JP2023014832A - Communication device, control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology for efficient connection.SOLUTION: A communication device wirelessly connects to an information processing apparatus not through an external access point in a set-up mode that receives connection information which is used to wirelessly connect to the external access point, receives the connection information from the information processing apparatus, tries to connect to the external access point using the received connection information, on the basis of information indicating a security method included in the connection information when the set-up mode is a set-up mode that receives the connection information in a first setting method, tries to connect to the external access point using the security method corresponding to information indicating the security method, and when the set-up mode is a second setting method being different from the first setting method and is a set-up mode that receives the connection information, tries to wirelessly connect to the external access point using a security method which is previously determined on the basis of the second setting method.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to communication devices, control methods, and programs.

As a method for connecting a terminal device such as a smart phone to a communication device such as a network compatible printer by using a communication method such as wireless LAN communication, there is a method of connecting via an external device such as an access point. This connection method is called infrastructure connection. A method of wirelessly connecting a terminal device to a communication device without an external device is called peer-to-peer (P2P) connection.

Here, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique in which a wireless terminal device attempting to connect to an access point attempts connection in order of security methods with higher security strengths.

WO2009/011055

Patent Document 1 does not consider a wireless LAN setup scheme. Therefore, if a connection is tried in order from the security method with the highest security strength as in Patent Document 1, the attempt will fail due to the mismatch of the security method with which the external device is waiting for connection, and the connection will not be established. It can be time consuming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for efficiently attempting connection.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a communication device according to the present invention includes:
Receiving means for wirelessly connecting to an information processing device without going through the external access point and receiving the connection information from the information processing device in a setup mode for receiving connection information used for wirelessly connecting to an external access point When,
connection means for attempting connection with the external access point using the connection information received by the reception means;
with
The connecting means are
When the setup mode is a setup mode in which the receiving means receives the connection information in the first setting method, the information indicating the security method is corresponded to the information indicating the security method based on the information indicating the security method included in the connection information. Attempting connection with the external access point using a security method;
When the setup mode is a setup mode in which the receiving means receives the connection information by a second setting method different from the first setting method, a security method predetermined based on the second setting method is used to attempt wireless connection with the external access point.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique for trying connection efficiently can be provided.

A diagram showing the configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment. A diagram showing an example of the appearance of a terminal device A diagram showing an example of the appearance of an MFP FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the operation display unit of the MFP; Block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device Block diagram showing configuration of MFP A diagram showing a wireless connection sequence in software AP mode Diagram showing wireless connection sequence in infrastructure mode Flowchart showing processing executed by the MFP of the first embodiment A diagram showing a table setting example of the security method management table of the MFP Diagram showing processing sequence in wireless setup mode

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential for the solution of the present invention. .

<First embodiment>
A terminal device and a communication device according to this embodiment will be described. As a terminal device, a smartphone is exemplified in this embodiment, but it is not limited to this, and various devices such as a mobile terminal, a notebook PC, a tablet terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, etc. can be applied. . Further, although a printer is exemplified as a communication device in this embodiment, it is not limited to this, and various devices can be applied as long as they are capable of wireless communication with a terminal device. For example, if it is a printer, it can be applied to an inkjet printer, a full-color laser beam printer, a monochrome printer, and the like. In addition to printers, the present invention can also be applied to copiers, facsimile machines, mobile terminals, smartphones, notebook PCs, tablet terminals, PDAs, digital cameras, music playback devices, televisions, and the like. In addition, the present invention can also be applied to a multifunction machine having multiple functions such as a copying function, a FAX function, and a printing function.

(System configuration)
First, the configuration of a communication system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system according to this embodiment. This system is assumed to include an access point (AP) 400, a terminal device 200 and an MFP300.

The terminal device 200 is an example of a terminal device (information processing device) according to this embodiment. A Multi-Function Peripheral (MFP) 300 is an example of a communication device according to this embodiment. Also, MFP 300 and terminal device 200 can be connected in infrastructure mode (hereinafter also referred to as infrastructure connection). That is, MFP 300 and terminal device 200 can communicate with each other via a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), which is a network constructed by AP 400, which is an external access point.

Further, MFP 300 and terminal device 200 can themselves operate as access points. Therefore, for example, one of the devices operates as an access point and the other device connects to the access point, so that the terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 can be directly connected to the wireless LAN without going through the AP 400 . Moreover, since both the terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 have WLAN functions, peer-to-peer (P2P) communication becomes possible by executing authentication processing. When operating as an access point, each device forms a wireless LAN with a communication partner device and periodically transmits a beacon signal. Furthermore, a device that operates as an access point functions as a master station that builds a network, determines the channel to be used for wireless communication, and authenticates connection information (password, etc.) sent from the communication partner device. I do.

Next, operations of an access point (master station) and a client (slave station) in a wireless communication system will be described. A device operating as an access point (hereinafter referred to as an AP-side device) transmits a beacon signal. Then, when a device operating as a client (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a CL side device) receives a beacon signal, it transmits a device search command (Probe Request frame) to the AP side device to establish a communication partner device (communication device) is searched and found. The CL side device to be searched can include various attributes (parameters) such as the SSID of the access point in the device search command. Particularly in the case of P2P wireless connection, the device search command includes information (P2P element) on P2P wireless connection. Then, when the SSID included in the received device search command matches its own SSID, the AP side device transmits a response command (Probe Response frame) to the CL side device. As a result, each device can mutually discover the other device (discovery). After that, a processing sequence such as confirmation of device information indicating the type of device and IP address is executed between each device. After that, if the connection partner is a printer, various applications such as printing can be executed. .

