JP2023112032A - Communication device, control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a device capable of improving user convenience by performing wireless communication in consideration of a connection form of a communication partner device.SOLUTION: If a result of a determination process indicates that a predetermined response is not detected, predetermined information is transmitted to a printing device by using a direct wireless connection between a communication device and the printing device, not through an external device, established base on communication information obtained by first wireless communication. If the result of the determination process indicates that the predetermined response is detected, a communication device is provided for transmitting the predetermined information to the printing device by using wireless connection between the communication device and the printing device through the external device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a communication device, and more particularly to a communication technology capable of short-range wireless communication.

In recent years, an external device such as a digital camera or a mobile phone identifies a communication partner by short-range wireless communication such as NFC. A system is known in which an image file held in a digital camera or a mobile phone is output by an image output device through wireless communication different from short-range wireless communication.

Also, as part of network functions, some printers have a remote printing function via the Internet and a firmware update function by connecting to the Internet via an access point. Furthermore, even without an access point, the host terminal can use the access point function of the image output device to establish a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection between them and execute printing and scanning. A mode in which the host terminal performs P2P wireless communication using an access point provided in the image output device is called an AP mode.

However, when the image output device enters the AP mode, it becomes a P2P connection with the host terminal, disconnects from the access point, and cannot connect to the Internet. As a result, the image output device may not be able to use various functions that require an Internet connection as described above.

Furthermore, if the host terminal operating in the AP mode cannot connect to the Internet at the connection destination of the P2P connection, the host terminal itself may not be able to connect to the Internet.
In such a situation, even applications in the host terminal cannot access the Internet, and for example, the browser cannot browse sites on the Internet.

In Patent Literature 1, when a second wireless communication device is brought close to a first wireless communication device, if the first wireless communication device is performing data communication via an access point, the first wireless communication device communicates with the second wireless communication device. It is disclosed to prevent transition to P2P connection with the communication device.

JP 2011-182449 A

However, with the technique of Patent Document 1, when the first wireless communication device is not performing data communication with the Internet via the access point, the communication setting of the first wireless communication device is changed to P2P connection. For example, when a connection request is received from a second wireless communication device while the first wireless communication device is not performing data communication with the Internet via an access point, the first wireless communication device transitions to P2P connection. After that, even if the user wants to connect to the Internet using the first wireless communication device during the P2P connection between the first and second wireless communication devices, the P2P connection is terminated in order to perform the user's intended operation. have to wait until Therefore, there is a possibility that the user's convenience may be degraded.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and is a communication device,
a target device; a first executing means for executing a first wireless communication;
broadcasting means for broadcasting a predetermined command to a predetermined network in which the communication device participates;
when the predetermined command is broadcast, a response received from a device participating in the predetermined network based on execution of the broadcast of the predetermined command, and corresponding to the identification information of the target device; a determination means for executing determination processing for determining whether or not a predetermined response has been detected;
When the determination result of the determination process indicates that the predetermined response has not been detected, external to the communication device and the target device established based on communication information acquired by the first wireless communication performing a second wireless communication for transmitting predetermined information to the target device using a direct wireless connection between the communication device and the target device without using an external device that is an external device;
When the determination result of the determination process indicates that the predetermined response has been detected, the predetermined information is transmitted to the target device using a wireless connection between the communication device and the target device via the external device. a second executing means for executing a third wireless communication to be transmitted to the target device;
The first wireless communication is performed by a short-range wireless communication method different from the communication method used for the second wireless communication and the communication method used for the third wireless communication.

According to the present invention, user convenience can be improved by performing wireless communication in consideration of the connection form of the communication partner device.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of a terminal device 200; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the appearance of a printing apparatus 300; 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device 200; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printing apparatus 300; FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an NFC unit; 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing in the first embodiment; 8 is a flowchart showing the details of processing in the second embodiment; The figure which shows the example of UI of a terminal device. 10 is a flow chart showing the details of processing according to the third embodiment;

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be exemplarily described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the relative arrangement of the components, the display screen, etc. described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them, unless otherwise specified.

