JP7012772B2 - Printing equipment and programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a communication device, and more particularly to a communication device that performs wireless communication according to the standard of IEEE802.11n.

In recent years, wireless LANs compliant with the 802.11 standard have been widely used. In a wireless LAN, a base station called an access point (hereinafter referred to as AP) constitutes a network called BSS (Basic Service Set), and a station (hereinafter referred to as STA) connects to the network to perform communication. Recently, devices conforming to the IEEE802.11n standard, which aims to increase the speed of wireless LAN, have been widely used.

In the IEEE802.11n standard, in addition to the conventional mode of operating with a channel width of 20 MHz (hereinafter, 20 MHz mode), a mode of operating with a double channel width of 40 MHz (hereinafter, 40 MHz mode) is supported as an option. By using the channel width of 40 MHz, it is possible to communicate with about twice the throughput, but since the radio channels overlap in the 2.4 GHz band, interference is likely to occur due to the influence of the surrounding BSS. Further, in communication with a channel width of 40 MHz, carriers cannot be detected from wireless devices that do not support the IEEE802.11n standard, and frame collisions may occur frequently.

Therefore, the IEEE802.11n standard defines an OBSS (Overlapping Basic Service Set) scan. The OBSS scan is as follows.

The STA operating in 40 MHz mode periodically scans the surrounding network (BSS). If the scan detects a BSS that does not comply with the IEEE802.11n standard or a BSS that does not allow 40MHz mode, a report is sent to the AP to be connected. Upon receiving the report, the AP stops operating in 40MHz mode and switches to a wireless network that supports only 20MHz mode. OBSS scan is implemented in STA operating in 40MHz mode in the 2.4GHz band.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing deterioration of communication quality due to channel switching by OBSS scanning.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-149648

The size of image data handled by mobile terminals such as smartphones is on the rise. Therefore, higher speed communication is required when the data of an image taken by a mobile terminal is transferred via a wireless LAN and printed by an MFP.

In order to achieve the above object, the printing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, it is a printing device capable of executing a first mode of executing wireless communication via an external base station and a second mode of executing wireless communication with a communication partner device without using the external base station. When the first mode is enabled and the second mode is disabled, the external base from a plurality of channel widths including at least the first channel width and the second channel width. When the channel width specified based on the station setting is set as the channel width for wireless communication, the first mode is disabled, and the second mode is enabled, wireless communication is performed. When the first channel width is set as the channel width of the above, the first mode is enabled, and the second mode is enabled, the first channel is used as the channel width of wireless communication. It has a setting means for setting a width, a communication control means for executing wireless communication with a channel width set by the setting means , and a printing means for printing based on data received by the communication control means. The printing device operates as a device that executes a function corresponding to the base station in the wireless communication of the second mode, and the communication speed using the second channel width is the first channel width. It is characterized by being faster than the communication speed used.

From another aspect of the present invention, there is a first mode in which wireless communication is executed via an external base station, and a second mode in which wireless communication is executed with a communication partner device without using the external base station. In a printing device capable of executing a mode, when the first mode is enabled and the second mode is disabled, at least from the first frequency band and the first frequency band. A frequency band specified based on the setting of the external base station is set as a frequency band for wireless communication from a plurality of frequency bands including a wide second frequency band , and the first mode is invalidated. When the second mode is enabled, the first frequency band is set as the frequency band for wireless communication, the first mode is enabled, and the second mode is enabled. If so, the printing includes a setting means for setting the first frequency band as a frequency band for wireless communication, and a communication control means for executing wireless communication with the frequency band set by the setting means. The device is characterized in that it operates as a device that executes a function corresponding to a base station in the wireless communication of the second mode.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that packet loss can be reduced while realizing communication at the highest possible speed.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a wireless communication system. It is a figure which shows the appearance of the portable communication terminal apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the appearance of the MFP. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation part of the MFP. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the portable communication terminal apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the MFP. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the WLAN unit control module. It is a figure which shows the combination of the communication mode which can be set, and the channel width. It is a flowchart which shows the operation at the time of setting up a wireless infrastructure. It is a flowchart which shows the operation when the setting of P2P mode is switched from invalid to valid. It is a flowchart which shows the operation when the setting of P2P mode is switched from valid to invalid.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail and in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the parts already described, and duplicate explanations will be omitted.