((Device hardware configuration))
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the terminal device 200. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a smartphone is used as an example of a terminal device that is an information processing device. A smart phone is a multi-functional mobile phone equipped with various applications such as a camera, a web browser, and e-mail in addition to the calling function of a mobile phone.

A wireless communication unit 201 is a unit for performing communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN). The wireless communication unit 201 is assumed to be capable of data (packet) communication in a WLAN system conforming to, for example, the IEEE 802.11 standard (IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ax, etc.). do. In this example, the wireless communication unit 201 can communicate using channels in either the 2.4 GHz band or the 5 GHz band. Also, it may be possible to communicate using a 6 GHz band channel. Further, in wireless communication using the wireless communication unit 201, communication based on Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) (registered trademark), communication in software AP mode, communication in wireless infrastructure mode, and the like are possible.

The display unit 202 is, for example, a display having an LCD type display mechanism.

An operation unit 203 is an operation mechanism that receives an operation by a user, and is, for example, a touch panel type operation mechanism. In this embodiment, the touch panel display will be described as having a display unit 202 and an operation unit 203 . The display unit 202 displays button icons, a software keyboard, and the like, and the operation unit 203 detects an operation event when the user touches the displayed button icons or software keys.

A power key 204 is a hardware key used for turning on and off the power.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the appearance of the MFP 300. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, a document platen 301 is a glass-like transparent plate on which a document to be read by a scanner (reading unit) is placed. A document cover 302 is a cover for holding a document when reading it with a scanner and preventing light from a light source for irradiating a document at the time of reading from leaking to the outside.

A printing paper insertion port 303 is an insertion port into which various sizes of paper can be set. The paper set in the printing paper insertion port 303 is conveyed to the printing unit one by one, printed by the printing unit, and discharged from the printing paper discharge port 304 .

An operation display unit 305 includes keys such as a character input key, a cursor key, an enter key, and a cancel key, as well as LEDs (light emitting diodes) and LCDs (liquid crystal displays). Settings can be made. Alternatively, it may be configured by a touch panel display. A wireless communication unit 306 is a communication unit that includes a wireless communication circuit for performing WLAN communication. The wireless communication unit 306 of this embodiment will be described as having the same function as the wireless communication unit 201 . That is, the wireless communication unit 306 is capable of data (packet) communication in a WLAN system conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard (IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ax, etc.). and Also, the wireless communication unit 306 can communicate using channels in either the 2.4 GHz band or the 5 GHz band. Also, it may be possible to communicate using a 6 GHz band channel. Further, in wireless communication using the wireless communication unit 201, direct communication based on Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) (registered trademark), direct communication in software AP mode, communication in infrastructure mode, and the like are possible. In the case of direct communication, it is preferable that MFP 300 operates as a master station and terminal device 200 operates as a slave station.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of screen display of the operation display unit 305 of the MFP. FIG. 4A is a home screen showing a state (idle state) in which the MFP is powered on and is not performing operations such as printing or scanning. Various settings and functions can be executed from the menu display of the cloud function using copy and scan, Internet communication by key operation and touch panel operation. It is possible to switch from the home screen shown in FIG. 4A to a screen on which icons for executing functions different from those shown in FIG. 4A are displayed by key operation or touch panel operation.

FIG. 4B is an example of a screen displaying icons for executing functions different from those in FIG. . FIG. 4(c) is a screen displayed when LAN setting is selected on the screen of FIG. 4(b). From this screen, various LAN setting changes such as enable/disable setting of wireless infrastructure mode and enable/disable setting of P2P mode such as WFD and software AP mode can be executed. It is also possible to set the frequency band and channel of the wireless LAN. Note that the wireless infrastructure mode is sometimes called the first communication mode, and the P2P mode is sometimes called the second communication mode.

((Configuration of terminal device 200))
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal device 200. As shown in FIG. The terminal device 200 has a main board 501 that controls the entire terminal device, and a wireless communication unit 201 that performs WLAN communication. In the main board 501 , a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 502 is a system control unit and controls the entire terminal device 200 . The processing of the terminal device 200 described below is executed under the control of the CPU 502 . The ROM 503 stores control programs executed by the CPU 502, embedded operating system (OS) programs, and the like. Each control program stored in the ROM 503 performs software control such as process scheduling and task switching under the control of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 503 .

The RAM 504 is composed of an SRAM (Static RAM) or the like, stores data such as program control variables, and also stores data such as setting values registered by the user and management data of the terminal device 200, and serves as a buffer area for various work. is a storage unit provided with

An image memory 505 is configured by a memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic RAM), and temporarily stores image data received via the wireless communication unit 201 and image data read from the data storage unit 513 so that the CPU 502 can process the image data. It is a storage unit that

The non-volatile memory 512 is composed of a memory such as a flash memory, and can continue to store data even when the power is turned off. The nonvolatile memory 512 stores various data used by the control program and the built-in OS, and data saved by the user.

Note that memory configurations such as these are not limited to these. For example, the functions of the image memory 505 and the RAM 504 may be realized by the same memory, or data may be backed up in the data accumulation unit 513 . Also, in this embodiment, a DRAM is used for the image memory 505, but this is not the only option because other storage media such as a hard disk or non-volatile memory may be used.