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

The printing device 300, which also functions as a communication device, has a reading function of placing a document on a platen and reading the document, and a printing function of printing using a print engine such as an inkjet. It is okay to have the ability.

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the terminal device 200. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a smart phone is used as an example. A smart phone is a multifunctional mobile phone equipped with a camera, a web browser, an e-mail function, etc. in addition to the functions of a mobile phone. An NFC (Near Field Communication) unit 201 is a unit that performs short-range wireless communication. The user can communicate by bringing the NFC unit 201 close to the other party's NFC unit (in the embodiment, the NFC unit of the printing apparatus 300) within a predetermined distance (approximately 10 cm). In other words, the terminal device 200 can execute short-range wireless communication.

A wireless LAN unit 202 is a unit for performing wireless LAN communication, and is arranged in the terminal device 200 . The display unit 203 is, for example, a display having an LCD type display mechanism. The operation unit 204 has a touch panel type operation mechanism, and detects user's pressing information. A typical operation method is that the display unit 203 displays button icons and a software keyboard, and the user presses the operation unit 204 to issue a button-press event. A power key 205 is used to turn on and off the power.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the appearance of the printing apparatus. In this embodiment, a multi-function printer (MFP) having a reading function (scanner) is taken as an example. In FIG. 3A, a document table 301 is a glass-like transparent table, and is used when a document is placed thereon and read by a scanner. A document cover 302 is a cover for preventing reading light from leaking to the outside when reading is performed by the scanner. A printing paper insertion port 303 is an insertion port into which various sizes of paper are set. The paper set in the printing paper insertion port 303 is conveyed to the printing unit one by one, printed, and discharged from the printing paper discharge port 304 .

In FIG. 3B, an operation display section 305 and an NFC unit 306 are arranged above the document lid 302 . The NFC unit 306 is a unit for performing short-range wireless communication, and is a place where the user brings the terminal device 200 close to the printing device 300 . A predetermined distance (approximately 10 cm) from the NFC unit 306 is the effective distance of contact. A wireless LAN antenna 307 has an embedded antenna for wireless LAN communication.

Note that near-field wireless communication means wireless communication in which the communication range is a relatively small predetermined range (for example, 1 meter to several centimeters), as typified by NFC.

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

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

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

The CPU 211 can perform display on the operation unit 204 and receive operations from the user by controlling the operation unit control circuit 218 . The CPU 211 can control the camera unit 219 to capture an image, and stores the captured image in the image memory 220 in the data memory 214 . In addition to the captured image, it is also possible to store in the image memory 220 an image acquired from the outside through the mobile phone network 105 or the wireless LAN 102, or to transmit the image to the outside.

The nonvolatile memory 221 is composed of a memory such as a flash memory, and stores data that should be saved even after the power is turned off. For example, telephone directory data, various communication connection information, device information connected in the past, image data to be saved, or programs such as application software for realizing various functions of the terminal device 200 are stored.

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

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

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

The CPU 311 controls the wireless LAN unit 308 through the wireless LAN control circuit 318 to communicate with other communication terminal devices via the wireless LAN 102 . Further, by controlling the NFC unit 306 via the NFC control circuit 319, the CPU 311 can detect a connection with another NFC terminal via the NFC 101, and transmit/receive data with another NFC terminal. can. By controlling the line connection unit 322 via the line control circuit 321, the CPU 311 can connect to the telephone line network 323 and perform FAX transmission/reception and data transmission/reception.

By controlling the operation display unit control circuit 320, the CPU 311 can display the status of the printing apparatus 300 and the function selection menu on the operation display unit 305, and can receive operations from the user.

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

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

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

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

The transmission/reception control unit 604 performs control related to transmission/reception such as assembly and disassembly of transmission/reception frames, addition and detection of preambles, and frame identification. The transmission/reception control unit 604 also controls the NFC memory 605 to read and write various data and programs. It receives power through power supply 606 when operating in an active mode that allows two-way communication with the device. Furthermore, it communicates with other NFC devices through the device connection unit 607, and communicates with other NFC devices within a communicable range by radio waves transmitted and received through the antenna unit 602.