In this specification, "record" (sometimes referred to as "print") is not limited to the case of forming significant information such as characters and figures, and may be significant or unintentional. It also refers to the case where an image, pattern, pattern, etc. is widely formed on a recording medium or the medium is processed, regardless of whether or not it is manifested so that it can be visually perceived by humans. ..

In addition, "recording medium" (sometimes referred to as "sheet") is not limited to paper used in general recording equipment, but is also widely used for cloth, plastic film, metal plates, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, etc. , Ink is also acceptable.

Furthermore, "ink" (sometimes referred to as "liquid") should be broadly construed as in the definition of "print" above. Therefore, by being applied onto the recording medium, it is used for forming images, patterns, patterns, etc., processing the recording medium, or processing ink (for example, coagulation or insolubilization of the colorant in the ink applied to the recording medium). It shall represent a liquid that can be used.

Further, the term "nozzle" is used as a general term for the ejection port, the liquid passage communicating with the ejection port, and the element for generating energy used for ink ejection, unless otherwise specified.

First, a communication system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless communication system including a portable communication terminal device, a multifunction printer (MFP), and an access point (AP). In this embodiment, an MFP will be described as an example of a communication device.

The portable communication terminal device 200 shown in FIG. 1 includes a device having a wireless LAN (WLAN) communication unit, specifically, a personal information terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, a digital camera, and the like. The MFP 300 can wirelessly communicate with the portable communication terminal device 200, and has a reading function (scanner), a FAX function, a telephone function, and the like in addition to a printing function. The access point (AP) 400 has a WLAN communication unit, and provides communication in a wireless infrastructure mode by relaying communication between devices that are permitted to connect to the access point.

The portable communication terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 may perform wireless communication in the wireless infrastructure mode via the access point 400, or may perform P2P communication such as Wi-Fi Direct, by the WLAN communication unit of each. .. The portable communication terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 can execute processing corresponding to a plurality of printing services via WLAN as described later.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the appearance of the portable communication terminal device 200. In this figure, the appearance is based on a smartphone as an example. A smartphone 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.

In FIG. 2, the WLAN unit 201 is a unit for performing WLAN communication, and for example, data (packet) communication in a WLAN system compliant with the IEEE802.11n technical specification is possible. Further, in the wireless communication using the WLAN unit 201, communication based on Wi-Fi Direct (WFD), communication in the software AP mode, communication in the wireless infrastructure mode, and the like are possible. The display unit 202 is, for example, a display provided with an LCD display mechanism. The operation unit 203 is provided with a touch panel type operation mechanism, and detects an operation by the user. For example, a typical method is that the display unit 202 displays a button icon or a software keyboard, and the user touches those parts to detect an operation event. The power key 204 is a hard key used to turn the power on and off.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the MFP 300.

In FIG. 3, the document table 301 is a glass-like transparent table on which a document to be read by a scanner (reading unit) is placed. The document lid 302 is a lid for holding the document when scanning with the scanner and preventing light from a light source that irradiates the document when scanning an image of the document from leaking to the outside. The insertion slot 303 is an insertion slot in which recording media of various sizes (for example, printing paper) can be set. The printing paper set in the insertion slot 303 is conveyed to the printing unit one by one, printed by the printing unit, and discharged from the ejection port 304. The operation unit 305 is composed of keys such as a character input key, a cursor key, an enter key, and a cancel key, an LED, an LCD, and the like, and the user can activate various functions as an MFP and make various settings. Further, the operation unit 305 may be configured by a touch panel. The WLAN antenna 306 is an embedded antenna for WLAN communication.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the screen display of the operation unit of the MFP.

FIG. 4A is a home screen showing a state (idle state) in which the power of the MFP 300 is turned on and no operation such as printing or scanning is performed. From the home screen, it is possible to copy, scan, display menus of cloud functions using Internet communication, set various settings, and execute functions by key operation or touch panel operation. Functions different from the home screen can be seamlessly displayed from the home screen shown in FIG. 4A by key operation or touch panel operation.