A data conversion unit 506 analyzes data in various formats and performs data conversion such as color conversion and image conversion. A telephone unit 507 controls a telephone line and processes audio data input/output via a speaker unit 514 to implement telephone communication. An operation unit 508 controls the operation unit 203 shown in FIG. 2 and receives user operations. A GPS (Global Positioning System) 509 is a sensor unit that acquires position information such as latitude and longitude of the terminal device 200 .

The display control unit 510 controls the display unit 202 shown in FIG. 2 to electronically control the display contents, and can perform various input operations, display of the operating conditions and status conditions of the MFP 300, and the like. The camera unit 511 has a function of electronically recording and encoding an image input through a lens. Images captured by the camera unit 511 are stored in the data storage unit 513 . A speaker unit 514 realizes a function of inputting or outputting voice for a telephone function, and other functions such as alarm notification. A power supply unit 515 manages the state of charge of a rechargeable secondary battery, acquires the amount of remaining power, and controls power supply to the apparatus. The power state includes a dead battery state in which there is no remaining battery power, a power off state in which the power key 204 is not pressed, a normal startup state, and a power saving state in which the device is started but in power saving mode. be.

The wireless communication unit 201 is capable of data (packet) communication in a WLAN system complying with, for example, the IEEE 802.11 standard (IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ax, etc.). That is, it is assumed that the wireless communication unit 201 is capable of executing communication by Wi-Fi (registered trademark), for example. The wireless communication unit 201 performs functions for establishing a WLAN connection, such as beacon detection processing, authentication processing, and transmission of a print job to a communication apparatus that has established a WLAN connection. The wireless communication unit 201 allows the terminal device 200 to perform data communication with other devices such as the MFP 300 . The wireless communication unit 201 converts data into packets and transmits the packets to other devices, and conversely restores packets from other external devices to the original data and transmits the data to the CPU 502 . . Note that the wireless communication unit 201 is connected to the main board 501 via a bus cable 516 .

Various components (503 to 515) in the main board 501 are connected to each other via a system bus 518 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

((Configuration of MFP 300))
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the MFP 300. As shown in FIG. The MFP 300 includes a main board 601 that performs main control of the device itself, and a wireless communication unit 306 that performs WLAN communication.

A CPU (central processing unit) 602 of the main board 601 is a system control unit and controls the entire MFP 300 . The processing of MFP 300 described below is executed under the control of CPU 602 . A ROM 603 stores control programs executed by the CPU 602, embedded operating system (OS) programs, and the like. In this embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 603 performs software control such as scheduling of various processes and task switching under the control of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 603 . A RAM 604 is composed of an SRAM (Static RAM) or the like, and stores data such as program control variables, setting values registered by the user, data such as management data of the MFP 300, and various work buffer areas. It is

The non-volatile memory 605 is a memory unit that is composed of a memory such as a flash memory and continues to store data even when the power is turned off. The image memory 606 is configured by a memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic RAM), and is a storage unit that stores image data received via the wireless communication unit 306, image data processed by the encoding/decoding processing unit 611, and the like. Moreover, like the memory configuration of the terminal device 200, such a memory configuration is not limited to this. A data conversion unit 608 analyzes data in various formats and converts image data into print data. A reading control unit 607 controls a reading unit 609 (for example, a CIS image sensor (contact image sensor)) to optically read an image on a document. Next, an image signal converted into electrical image data is output. At this time, the image may be output after being subjected to various image processing such as binarization processing and halftone processing.

Since the operation display unit 305 has been described with reference to FIG. 4, the details thereof will be omitted. An encoding/decoding processing unit 611 performs encoding/decoding processing of image data (JPEG, PNG, etc.) handled by the MFP 300 and enlargement/reduction processing. A paper feed unit 613 holds paper for printing. Paper can be fed from the paper feed unit 613 under the control of the print control unit 614 . In particular, the paper feed unit 613 can prepare a plurality of paper feed units in order to hold multiple types of paper in one device. The print control unit 614 can control from which paper feed unit paper is fed.

The print control unit 614 performs various image processing such as smoothing processing, print density correction processing, and color correction on the image data to be printed, and then outputs the processed image data to the printing unit 612 .

The printing unit 612 can employ a predetermined printing device such as an inkjet printing device that prints an image by ejecting ink supplied from an ink tank from a print head. The print control unit 614 also plays a role of periodically reading out the information of the printing unit 612 and updating the information of the RAM 604 . Specifically, status information such as the remaining amount of the ink tank and the state of the print head is updated.

The MFP 300 also includes a wireless communication unit 306 similar to the terminal device 200 and has the same function as the wireless communication unit 201 of the terminal device 200 . That is, data (packet) communication is possible in a WLAN system conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard (IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ax, etc.). That is, it is assumed that the wireless communication unit 201 is capable of executing communication by Wi-Fi (registered trademark), for example. The wireless communication unit 306 performs functions such as beacon detection processing and authentication processing for establishing WLAN connection, and reception of a print job transmitted from an information processing apparatus that has established WLAN connection. The wireless communication unit 306 allows the MFP 300 to perform data communication with other devices such as the terminal device 200 . The wireless communication unit 306 converts data into packets and transmits the packets to other devices, and conversely restores packets from other external devices to the original data and transmits the data to the CPU 602 . . Wireless communication unit 306 is connected to main board 601 via bus cable 615 . The terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 are capable of WFD-based communication, and are capable of communication in a software access point (software AP) mode.

