JP2008244959A - Access point and radio network system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an access point and a radio network system to favorably configure a setting for radio communication between a specific access point and a specific radio station. <P>SOLUTION: In the access point 10, specific information for specifying a printer 30 or a scanner 50 to be set for the radio communication is input through operation portions 34 and 54, and the input specific information is stored in storage portions 36 and 56. The access point 10 is controlled so as to permit a response to, for example, a request from the printer 30 specified by specific information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an access point constituting a wireless network system.

  For example, data communication using a wireless network is widely applied in homes, offices, and other places. For example, a wireless LAN (local area network) system based on the “IEEE802.11b / g / a” standard has become widespread, and a wireless network system has been formed so that a plurality of wireless stations can communicate via a single access point. .

With regard to this wireless LAN system, a technique for easily performing settings for wireless communication between an access point and a wireless station (hereinafter also referred to as “connection setting”) has been put into practical use. The user can complete the setting by performing a simple operation on the access point and the wireless station (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).
Buffalo, Inc., “Functions and Features of AOSS”, [online], [Search March 27, 2007], Internet, <http://buffalo.jp/aoss/function.html>

  Here, in the wireless network system using the wireless LAN system and other wireless communication in practical use, wireless communication is possible in a wide range. When the access point shifts to the mode for executing the connection setting with the wireless station, the connection setting with the access point is executed for any wireless station located within the wireless communication range. be able to.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an access point and a wireless network system that can suitably perform settings for wireless communication between a specific access point and a specific wireless station.

  The present invention, which has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, enables input and storage of specific information that can specify a wireless station that is a setting target for wireless communication at an access point, and the wireless station specified by this specific information The access point is controlled so as to permit a response to the request from the user.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain an access point capable of suitably performing settings for wireless communication with a specific wireless station.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a wireless network system capable of suitably performing settings for wireless communication between a specific access point and a specific wireless station.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present application provides a first communication means capable of wireless communication with each of a plurality of wireless stations, an input means for inputting specific information capable of specifying the wireless station, and a specification input by the input means. First storage means for storing information; first control means for controlling wireless communication of first data with each of the plurality of wireless stations via the first communication means; and each of the plurality of wireless stations is first Transmission of second data including setting information for performing wireless communication of data to each of the plurality of wireless stations, and the one wireless station transmitted from one wireless station in response to the transmission of the second data. The second control means for controlling the reception of the third data including one specific information that can be specified, and the reception of the third data by the first communication means, on the condition Third control means for controlling transmission of the fourth data to the one wireless station via one communication means, a first mode in which the first control means operates, the second control means, and the third control. The selection means capable of selecting the second mode in which the means operates, and the specific information stored in the first storage means and the one specific information are matched on condition that the selection means selects the second mode. An access point comprising: a determination unit for determining; and a permission unit for permitting the operation of the third control unit on condition that the determination by the determination unit is coincident.

  According to this, compared with an access point that does not have such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the setting for wireless communication between a wireless station different from a specific wireless station.

  The invention according to claim 2 is a wireless network system including an access point and a plurality of wireless stations, wherein the access point is capable of wirelessly communicating with each of the plurality of wireless stations, and the wireless A first input unit configured to input specific information capable of specifying a station; a first storage unit configured to store specific information input by the input unit; and a plurality of wireless stations via the first communication unit. First control means for controlling wireless communication of data, transmission of second data including setting information for each of the plurality of wireless stations to perform wireless communication of first data to each of the plurality of wireless stations, One specification information that can specify the one wireless station transmitted from one wireless station in response to transmission of the second data is included. The second control means for controlling the reception of the third data, and the reception of the third data by the first communication means on condition that the fourth data is transmitted to the one wireless station via the first communication means. A third control means for controlling transmission; a first mode in which the first control means operates; a selection means capable of selecting a second mode in which the second control means and the third control means operate; and the selection On condition that the second mode is selected by means, a determination means for determining a match between the specific information stored in the first storage means and the one specific information, and a determination that the match is made by the determination means , Permission means for permitting the operation of the third control means, the wireless station, a second communication means capable of wireless communication with the access point, and a second memory for storing the specific information relating to the own device And a fourth control means for controlling wireless communication of the first data with the access point via the second communication means, reception of the second data, and the own device stored in the second storage means A wireless network system comprising: fifth control means for controlling transmission of the third data including the specific information according to the above.