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

Hereinafter, the operation of bringing the NFC unit 201 of the terminal device 200 and the NFC unit 306 of the printing device 300 closer together will be referred to as "NFC touch operation".

In this embodiment, after the user operates the terminal device 200 to select an image to be printed, the selected image is printed by the printing device 300 by performing an NFC touch operation on the printing device 300 that performs printing. Describe the use case.

If the printing device 300 exists on the same network as the terminal, printing is performed while maintaining the connection state.

This embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 7 shows processing when an image designated by the terminal device 200 is printed by the printing device 300 . Each step of the flowchart related to the terminal device 200 in the present application is realized by the CPU 211 reading and executing a program related to the flowchart.

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

First, in step S<b>1101 , the terminal device 200 acquires tag information from the NFC tag of the printing device 300 . The tag information includes at least three types of information regarding network settings of the printing device 300 . Specifically, there are three types of information: (1) the MAC address of the printing device 300, (2) the SSID and password in the AP mode of the printing device 300, and (3) the current wireless mode of the printing device 300. FIG. Note that (3) is either the AP mode or the infrastructure mode. Note that the tag information in the present application may be simply called communication information because it is information related to communication.

In S1102, the terminal device 200 confirms whether the WiFi setting is valid. If the WiFi setting is valid, it means that the terminal device 200 is ready for WiFi communication. If the WiFi setting is enabled, the process proceeds to S1103, and if disabled, the process proceeds to S1110.

In S1103, the terminal device confirms (3) the current wireless mode of the printing apparatus 300 acquired in S1101, and proceeds to S1112 if it is the AP mode, and proceeds to S1104 if it is the infrastructure mode. That is, when the terminal device 200 determines that the printing device 300 is operating in the peer-to-peer communication method, the process proceeds to S1112.

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

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

The printing apparatus 300 that has received the print job prints an image on paper based on the print job, and ends the process.

On the other hand, if the printing apparatus 300 is not detected in S1104, the process of the portable terminal 200 proceeds from S1105 to S1107.

In S<b>1107 , the terminal device 200 writes an instruction to switch to the AP mode in the NFC tag of the printing device 300 . The information written as the transition instruction may be an instruction to transition to the AP mode, or may be information indicating that a printer corresponding to the MAC address was not found. When the printing apparatus 300 detects that an instruction to shift to the AP mode has been written to the NFC tag, the printing apparatus 300 performs processing to shift to the AP mode.

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

Also, when proceeding to S1110 in S1102, the terminal device 200 changes the WiFi setting of the terminal device 200 to valid in S1110. Then, in S<b>1111 , the terminal device 200 writes an instruction to switch to the AP mode in the NFC tag of the printing device 300 . When the printing apparatus 300 detects that an instruction to shift to the AP mode has been written to the NFC tag, the printing apparatus 300 performs processing to shift to the AP mode.

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

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

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

When the connection between the printing apparatus 300 and the terminal apparatus is established in the infrastructure mode by the series of processes shown in the flowchart above, the connection state is maintained and printing is performed. On the other hand, when the connection between the printing device 300 and the terminal device is not in the infrastructure mode, the mobile terminal 200 instructs the printing device 300 to switch to the AP mode and prints.

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

In addition, the WiFi setting of the terminal device 200 is an item of WiFi setting in the system setting menu in the terminal device 200, and the user can easily enable or disable the WiFi setting arbitrarily. Here, a user who does not own the access point 100 does not need to establish a WiFi connection between the access point 100 and the terminal device 200 . Therefore, there is a high possibility that the WiFi setting of the terminal device 200 is disabled in order to suppress battery consumption of the terminal by unnecessary functions. Even in such a case, in step S1102, the terminal device 200 checks the WiFi setting, and if the WiFi setting is disabled, enables the WiFi setting and establishes a wireless connection with the printing device 300 in AP mode. Printing in AP mode can be performed.

Further, in step S<b>1103 , when the mobile terminal 200 confirms the wireless mode of the printing apparatus 300 and determines that the printing apparatus 300 is already operating in the AP mode, the mobile terminal 200 is expected to detect the printing apparatus 300 . No detection processing is performed. Through the above processing, the connection between the printing device 300 and the terminal device 200 can be efficiently established.