Various components (603 to 614) within the main board 601 are connected to each other via a system bus 618 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

(P2P (Peer to Peer) mode)
Next, P2P mode wireless communication in which the terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 are directly wirelessly connected without going through an external device such as the AP 400 will be described. In this embodiment, MFP 300 operates in P2P mode (software AP mode) and terminal device 200 searches for MFP 300 in P2P mode in order to establish a P2P connection in WLAN communication.

In the present embodiment, a searching device (terminal device 200 in this embodiment) on the searching side uses a device search command (for example, a Probe Request frame) to communicate with a communication partner device (MFP 300 in this embodiment) that operates in a software AP mode. ) to explore and discover. The searching device can attach various attributes (parameters) to the device search command. In particular, when searching for connection by the P2P method, the device search command includes information (P2P element) regarding P2P wireless connection. If an attribute is specified in the search command, the device that responds to the device search command is normally defined by the specification of the mode of the device on the search side and the prerequisite specification (Wi-Fi in the case of WFD). It is RECOMMENDED to respond to as many interpretable attributes as possible. Further, even if the device that responds to the device search command cannot interpret the information accompanying the device search command (including the attributes described above), it is also possible to respond based on only the information that can be interpreted.

A wireless connection sequence between terminal device 200 and MFP 300 in the P2P mode will be described below with reference to FIG. The processing executed by each device in this sequence diagram is realized by reading various programs stored in a memory such as a ROM provided in each device into a RAM by a CPU provided in each device and executing the programs. Also, this sequence is assumed to start with terminal device 200 operating as a client, MFP 300 operating as a software AP, and MFP 300 transmitting a beacon signal. It should be noted that MFP 300 starts operating as a software AP when a predetermined operation for operating as a software AP is received from the user. Note that the predetermined operation is, for example, an operation of turning on the power at the time of arrival of goods, or an operation of selecting a predetermined icon for starting the operation as a software AP on the LAN setting screen.

First, in S701, the terminal device 200 transmits a search signal including a device search command by sequentially using channels available to the terminal device 200, and searches for the MFP 300 operating as a communication partner device.

Subsequently, in S<b>702 , when the MFP 300 receives the search signal transmitted from the terminal device 200 , the MFP 300 transmits to the terminal device 200 a response signal including a device search response that is a response to the search signal. Note that MFP 300 does not transmit a device search response to a device search command transmitted through a channel other than the channel for waiting for establishment of communication. For example, if the channel on which the MFP 300 waits for the establishment of communication is the fourth channel, the MFP 300 does not transmit a response signal to the search signal transmitted using the first channel. Therefore, after transmitting the search signal on the first channel, terminal device 200 transmits the search signal on the second channel if there is no response from MFP 300 for a certain period of time. The terminal device 200 repeats the above trials while incrementing the number of the channel to be used. For example, when MFP 300 receives the search signal transmitted by terminal device 200 using the fourth channel, MFP 300 transmits a response signal to terminal device 200 . As a result, terminal device 200 discovers MFP 300 .

The channel used for transmitting the device search response is determined as the channel used for communication between terminal device 200 and MFP 300 thereafter. That is, the channel used for communication between terminal device 200 and MFP 300 is determined by MFP 300 operating as a software AP. Also, the channel through which the terminal device 200 transmits the search signal is an example, and the terminal device 200 may transmit the search signal through any channel.

Subsequently, in S<b>703 , wireless connection establishment processing is executed between the terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 . Specifically, processing such as connection request transmission, connection request authentication, and IP address allocation is performed. Note that commands and parameters that are transmitted and received in the process of establishing a wireless connection between the terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 may use known techniques such as those stipulated by the Wi-Fi standard. Description is omitted.

(infrastructure mode)
The infrastructure mode is a mode in which communication devices (for example, the terminal device 200 and the MFP 300) communicate via an external device (for example, the AP 400) that controls the network.

FIG. 8 is a wireless connection sequence diagram in infrastructure mode. Note that the processing executed by each device in this sequence diagram is realized by reading various programs stored in a memory such as a ROM of each device into a RAM and executing them by the CPU of each device.

First, in S801, the terminal device 200 sequentially uses channels available to the terminal device 200 to transmit a search signal to search for a device operating as an access point.

Subsequently, in S<b>802 , when the AP 400 receives the search signal transmitted from the terminal device 200 , the AP 400 transmits to the terminal device 200 a response signal that is a response to the search signal. Note that, as described in the description of S702, the AP 400 waits for a search signal on a specific channel and transmits a response signal only to the search signal transmitted on that channel. By receiving the response signal transmitted from AP400, the terminal device 200 detects AP400 as an access point. Note that the channel used for transmitting the response signal is determined as the channel used for communication between the terminal device 200 and the AP 400 thereafter. That is, the AP 400 determines the channel used for communication in infrastructure mode.

Subsequently, in S<b>803 , wireless connection establishment processing is executed between the terminal device 200 and the AP 400 . As described in the P2P mode, a known technology may be used for the wireless connection establishment process, and description thereof will be omitted here.
In S804-S806, processing similar to that of S801-S803 is executed between MFP 300 and AP 400. FIG. At this time, AP 400 transmits the response signal to MFP 300 using the channel used for communication with terminal device 200 . That is, AP 400 communicates with MFP 300 and terminal device 200 using the same channel.