  According to this, compared with a wireless network system that does not have such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the setting for wireless communication between a wireless station different from a specific wireless station.

  The operation (function) achieved by the inventions according to claims 1 and 2 will be described assuming a specific situation. For example, a single user can set a connection between a specific access point and a specific wireless station. Is started, the access point to be set is set to a mode in which the second data including the setting information is transmitted / received between the two, and when the wireless station is set to the same mode, different users can It is also envisioned that the wireless station transitions to this mode. In such a case, if the invention according to claims 1 and 2 is embodied, the access point executes transmission / reception of the second data and the like with the specified wireless station. It is possible to reduce the connection setting with the wireless station.

  Hereinafter, the communication apparatus of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the configurations described below, and it is needless to say that various configurations can be adopted in the same technical idea.

  FIG. 1 shows a network system according to the present embodiment. According to this, a wireless LAN system 1 includes an access point (described as “AP” in FIG. 1) 10 connected to a wired LAN 80, and FIG. The printer 30 and the scanner 50 having a wireless LAN function are included.

  The access point 10 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The control unit 12 executes control of the access point 10, an input of predetermined information by a user, an operation for receiving a transition from the normal mode to the wireless connection setting mode, and other instructions. Unit 14, operation unit 14, other storage unit 16 for storing information input via an input device (not shown in FIG. 1), wireless communication unit 18 for performing a wireless communication function, and communication via LAN 80. It is comprised by the network communication part 20 to perform.

  Here, in the above, the “wireless connection setting mode” is a mode for performing settings for enabling wireless communication with a wireless station (based on FIG. 1, the printer 30 and the scanner 50 correspond to this). Say.

  The “normal mode” refers to a mode other than the wireless connection setting mode. Specifically, for example, a mode in which print data is transmitted from the access point 10 to the printer 30, a scan execution instruction from the access point 10 to the scanner 40, and image data transmission from the scan 40 to the access point 10 is executed. Say.

  The CPU constituting the control unit 12 controls the access point 10 itself in accordance with a control program (a program for executing each process including the following processes) stored in the ROM.

  The printer 30 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and includes a control unit 32 that executes control of the printer 30, an operation unit that receives various information input by a user, a transition from a normal mode to a wireless connection setting mode, which will be described later, and other instructions. 34, a storage unit 36 that stores various information and other information input by the operation unit 34, a printing unit 38 that executes printing, and a wireless communication unit 40 that performs wireless communication with the access point 10. . The wireless communication unit 40 is assigned a MAC address that is unique information.

  The CPU configuring the control unit 32 controls the printer 30 itself according to a control program stored in the ROM.

  The scanner 50 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The control unit 52 executes control of the scanner 50, an operation unit that receives various information input by a user, a transition from a normal mode to a wireless connection setting mode, which will be described later, and other instructions. 54, a storage unit 56 that stores various information and other information input by the operation unit 54, a scanning unit 58 that executes scanning, and a wireless communication unit 60 that performs wireless communication with the access point 10. Here, a MAC address which is unique information is given to the wireless communication unit 60 (hereinafter, the MAC address of the wireless communication unit 40 is described as “STATION 40”, and the MAC address of the wireless communication unit 60 is described as “STATION 60”. To do.)

  The CPU configuring the control unit 32 controls the printer 30 itself according to a control program stored in the ROM.