As described above, the processing for confirming the validity of the WiFi setting of the terminal device 200 in S1102 and the processing for confirming the wireless mode of the printing device 300 in S1103 are not essential processing of the present invention. This is a process for enhancing the convenience of Therefore, it is possible to achieve the object of the present invention, which is to maintain the connection in the infrastructure mode as much as possible, even if one or both of the steps S1102 and S1103 do not exist.

Here, the flow of processing in this embodiment will be described using screens displayed on the mobile terminal 200 .

When the print application is activated on the terminal device 200, the screen of FIG. 9A is displayed. Here, when the user selects photo printing, the print application displays a list of images held in the terminal device 200 as shown in FIG. 9B. On the other hand, when document printing is selected, a list of documents held in the terminal device 200 is displayed.

When the user selects an image to be printed in FIG. 9B and performs an NFC touch operation on the terminal device 200 with respect to the printing device 300, the print application displays the screen in FIG. 9C. Note that performing the NFC touch operation executes the processing of FIG. 7 of the present application described above.

When the user presses the print button while selecting an image to be printed in FIG. 9(b), FIG. 9(d) is displayed. When the user performs the NFC touch operation of the terminal device 200 to the printing device 300 while FIG. 9D is displayed, printing is executed with the print setting information displayed in FIG. 9D. .

Note that the user can register the printing device with the printing application.
Then, when the user performs an NFC touch operation on a printing device 300 different from the registered printing device while the screen of FIG. 9D is displayed, FIG. 9E is displayed. At this time, the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 are wirelessly connected by the process of FIG. Then, the terminal device 200 acquires the function information of the printing device 300 (for example, the size and type of paper that can be handled by the printing device 300) via the wireless connection, and displays the acquired result on the screen of FIG. 9E. reflected in In other words, options displayed when the user presses the paper size and paper type are determined based on the function information of the printing apparatus 300 acquired via wireless connection. When the user presses the print button after setting the print setting information on the screen of FIG. 9E, the print job is transmitted via wireless connection to the printing apparatus 300 on which the user has performed the NFC touch operation. .

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, when the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 do not exist on the same network, the mobile terminal 200 instructs the printing device 300 to shift to the AP mode. However, if the printing device 300 can be reconnected to the same access point as the terminal device 200, it may be reconnected.

It should be noted that the configuration of each device in the present embodiment is assumed to be the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified, and the description will be omitted. Description will be made below with reference to FIG.

In step S<b>1201 , the terminal device 200 acquires tag information from the NFC tag of the printing device 300 . The tag information includes four types of information regarding network settings of the printing device 300 . Specifically, in addition to (1) to (3) described above, (4) the connection history of the SSID corresponding to the access point of the printing apparatus 300 is included. As for the connection history of (4), the password corresponding to the SSID is also separately held in the printing device 300, not in the tag.

S1202 is the same as S1104, and S1203 is the same as S1105, so detailed description thereof will be omitted. If the printing apparatus 300 is not detected in S1203, the process advances from S1203 to S1206.

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

Note that the processing from S1207 to S1208 and S1205 is the same as the processing from S1107 to S1108 and S1109, so detailed description thereof will be omitted. If the determination in S1206 is Yes, in S1209 the terminal device 200 writes the SSID and the access point connection instruction that match in S1206 to the NFC tag of the printing device 300 . When the printing device 300 detects that an access point connection instruction has been written to the NFC tag, the printing device 300 uses the SSID specified by the terminal device 200 and the corresponding password stored together with the access point history. to reconnect to the access point. As a result, the terminal device 200 and the printing device 300 are connected to the same access point and on the same network.

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

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

In the description of this embodiment, an example in which the access point connection history of the printing apparatus 300 is held is shown. good too. In this case, in step S<b>1201 , the terminal device 200 (4) acquires the SSID of the access point to which the printing device 300 is currently connected, instead of the connection history of the SSID corresponding to the access point of the printing device 300 . Then, in S1206, the terminal device 200 compares the SSID of the connection history of the terminal device 200 with the SSID of the access point to which the printing device 300 is connected, acquired in S1201. Then, if the matching SSID is included in the connection history, the terminal device 200 may reset the connection destination to the access point of that SSID.