As a result, both MFP 300 and terminal device 200 are connected to AP 400 , enabling communication between MFP 300 and terminal device 200 via AP 400 .

(Wireless LAN setup mode)
A wireless LAN setup in which a terminal device transmits connection information for connecting to an external device such as an access point to a communication device, and the communication device executes connection settings for connecting to the external device based on the connection information. method is known. The connection information sent by the terminal device mainly includes access point information (SSID, etc.) that identifies the external device such as the access point to be connected, authentication information (password) for connecting to the access point, etc. . Also, the authentication information included in the connection information may include information indicating the security method. Security methods include, for example, WEP, WPA, WPA2 Personal, WPA2 Enterprise, WPA2/WPA3 Transitional, WPA3 Personal, no encryption, and the like. That is, the information indicating the security method indicates a value indicating the security method such as "WPA". The communication device connects to the external device using the corresponding security method based on either the information indicating the security method included in the connection information transmitted by the terminal device or the information indicating the security method stored in the communication device. Establish

In the present embodiment, the MFP 300 enters a wireless LAN setup mode in which it is possible to receive a wireless LAN setting change (reception of connection information) from a terminal device via a P2P connection by accepting a predetermined operation on the operation display unit 305. Transition. Hereinafter, setting up a wireless LAN (communication setting) via a P2P connection will be referred to as wireless LAN setup, and a mode in which connection information can be received and a connection to an external device such as an access point can be attempted is referred to as wireless LAN setup. called a mode. The transition to the wireless LAN setup mode is triggered by, for example, detection of an initial setting flag when the MFP 300 is turned on for the first time after purchase, or by receiving an instruction from the user to operate in the wireless LAN setup mode. You can take this opportunity to go. Alternatively, the wireless LAN setup mode may be shifted to when a predetermined command is received by a beacon or the like. Note that the wireless LAN settings include, for example, settings of an access point to which the MFP 300 is connected, TCP/IP address settings, security settings, and the like.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 200 changes the LAN settings of the MFP 300 through wireless LAN setup in order to establish an infrastructure connection with the MFP 300 . Specifically, the terminal device 200 can establish infrastructure connection with the MFP 300 via the access point by setting the AP 400 to which the terminal device 200 is connected as the connection destination of the MFP 300 . Therefore, the MFP 300 corresponds to the communication device described above, and the AP 400 corresponds to the external device described above.

In wireless LAN setup, the terminal device 200 transmits connection information used for connecting to the AP 400 to the MFP 300 in P2P mode. Subsequently, the MFP 300 connects to the AP 400 based on the received connection information, and the terminal device 200 also connects to the AP 400, thereby establishing infrastructure connection.

In the wireless LAN setup mode, the access point function in MFP 300 operates by activating the software AP function provided in MFP 300 . The access point function in the MFP 300 may allow connection without authentication/encryption processing using a password, for example. Alternatively, for example, the connection can be made using fixed connection information (here, connection information for connecting to an access point in MFP 300) pre-installed in a setting application installed in a terminal device that executes wireless LAN setup. can be The MFP 300 is configured to be able to receive and interpret commands from the setting application, and changes the LAN settings of the MFP 300 according to the received commands.

As a result, the terminal device that executes the wireless LAN setup can connect to the MFP 300 that operates in the wireless LAN setup mode without receiving connection information input for connecting to the MFP 300 from the user or acquiring the connection information from the MFP 300 . . Further, while the MFP 300 is operating in the wireless LAN setup mode, the MFP 300 cannot perform functions such as printing and scanning, and is configured to allow only wireless LAN settings.

In this embodiment, the MFP 300 operating in the wireless LAN setup mode can receive setting information from the terminal device 200 by at least two methods (setting method 1 and setting method 2).

First, setting method 1 will be described. Setting method 1 is a method of receiving connection information from the terminal device 200 using a communication protocol different from the communication protocol used in setting method 2 . A specific communication protocol used in setting method 1 is, for example, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). As described above, in the present embodiment, the terminal device 200 transmits connection information for connecting to the AP 400 to the MFP 300 in order to set the MFP 300 to the infrastructure connection mode. In other words, terminal device 200 needs to obtain a password for connecting to AP 400 in order to transmit connection information to MFP 300 .

However, when the terminal device 200 transmits the connection information to the MFP 300 by the setting method 1 by the setting application for the MFP 300, even if the terminal device 200 has been connected to the AP 400 or is currently connected, the user can The password is acquired by accepting the input of the password on the screen displayed by the setting application. This is because the setting application for the MFP 300 cannot acquire a password for connecting to the AP 400 from the OS of the terminal device 200 when setting information is transmitted to the MFP 300 by the setting method 1. FIG. In other words, the setting method 1 is a method of receiving input of a password from the user on a screen displayed by the setting application after an instruction to set up the wireless LAN of the MFP 300 is received from the user on the screen displayed by the setting application. Furthermore, it is a method for executing wireless LAN setup of MFP 300 by transmitting connection information including the password thus accepted to MFP 300 using a setting application. Note that the protocol used in setting method 1 is not limited to SNMP, and other protocols may be used.

The connection information transmitted to MFP 300 using setting method 1 includes information indicating the security method. Therefore, the MFP 300 establishes connection with the AP 400 according to the security method included in the connection information.