  A personal computer connected to the LAN 80 (referred to as “personal computer” in FIG. 1 and hereinafter referred to as “personal computer”) can communicate with each device in a state where the access point 10 and the printer 30 or the scanner 50 can communicate wirelessly. The execution of each function is instructed. For example, the personal computer 70 transmits print data to the printer 30 via the access point 10, and the printer 30 that has received the print data prints the print data. In addition, the scanner 50 is instructed to scan the original on the original placement section, and in response to this instruction, the scanner 50 executes the scan and sends the obtained image data to the personal computer 70 via the access point 10. Send.

  FIG. 2 shows a procedure of processing executed in the access point 10.

  First, the control unit 12 performs an operation in the normal mode until receiving an instruction to shift to the connection setting mode based on a user operation via the operation unit 14 (S100: NO).

  When an instruction to shift to the connection setting mode is received during the operation in the normal mode (S100: YES), the control unit 12 can identify information (for example, “MAC address” that can identify the wireless station that is the target of connection setting. Hereafter, “MAC address” will be described as an example.) Waits until it is input by the user via the operation unit 14 (S102: NO).

  The MAC address may be configured to be input from an external device (not shown in FIG. 1) capable of wired or wireless communication with the access point 10 (for example, wireless communication in an ad hoc mode). In such a case, it is preferable that the control unit 12 adopts a configuration in which the MAC address is automatically acquired from the external device on the condition that the determination in S100 is affirmed, so that the burden on the user can be reduced.

  Further, the access point 10 is configured to shift from the connection setting mode to the normal mode when no MAC address is input even after waiting for a predetermined time.

  When the MAC address is input by the user via the operation unit 14 while waiting for the input of the MAC address (S102: YES), the control unit 12 stores the input MAC address in the storage unit 16 (S104). , The process proceeds to S106.

  In this embodiment, a case where setting for wireless connection is executed between the access point 10 and the printer 30 will be described as an example. In this case, in S104, the MAC address “STATION 40” of the wireless communication unit 40 included in the printer 30 is input and stored in the storage unit 16.

  In S <b> 106, the control unit 12 broadcasts a presence confirmation request via the wireless communication unit 18. Here, the presence confirmation request is data for the access point 10 to be transmitted to confirm a wireless station existing within the communication range, and the control unit 12 identifies the access point 10 in the presence confirmation request. Possible SSID (Service Set Identifier) or ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier) and other information necessary for communication with the access point 10 may also be included.

  After transmitting the presence confirmation request, the control unit 12 responds to the presence confirmation request by a wireless station located within a range where the presence confirmation request can be received, specifically, the presence transmitted from the printer 30 or the scanner 50. Wait until a confirmation response (see S206) is received (S108: NO).

  Here, when the presence confirmation response (see S206) is received from the wireless station (the printer 30 corresponds to this in the case of the description to be described later) (S108: YES), the control unit 12 stores the MAC stored in S104. The identity between the address and the MAC address included in the presence confirmation response received in S108 is determined (S110).

  For example, if the received presence confirmation response is sent by the scanner 50, the MAC address included in the presence confirmation response is “STATION 60”, whereas the MAC address stored in the storage unit 16 is “STATION 40”. Therefore, the control unit 12 denies the determination (S110: NO), and further waits until a presence confirmation response is received.

  When the presence confirmation response is received from the printer 30 in the standby state (S108: YES), the control unit 12 executes S110 again. Here, since the MAC address included in the presence confirmation response and the MAC address stored in the storage unit 16 are “STATION 40”, the control unit 12 affirms the determination (S110: YES), and proceeds to S112. To do.

  Here, the presence confirmation response is data transmitted by a wireless station that exists in the communication range in response to the presence confirmation request and desires to establish a wireless connection with the access point 10.

  In S112, the control unit 12 transmits a connection permission request to the printer 30 for which the determination in S110 is affirmed. Here, the connection permission request is data for requesting the wireless station (the printer 30 in this embodiment) for which the determination in S110 is affirmed to execute the setting of the wireless connection with the access point 10.