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

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

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

Furthermore, in the embodiment, an example of AP mode was presented as an example of P2P connection between terminal devices. However, even in other P2P connection methods such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) connection and Wi-Fi Direct connection, if the connection method is in a situation where the connection to the Internet of both or one of the terminals and devices is hindered, this Invention may be applied. As a result, it is possible to obtain the effect of maintaining the Internet connection of each device as much as possible.

Also, an example of AP mode has been presented as an example of P2P connection between the terminal device and the device, but the printing device 300 does not need to function as an AP during P2P connection. Specifically, in a Wi-Fi Direct P2P connection, one operates as a host and the other operates as an AP, but according to the standard, which one acts as the AP changes depending on the situation. In the present invention, as long as a P2P connection is possible, the object of the present invention can be achieved even if either the terminal or the printing device serves as the AP, so there is no need to limit the printing device to function as the AP. Note that when a P2P connection is executed using Wi-Fi Direct after the processing of the present application, negotiation is executed between the terminal device and the printing device to determine which one operates as the AP.

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

In the present application, the process of searching for the printing device 300 by the terminal device 200 using the MAC address obtained from the printing device 300 has been described. However, as another method, the terminal device 200 acquires the IP address and MAC address using NFC, and searches for the printing device 300 using the IP address. Then, if the terminal device 200 cannot search for the printing device 300 using the IP address, it may search again using the MAC address. This process enables efficient search processing.

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

In addition, function information of the printing device 300 may be notified to the terminal device 200 by NFC.
If the function selected on the screen of FIG. 9A provided by the print application of the terminal device 200 is not included in the function information acquired by the NFC touch operation, the print application displays an error screen. Then, the error screen may display a message indicating that processing cannot be continued. Specifically, when FAX is selected in FIG. 9A and the function information acquired from the printing apparatus 300 by the NFC touch operation does not include a scan function, the print application stops FAX processing. Display an error screen.

[Embodiment 3]
In the first embodiment, when the WiFi setting of the terminal device 200 is valid and the printing device 300 is not connected to WiFi, the process proceeds from S1101 to S1107 via S1105. At this time, in S<b>1107 , the terminal device 200 writes a transition instruction to the AP mode in the NFC tag of the printing device 300 , thereby causing the printing device 300 to transition to the AP mode. Therefore, the user should not move the terminal away from the printing apparatus until the processing from S1101 to S1107 is completed. Specifically, the distance between the terminal device and the printing device must not be such that NFC communication cannot be performed.

However, before the processing of the terminal device 200 completes the processing of S<b>1107 , there is a possibility that the terminal device touched by the user may be shifted or removed from the printing device. As a result, NFC communication cannot be performed in S1107, and the instruction to shift to the AP mode may fail, resulting in a connection error in communication between the terminal device and the printing device. When a connection error occurs in S1107, the user performs a touch operation again, and the flow from S1101 to S1107 is executed again. At this time, if the same processing is simply repeated, there is a concern that the user will move the terminal device away from the printer or move it again, causing a connection error to occur again.

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

It should be noted that the configuration of each device in the present embodiment is assumed to be the same as that of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified, and the description will be omitted. Description will be made below with reference to FIG. 10 .

First, before explaining the processing in FIG. 10, as a result of the user attempting to connect the terminal device 200 to the printing device 300 by performing an NFC touch operation, the terminal device 200 is connected to the printing device 300 before the processing of S1107 is completed. Imagine a situation in which you are separated from In this situation, since the printing apparatus 300 has not properly received the instruction to shift to the AP mode, the printing apparatus 300 has not shifted to the AP mode. As a result, the terminal device 200 cannot connect to the printing device 300 . At this time, the terminal device 200 retains connection error information in the nonvolatile memory 221 within the terminal device 200 . This connection error information is updated at the end of processing in S1307, which will be described later. The MAC address of device 300 is saved. On the other hand, if no connection error occurred in S1307, a setting value indicating that there was no connection error is saved. Also, if the process of S1307 has not been performed even once, the setting value for the case where no connection error has occurred is saved as an initial value.