Next, setting method 2 will be described. A specific communication protocol used in setting method 2 is, for example, HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol). In this embodiment, when the terminal device 200 transmits the connection information to the MFP 300 by the setting method 2, if the terminal device 200 has been connected to the AP 400 or is currently connected, the password is requested from the user. It is possible to obtain the password from the OS of the terminal device 200 without accepting the input. In other words, the setting method 2 acquires the password from the OS of the terminal device 200 without accepting the input of the password from the user after the user instruction for wireless LAN setup is accepted on the screen displayed by the setting application for the MFP 300. The method. Furthermore, it is a method for executing wireless LAN setup of MFP 300 by transmitting to MFP 300 the connection information including the password of AP 400 thus accepted.

Transmission of connection information by setting method 2 is executed by a setup application for transmitting connection information by setting method 2. FIG. This setup application is a program preinstalled in the terminal device 200 and provided by the OS vendor of the terminal device 200 . Therefore, the setup application can obtain from the OS information (for example, a password for connecting to the AP) that other applications such as the setting application for the MFP 300 cannot obtain. Note that transmission of the connection information by the setting method 2 may be performed by a setting application for the MFP 300 . In this case, for example, the setting application for the MFP 300 may acquire the password from the OS by executing the API (Application Programming Interface) for the setting method 2 by the setting application for the MFP 300 .

In the present embodiment, the MFP 300 operating in the wireless LAN setup mode is in a state in which it can receive setting information in setting method 1 (wireless LAN setup mode for setting method 1) and in a state in which it can receive setting information in setting method 2. (wireless LAN setup mode for setting method 2). Also, the conditions for ending the wireless LAN setup mode for setting method 1 (conditions for setting method 1) and the conditions for ending the wireless LAN setup mode for setting method 2 (conditions for setting method 2) are It shall be possible to set them separately. That is, for example, the MFP 300 may operate in a wireless LAN setup mode in which connection information may be received using setting method 1 or may be received using setting method 2, or may receive connection information using setting method 1. It is possible. On the other hand, setting method 2 may operate as a wireless LAN setup mode in which connection information is not received.

In this embodiment, in the wireless LAN setup mode for setting method 2, the MFP 300 transmits a predetermined beacon to its surroundings. Terminal device 200 recognizes that MFP 300 is in the wireless LAN setup mode for setting method 2 by receiving the predetermined beacon.

The connection information sent to MFP 300 using setting method 1 includes information indicating the security method, but the connection information sent to MFP 300 using setting method 2 does not include information indicating the security method. Not included. This point will be described in detail below.

(Example of connection failure due to different security methods)
As described above, MFP 300 executes connection establishment processing with AP 400 based on the connection information received from terminal device 200 . As described above, the connection information includes, for example, access point information (SSID, etc.) for identifying the access point to be connected, authentication information (security method and password) for connecting to the access point, and the like. However, depending on the setting method, the connection information may not include information indicating the security method. For example, as described above, the connection information acquired by the MFP 300 in setting method 2 does not include information indicating the security method. In addition to the setting method 2, there may be setting methods in which the connection information does not include information indicating the security method.

Next, referring to FIG. 11, a case where MFP 300 tries to establish connection with AP 400 based on the connection information received from terminal device 200 and the attempt fails will be described.

As described above, there are multiple types of wireless LAN setup methods. In the case of wireless LAN setup using setting method 1, connection information transmitted from terminal device 200 to MFP 300 in P2P mode includes information indicating the security method used when MFP 300 connects to AP 400 . Therefore, the MFP 300 can connect to the AP 400 based on the information indicating the security method acquired from the terminal device 200 . On the other hand, like the wireless LAN setup using the setting method 2, the connection information transmitted from the terminal device 200 to the MFP 300 in the P2P mode does not include information indicating the security method used when connecting from the MFP 300 to the AP 400. Sometimes.

Here, an example in which an attempt to connect from the MFP 300 to the AP 400 fails will be described, taking as an example a case where connection information transmitted from the terminal device 200 to the MFP 300 in a P2P connection does not include information indicating the security method. Note that the AP 400 needs to perform password authentication using a predetermined security method in order to establish a connection.

First, while the terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 are in P2P connection, connection information is transmitted from the terminal device 200 to the MFP 300 in the P2P mode in S1101. Here, it is assumed that the wireless LAN setup is performed using the setting method 2, and the connection information transmitted from the terminal device 200 to the MFP 300 in S1101 does not include information indicating the security method.

After that, in S1102, the terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 each release the P2P mode connection. Then, the terminal device 200 connects to the AP 400 in S1103-S1105. Since the process of connecting the terminal device 200 to the AP 400 has been described with reference to FIG. 8, the details will be omitted. Since the terminal device 200 has the connection information of the AP 400, the connection is successful. It should be noted that S1103 to S1105 should be executed only when the terminal device 200 is connected to the AP 400 before connecting to the MFP 300 by P2P. Also, S1103 to S1105 may be performed after the MFP 300 is connected to the AP400. Also, if the purpose is only to connect the MFP 300 to the AP 400, S1103 to S1105 need not be performed.

Subsequently, the MFP 300 attempts connection to the AP 400 using the received connection information (S1106-S1108).