  Then, the control unit 12 executes a predetermined process in setting for wireless connection with the printer 30 (S116) on condition that the connection request transmitted by the printer 30 is received (S114).

  When the setting for wireless connection between the access point 10 and the printer 30 is completed by executing S116, in other words, when the access point 10 and the printer 30 can establish a wireless connection in the normal mode, the control unit 12 The access point 10 is controlled to execute the operation according to the mode.

  In the above description, the existence confirmation request and the existence confirmation response transmitted / received between the access point 10 and the printer 30 or the scanner 50 existing within the range capable of wireless communication with the access point 10 have been described as one time each. In such a case, the control unit 12 can determine whether the control unit 12 receives the presence confirmation response over several times, for example, based on the first presence confirmation response. You may employ | adopt the structure which performs.

  Further, the MAC address is described as an example of information that can identify the wireless station that is the target of connection setting. However, any information that can identify the printer 30 based on one wireless station, that is, the above description, may be used. For example, it is read from the IP address of the printer 30, a serial number, a character string arbitrarily selected by the user via the operation unit, or a specific device or storage medium via a reading device not shown in FIG. Information may be adopted.

  In S108, the process waits until a presence confirmation response is received. In S114, it is assumed that a connection request is received. However, the existence confirmation response is not received, and a connection request is received from the printer 30 for some reason. It is also assumed that this is not possible. In such a case, it is preferable to make a transition from the connection setting mode to the normal mode if an existence confirmation response or a connection request is not received within a predetermined time.

  Moreover, in the above, although demonstrated based on the structure which requires execution of S110, it can also be set as the structure which can select whether this determination is performed. If such a configuration is adopted, S102 to S106 and S110 may be omitted in an environment where unintended connection setting (establishment of connection) with a wireless station different from the desired wireless station is not executed. it can. When a method that omits S102 or the like is selected, in a process executed by the printer 30 and the scanner 50, which will be described later, each apparatus includes information that can identify the apparatus for this process in the presence confirmation response. It is not necessary to include it.

  FIG. 3 shows a procedure of processing executed in the printer 30 and the scanner 50. In the following description, the printer 30 will be mainly described so as to be consistent with the description of FIG.

  First, the control unit 32 of the printer 30 stands by until an instruction to shift to the connection setting mode is received based on a user operation via the operation unit 34 (S200: NO).

  Then, when an instruction to shift to the connection setting mode is received during standby (S200: YES), the control unit 32 shifts to the connection setting mode and sends a presence confirmation request (see S106) transmitted from the access point 10. Wait until it is received (S202: NO).

  When the presence check request is received during standby (S202: YES), the control unit 32 determines whether or not to perform connection setting with the access point 10 that has transmitted the presence check request (S204).

  Here, the determination in S204 includes, for example, an SSID or ESSID that can identify an access point in the presence confirmation request, and this SSID is stored in the storage unit 36 in advance via the operation unit 34 or the like. It is executed based on whether or not the information matches. In the following description, an SSID is taken as an example, and an access point to which the printer 30 desires wireless connection is described as an access point 10.

  Therefore, in S204, even if the SSID is not included in the presence confirmation information, or even if it is included, the presence confirmation request is not transmitted by the access point 10, but is stored in the storage unit 36. If it does not match the identification information, the determination is denied (S204: NO), and this process ends. For example, the SSID of an access point (not shown in FIG. 1) different from the access point 10 is stored in the storage unit 56 of the scanner 50 via the operation unit 54. In such a case, the configuration of this embodiment is described. The control unit 52 that executes the same control as the control unit 32 of the printer 30 denies the determination of S204 (S204: NO). With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the execution of the MAC address identity determination (S110) based on the reception of the presence confirmation response in the access point 10, and to reduce the processing load on the control unit 12 of the access point 10. Can do.

