means, and the external device and the predetermined When the wireless connection with the external access point by the first wireless communication method is disconnected in the situation where the wireless connection by the second wireless communication method using the communication channel is not made, the search means 16. The search for the external access point using a plurality of communication channels in order without preferentially using the predetermined communication channel to search for the external access point. 16. The program according to 16.   The program according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the predetermined communication standard is an IEEE802.11 series.   The program according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein the second wireless communication method includes a negotiation process for determining a device operating as a role to allocate the communication channel.   The wireless connection with the external device is maintained while the external access point is searched using the predetermined communication channel preferentially. The listed program. The first wireless communication method is an infrastructure mode;
The program according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein the second wireless communication method is a peer-to-peer communication mode.   After wirelessly connecting to the external access point using the predetermined communication channel, when wirelessly connecting to the external device in parallel with the wireless connection to the external access point, the wireless connection to the external device The program according to any one of claims 15 to 21, further comprising determining means for determining the predetermined communication channel as a communication channel to be used.   The program according to any one of claims 15 to 22, further comprising NFC connection means.   The program according to any one of claims 15 to 23, further comprising Bluetooth connection means.   The program according to any one of claims 15 to 24, wherein the search means transmits a search request to the external access point.   The program according to any one of claims 15 to 25, wherein the second wireless communication method is a WiFi direct mode.

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