As described above, the connection information transmitted from the terminal device 200 to the MFP 300 in S1101 does not include information indicating the security method. Therefore, MFP 300 may try to connect to AP 400 with a security scheme different from the predetermined security scheme that allows connection with AP 400 . In S1108, it is assumed that the AP 400 attempts connection with a security method different from the predetermined security method for which the connection request is awaited. In such a case, the AP 400 determines that authentication has failed and does not establish connection. Therefore, the MFP 300 retries connection in S1109 after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. Alternatively, MFP 300 displays information indicating connection failure on operation display unit 305 to request the user to retry wireless LAN setup.

In this way, if the connection fails, it takes a long time before the terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 can be connected in the infrastructure mode, and the usability deteriorates. desirable. However, if the connection information does not include information indicating the security method, the possibility of connection failure increases.

Here, in wireless LAN setup, a security method (defined in specifications) to be used is defined for each setting method. Therefore, even if the MFP 300 stores a security method for each setting method, the security method may differ from the security method that can be connected to the AP 400 . In such a case, if the MFP 300 repeatedly tries to establish a connection using one security method, the connection will continue to fail.

When the connection information includes information indicating the security method, the MFP 300 according to the present embodiment attempts connection using the security method corresponding to the information indicating the security method. On the other hand, if the connection information does not include information indicating the security method, first, connection is attempted using a security method determined in advance based on the type of setting method of the wireless LAN setup method. However, if the connection attempt using the security method based on the type of wireless LAN setup method fails, the connection is attempted using another security method candidate. A specific processing method will be described below.

(Processing example)
Processing executed by the MFP 300 that changes the wireless LAN settings by wireless LAN setup in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 and the wireless LAN setup method management table shown in FIG. The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 is realized, for example, by the CPU 602 reading a program stored in a memory such as the ROM 603 to the RAM 604 and executing the program.

First, in S901, the CPU 602 receives a predetermined operation on the operation display unit 305, thereby receiving an instruction to shift to a wireless LAN setup mode capable of receiving wireless LAN settings from the terminal device 200 through P2P connection. Note that the instruction to shift to the wireless LAN setup mode is not limited to a predetermined operation on the operation display unit 305 . The transition may be made when an initial setting flag is detected during setup of the MFP 300 or when a predetermined command is received by a beacon or the like.

Subsequently, the CPU 602 shifts the MFP 300 to the wireless LAN setup mode in S902. Specifically, CPU 602 activates a predetermined access point function (within communication apparatus) in MFP 300 that is valid only in the wireless LAN setup mode, and causes it to operate as a software AP.

Note that the access point that is activated in the wireless LAN setup mode may be, for example, a form that allows connection without password-based authentication/encryption processing. Alternatively, for example, it may be possible to connect using a fixed password preinstalled in a LAN setting application installed in a terminal device that executes wireless LAN setup.

Subsequently, in S903, the CPU 602 receives a connection request from the terminal device 200, and connects the MFP 300 and the terminal device 200 via the activated access point.

Specifically, terminal device 200 communicates with MFP 300 using a predetermined communication protocol. Protocols used for communication means include, for example, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).

Subsequently, in S904, the CPU 602 receives connection information used for connecting the terminal device 200 to the AP 400. FIG. The connection information includes, for example, access point information (such as SSID) for identifying the AP 400, which is the access point to be connected, and authentication information (information specifying the security method and password) for connecting to the relevant access point. be As described above, depending on the type of wireless LAN setup, the information indicating the security method may not be included.

Subsequently, in step S905, the CPU 602 determines the communication route (SNMP, HTTP, etc.) used for the connection request in step S903 and the connection information received from the terminal device 200 in step S904. Determine the wireless LAN setup method. For example, setting method 1 uses SNMP, and setting method 2 uses HTTP. Alternatively, the CPU 602 may determine which setting method the wireless LAN setup mode is based on information included in the instruction received in S901. If there are three or more setting methods and two or more setting methods using the HTTP communication protocol, each setting method may be determined by the URI of the HTTP CGI request.

Subsequently, in S906, the CPU 602 determines whether the connection information includes information indicating the security method. If it is determined that the information indicating the security method is included in the connection information, the process proceeds to S907, and if it is determined that the security method is not included, the process proceeds to S908.

In S907, the CPU 602 connects to the AP 400 using the security method included in the connection information acquired in S904. For example, in the case of setting method 1, the connection information includes information indicating the security method, so connection is made to the AP 400 according to the information indicating the security method.

In S908, the CPU 602 selects the security method of index 1 of the applicable setting method from the security method management table 1000 of FIG. In the example of FIG. 10, a plurality of security methods used for connection attempts are recorded in association with wireless LAN setup setting methods. For example, in setup scheme "A", a connection is attempted with WPA2 as the security scheme of index 1. For example, the setting method 2 corresponds to the setup method "A", and WPA2 is used to try connection first. Although three security methods are stored for each setting method in the example of FIG. 10, the number of stored security methods is not limited to this.

Subsequently, in S909, the CPU 602 determines whether or not the information indicating the security method was acquired from the security method management table 1000 in S908. If it is determined that the information indicating the security method could be acquired, the process proceeds to S910, and if it is determined that the information indicating the security method could not be obtained, the process proceeds to S912. Subsequently, in S910, the CPU 602 connects to the AP 400 using the security method corresponding to the information indicating the security method acquired in S908.

Subsequently, the CPU 602 determines in S911 whether the connection with the AP 400 has been completed. If it is determined that the connection has been completed, the process advances to S912, and if it is determined that the connection has failed, the process advances to S908 to increase the index by one and select a security method. For example, in setup scheme "A", a connection is attempted with WPA as the security scheme of index 2.