Next, the flow of processing using this error information will be described.

In step S<b>1301 , the terminal device 200 acquires tag information from the NFC tag of the printing device 300 . The tag information includes three types of information regarding the network settings of the printing apparatus 300, as in the first embodiment.

Since S1302 and S1309 are the same as S1103 and S1112, detailed description thereof is omitted.

If it is determined in S1302 that the printing apparatus 300 is not in the AP mode, the process advances to S1303.

In S1303, the terminal device 200 acquires connection error information stored in the terminal device 200. FIG. Then, it is determined whether or not the connection error information is a set value indicating that an error has occurred, and the MAC address of the printing device 300 acquired in S1301 matches the MAC address of the printing device 300 included in the error information. do. If determined as Yes in S1303, the terminal device 200 skips S1304-S1305 and proceeds to S1307.

On the other hand, if the determination in S1303 is No, the process proceeds to S1304. Since S1304-S1306 are the same as S1104-S1106, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

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

Since S1310 is the same processing as S1109, detailed description is omitted.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when a connection error caused by an NFC touch occurs the last time, it is possible to skip the printing device identification processing (the processing in S1305, also referred to as determination processing) that takes a relatively long processing time. . As a result, it is possible to shorten the time required to instruct the transition to the AP mode when touched again. As a result, even if the user removes the terminal device 200 from the printing device 300 immediately after performing a touch operation, it is possible to reduce the possibility of a connection error occurring again.

Further, when a connection error occurs, the user is likely to perform a re-touch operation immediately, so the connection error information may include the time of occurrence of the error. Specifically, in the determination of S1303, the current time is compared with the error occurrence time included in the connection error information. Then, if the difference between the current time and the previous error occurrence time is within a predetermined time (for example, within 10 seconds) and the MAC addresses match, the process may proceed to S1307.

Also, the current connection state of the printing device 300 may be used as the determination condition. Specifically, the tag information acquired in S1301 includes information as to whether or not the printing apparatus 300 is connected in the infrastructure mode, and this information is saved as connection error information when an error occurs. Then, in step S1303, if a connection error occurred last time in step S1307 and the infrastructure connection mode status of the printing apparatus 300 acquired in step S1301 matches the infrastructure connection mode status included in the connection error information, You may make it progress to S1307.

In S1303, the conditions for determining whether to skip the process of specifying the printing device and proceed to S1307 may be MAC address, elapsed time, change in the connection state of the printing device, or a combination thereof. do not have. Also, the determination condition itself may be any condition, such as a change in the IP address of the printing device 300 or the SSID in the AP mode, as long as it can be determined that there is a possibility that the status of the printing device 300 has changed.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, the software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads the program. This is the process to be executed. Also, the number of computers that execute the program may be one, or a plurality of computers may cooperate to execute the program. Furthermore, hardware such as a circuit that executes a part of a program may be provided, and the hardware and a computer that executes software may cooperate to execute the processing described in this embodiment.

100 network 200 terminal device 201 NFC unit 202 wireless LAN unit

Claims (1)

A communication device,
a target device; a first executing means for executing a first wireless communication;
broadcasting means for broadcasting a predetermined command to a predetermined network in which the communication device participates;
a response received from a device participating in the given network upon execution of the broadcast of the given command when the given command is broadcast;
and determination means for performing determination processing for determining whether or not a predetermined response, which is a response corresponding to the identification information of the target device, has been detected;
When the determination result of the determination process indicates that the predetermined response has not been detected, external to the communication device and the target device established based on communication information acquired by the first wireless communication performing a second wireless communication for transmitting predetermined information to the target device using a direct wireless connection between the communication device and the target device without using an external device that is an external device;
When the determination result of the determination process indicates that the predetermined response has been detected, the predetermined information is sent to the target device using a wireless connection between the communication device and the target device via the external device. a second executing means for executing a third wireless communication to be transmitted to the target device;
A communication device, wherein the first wireless communication is performed by a short-range wireless communication method different from the communication method used for the second wireless communication and the communication method used for the third wireless communication.

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