  On the other hand, when the SSID that matches the identification information stored in the storage unit 36 is included in the presence confirmation information, the control unit 32 determines that connection setting is to be performed (S204: YES), and issues a presence confirmation request. An existence confirmation response is transmitted to the transmitted access point (in this embodiment, the access point 10 corresponds to this) (S206). Here, the control unit 32 performs control so that the presence confirmation response includes the MAC address “STATUS 40” of the wireless communication unit 40 of the printer 30. The information described above can be used instead of the MAC address of the wireless communication unit 40.

  Then, the control unit 32 determines whether or not a connection permission request (see S112) transmitted from the access point 10 has been received (S208). Note that the control unit 32 continues the determination at the predetermined time S208, but if no reception is made within that time, the control unit 32 determines that no reception is made (S208: NO), and ends this process.

  On the other hand, if the determination in S208 is affirmed within the predetermined time, the control unit 32 shifts to S210 at that time and transmits a connection request to the access point 10 (S210).

  After execution of S210, the control unit 32 executes a predetermined process corresponding to S116 executed by the access point 10 when setting for wireless connection with the access point 10 (S212).

The figure which shows the network system structure which concerns on an Example of this invention The figure which showed the procedure of the process performed in the access point which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure which showed the procedure of the process performed in the printer and scanner which concern on the Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wireless LAN network system 10 Access point 12 Control part 14 Operation part 16 Storage part 18 Wireless communication part 30 Printer 50 Scanner 32,52 Control part 36,56 Storage part 40,60 Wireless communication part

Claims (2)

First communication means capable of wireless communication with each of a plurality of wireless stations;
Input means for inputting specific information capable of specifying the wireless station;
First storage means for storing specific information input by the input means;
First control means for controlling wireless communication of first data with each of the plurality of wireless stations via the first communication means;
Transmission of second data including setting information for each of the plurality of wireless stations to perform wireless communication of first data to each of the plurality of wireless stations, and from one wireless station in response to transmission of the second data Second control means for controlling reception of third data including one specific information capable of specifying the one wireless station to be transmitted;
Third control means for controlling transmission of fourth data to the one wireless station via the first communication means on condition that third data is received by the first communication means;
Selection means capable of selecting a first mode in which the first control means operates, and a second mode in which the second control means and the third control means operate;
Determination means for determining whether the specific information stored in the first storage means matches the one specific information on the condition that the selection means selects the second mode;
An access point comprising: permission means for permitting the operation of the third control means on condition that the judgment means determines that they match. A wireless network system including an access point and a plurality of wireless stations,
The access point is
First communication means capable of wireless communication with each of a plurality of wireless stations;
Input means for inputting specific information capable of specifying the wireless station;
First storage means for storing specific information input by the input means;
First control means for controlling wireless communication of first data with each of the plurality of wireless stations via the first communication means;
Transmission of second data including setting information for each of the plurality of wireless stations to perform wireless communication of first data to each of the plurality of wireless stations, and from one wireless station in response to transmission of the second data Second control means for controlling reception of third data including one specific information capable of specifying the one wireless station to be transmitted;
Third control means for controlling transmission of fourth data to the one wireless station via the first communication means on condition that third data is received by the first communication means;
Selection means capable of selecting a first mode in which the first control means operates, and a second mode in which the second control means and the third control means operate;
Determination means for determining whether the specific information stored in the first storage means matches the one specific information on the condition that the selection means selects the second mode;
The wireless station comprises: permission means for permitting the operation of the third control means on condition that the determination means determines that they match.
A second communication means capable of wireless communication with the access point;
Second storage means for storing the specific information related to the device;
Fourth control means for controlling wireless communication of the first data with the access point via the second communication means;
And fifth control means for controlling the reception of the second data and the transmission of the third data including the specific information relating to the device stored in the second storage means. Wireless network system.