The CPU 602 repeats the processing of S908 to S911 until the information indicating the security method cannot be acquired in S909 or until the connection with the AP 400 is established in S911. In S912, the CPU 602 displays the result of the connection processing on the display unit 202 or the operation display unit 305, saves the setting values used for connection in the nonvolatile memory 512, and terminates the processing. If the information indicating the security method cannot be acquired in S909 and the process proceeds to S912, a notification indicating that the connection could not be established is displayed as the connection processing result, and the processing ends without updating the setting values used for the connection. do it.

As described above, in this embodiment, the setting method for wireless LAN setup is determined, and the security method selection method is switched based on the determined setting method. That is, if the connection information includes information indicating a security method, the security method corresponding to the information indicating the security method is used. On the other hand, if the connection information does not include information indicating the security method, a predetermined security method is used based on the wireless LAN setup setting method. Such a method eliminates useless trial connection and enables efficient connection to the access point.

In this embodiment, in S908, the CPU 602 selects the appropriate security method from the security method management table 1000 based on the wireless LAN setup method. . However, if the security scheme cannot be acquired from the security scheme management table 1000, connection may be attempted using another security scheme.

For example, if connection attempts with indexes 1 and 2 fail in setup scheme “A”, the CPU 602 may attempt connection according to indexes 1-3 of the “other” setup scheme at S908. As a result, even if the security method in which the AP 400 waits for the connection request is different from the security method determined by the setup method, the AP 400 can attempt connection using the security method in which the connection request is awaited. . It should be noted that in the trial of connection with the setup method "Others", the trial of connection with the security method that has already been tried with the setup method "A" may be omitted. This can reduce multiple connection attempts with a security method that has failed once.

Note that if connection is successful in the security scheme management table 1000 by a security scheme different from the security scheme determined based on the setup scheme, information indicating the security scheme should be added to the security scheme management table 1000 . For example, in the case of setup method "A", if the connection is successful with WPA3 of index 1 of "others" in FIG. information may be registered to update the security scheme management table 1000 .

In addition, in S912, the security scheme management table 1000 may be updated according to the security scheme for which connection has succeeded. For example, if a connection is successful with a security scheme with an index of 2, the index of that security scheme may be changed to 1. As a result, it is possible to preferentially use a security method that allows a more successful connection.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by processing to It can also be implemented by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the claims are appended to make public the scope of the invention.

1: wireless communication system, 200: terminal device, 300: MFP, 400: access point

Claims (9)

A communication device,
Receiving means for wirelessly connecting to an information processing device without going through the external access point and receiving the connection information from the information processing device in a setup mode for receiving connection information used for wirelessly connecting to an external access point When,
connection means for attempting connection with the external access point using the connection information received by the reception means;
with
The connecting means are
When the setup mode is a setup mode in which the receiving means receives the connection information in the first setting method, the information indicating the security method is corresponded to the information indicating the security method based on the information indicating the security method included in the connection information. Attempting connection with the external access point using a security method;
When the setup mode is a setup mode in which the receiving means receives the connection information by a second setting method different from the first setting method, a security method predetermined based on the second setting method A communication device that attempts wireless connection with the external access point using When the setup mode is the setup mode of the second setting method and the connection fails, the connection means selects a security method that is predetermined based on the second setting method. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the connection is retried by switching to a security scheme different from the failed security scheme. 3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said connection information received by said receiving means in said second setting method does not include information indicating said security method. storage means for storing information indicating candidates for security methods when attempting connection in association with types of setting methods for the setup mode;
When the setup mode is the second setting method, the connection means obtains information indicating the candidate from the storage means, and establishes a connection with the access point using a security method corresponding to the obtained information. 4. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a wireless connection is attempted. 5. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said storage means stores information indicating a plurality of said candidates for each type of setting method of said setup mode. 6. The apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising updating means for updating information indicating said security scheme candidates stored in said storage means based on a result of a wireless connection attempt with said external access point. Communication device as described. 7. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein communication protocols are different between the first setting method and the second setting method. A control method for a communication device,
wirelessly connecting to an information processing device without going through the external access point and receiving the connection information from the information processing device in a setup mode for accepting connection information used for wirelessly connecting to an external access point; ,
Attempting connection with the external access point using the received connection information;
with
When the setup mode is a setup mode in which the connection information is received by the first setting method, a security method corresponding to the information indicating the security method is used based on the information indicating the security method included in the connection information. connection with the external access point is attempted,
When the setup mode is a setup mode in which the connection information is received by a second setting method different from the first setting method, the security method predetermined based on the second setting method is used to perform the A control method characterized in that a wireless connection with an external access point is attempted. to the computer of the communication device,
A receiving step of wirelessly connecting to an information processing device without going through the external access point and receiving the connection information from the information processing device in a setup mode for receiving connection information used for wirelessly connecting to an external access point. When,
a connection step of attempting connection with the external access point using the connection information received in the reception step;
and
In the connecting step,
When the setup mode is a setup mode in which the connection information is received in the receiving step in the first setting method, the information indicating the security method is corresponded to the information indicating the security method based on the information indicating the security method included in the connection information. Attempting connection with the external access point using a security method,
If the setup mode is a setup mode in which the connection information is received in the receiving step by a second setting method different from the first setting method, a security method predetermined based on the second setting method. A program that attempts wireless connection with the external access point using

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