FIG. 4B is an example of a screen different from the home screen, and is a screen on which printing and photo functions can be executed and LAN settings can be changed. FIG. 4C is shown in FIG. 4B. This is the screen displayed when the LAN setting is selected on the screen. From this screen, various LAN setting changes such as wireless infrastructure mode enable / disable setting and WFD mode enable / disable setting can be executed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a portable communication terminal device. The portable communication terminal device 200 has a main board 501 that performs main control of the device itself and a WLAN unit 517 that performs WLAN communication.

In the main board 501, the CPU 502, which serves as a system control unit, controls the entire portable communication terminal device 200. The processing of the portable communication terminal device 200 described below is executed under the control of the CPU 502. The ROM 503 stores a control program executed by the CPU 502, an embedded operating system (OS) program, and the like. Here, each control program stored in the ROM 503 performs software control such as scheduling and task switching under the control of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 503.

The RAM 504 is composed of an SRAM or the like, stores data such as program control variables, stores data such as set values registered by the user and management data of the portable communication terminal device 200, and is provided with various work buffer areas. There is. The image memory 505 is composed of a memory such as a DRAM, and temporarily stores the image data received via the WLAN unit 517 and the image data read from the data storage unit 513 for processing by the CPU 502.

The non-volatile memory 512 is composed of a memory such as a flash memory, and continues to store data even when the power is turned off. The memory configuration as described above is not limited to this. For example, the image memory 505 and the RAM 504 may be shared, or the data storage unit 513 may back up the data. Further, although the DRAM is used for the image memory 505 here, another storage medium such as a hard disk or a non-volatile memory may be used.

The data conversion unit 506 analyzes data in various formats and performs data conversion such as color conversion and image conversion. The telephone unit 507 controls the telephone line and processes voice data input / output via the speaker unit 514 to realize communication by telephone. The operation unit 508 corresponding to the operation unit 203 controls the signal generated by the user operation. The GPS (Global Positioning System) 509 acquires position information such as the current latitude and longitude of the portable communication terminal device 200. The display unit 510 electronically controls the content displayed on the display unit 202, and can perform various input operations, display the operating status of the MFP 300, display the status status, and the like.

The camera unit 511 has a function of electronically recording and encoding an image input via a lens. The image taken by the camera unit 511 is stored in the data storage unit 513. The speaker unit 514 realizes a function of inputting or outputting voice for a telephone function, and other functions such as alarm notification. The power supply unit 515 is a portable battery and controls the power supply to the inside of the device. The power state includes a dead battery state where the battery is full, a power off state where the power key 205 is not pressed, a start state where the power key 205 is normally started, and a power saving state where the power is started but the power is saved. be.

The portable communication terminal device 200 can perform wireless communication by WLAN. As a result, the portable communication terminal device 200 performs data communication with other devices such as the MFP. The WLAN unit 517 converts the data into a packet and transmits the packet to another device. On the contrary, the packet from the external device is restored to the original data and transmitted to the CPU 502. The WLAN unit 517 is connected to the main board 501 via a bus cable 516. The WLAN unit 517 is a unit for realizing communication conforming to the IEEE802.11n standard.

The various components 503 to 515 in the main board 501 and the WLAN unit 517 are connected to each other via the system bus 518 managed by the CPU 502.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the MFP. The MFP 300 has a main board 601 that performs main control of the apparatus itself, a WLAN unit 616 that performs WLAN communication, and a modem 619. The WLAN unit 616 and the modem 619 are a kind of communication unit, the WLAN unit 616 supports wireless communication, and the modem 619 supports wired communication.

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

The non-volatile memory 605 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 composed of a memory such as a DRAM, and stores image data received via the WLAN unit 616, image data processed by the code decoding processing unit 611, and the like. Further, similar to the memory configuration of the portable communication terminal device 200, such a memory configuration is not limited to this. The data conversion unit 608 analyzes data in various formats, converts image data into print data, and the like.

The reading control unit 607 controls the reading unit 609 (for example, CIS (contact image sensor)) to optically read the image of the original, and the image signal generated by the AC / DC conversion of the image is used as image data. Output. At this time, various image processing such as binarization processing and halftone processing may be performed before output.

The operation unit 610 corresponds to the operation unit 305 in FIG. The code decoding processing unit 611 performs code decoding processing and enlargement / reduction processing of image data (JPEG, PNG, etc.) handled by the MFP 300. The paper feed unit 613 holds the printing paper, and the print 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 may include a plurality of paper feed units in order to hold a plurality of types of printing paper in one MFP. In this case, the print control unit 614 controls from which paper feed unit the paper is fed.

The print control unit 614 performs various image processes such as smoothing processing, print density correction processing, and color correction on the image data used for printing, and then outputs the image data to the printing unit 612. The printing unit 612 is, for example, an inkjet printer engine that prints an image by ejecting ink supplied from an ink tank from a recording head. The print control unit 614 also plays a role of periodically reading out the information of the print unit 612 and updating the information of the RAM 604. Specifically, the status information such as the remaining amount of the ink tank and the state of the recording head is updated.

The WLAN unit 616 is a unit having the same function as the WLAN unit 517 mounted on the portable communication terminal device 200, and is connected to the main board 601 via the bus cable 615. The portable communication terminal device 200 and the MFP 300 are capable of communication based on WFD and have a software access point (software AP) function.

The FAX control unit 617 controls facsimile transmission / reception via a modem 619.

Various components 602 to 614, 617 in the main board 601 and the WLAN unit 616 and the modem 619 are connected to each other via the system bus 618 managed by the CPU 602.

Next, the communication control executed in the wireless communication system having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a module that controls the WLAN unit 616 stored in the ROM 603 of the MFP 300.

The WLAN control unit 701 is a module that controls the entire control of the WLAN unit 616, and controls the start and stop of the wireless IF and various other controls. The STA function unit 702 has a function for performing STA operation conforming to the IEEE802.11n standard when the MFP 300 is enabled in the infrastructure mode. The AP function unit 703 has a function for operating as a WFD group owner (GO) or performing an AP operation conforming to the IEEE802.11n standard when the MFP 300 is enabled in the P2P mode. The channel width selection unit 704 selects whether to operate the WLAN unit 616 in the channel width 20 MHz mode or the channel width 20/40 MHz mode.

Here, the channel width 20 MHz mode is a mode in which the channel width is fixed at 20 MHz and communication is performed regardless of the communication partner. The channel width 20/40 MHz mode is a mode in which a channel width of 20 MHz or 40 MHz is automatically selected and communicated depending on the communication partner. That is, it is a mode in which communication is performed with a channel width of 40 MHz when the communication partner supports communication with a channel width of 40 MHz capable of high-speed communication, and communication is performed with a channel width of 20 MHz when communication with a channel width of 40 MHz is not supported. ..

Further, the access point (AP) 400 is connected to a station (STA) that supports only a channel width of 20 MHz with a channel width of 20 MHz, and is connected to an STA that supports a channel width of 40 MHz with a channel width of 40 MHz. It is configured to connect. Therefore, when the MFP 300 selects the channel width 20 MHz mode, it connects to the access point 400 with a channel width of 20 MHz. On the other hand, when the MFP 300 selects the channel width 20/40 MHz mode, the access point 400 is connected to the access point 400 with a channel width of 40 MHz. That is, the communication speed using the channel width of 40 MHz is faster than the communication speed using the channel width of 20 MHz.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configurable combination of a communication mode and a channel width. In FIG. 8, the leftmost column shows the setting number of the communication mode, and there are 1 to 4 settings in this embodiment.

Here, the communication mode setting 1 is a pattern in which both the wireless infrastructure mode and the P2P mode are invalidated, for example, a LAN invalid setting state in which the network is not used.

The communication mode setting 2 is a pattern in which the wireless infrastructure mode is enabled and the P2P mode is disabled. For example, from the LAN disabled state, set up with the wireless access point in the wireless infrastructure mode, and save the wireless settings when the connection with the wireless access point is completed. In this case, the channel width 20/40 MHz mode is set, and communication is performed with a channel width of 20 MHz or 40 MHz depending on the functions and settings on the access point 400 side.

The communication mode setting 3 is a pattern in which the wireless infrastructure mode is disabled and the P2P mode is enabled, for example, from the LAN disabled state, the P2P mode is enabled from the disabled setting on the screen of the operation unit shown in FIG. 4 (c). When switched to the setting, it is saved in the communication mode setting 3. In this case, a channel width of 20 MHz mode is set, and communication is performed with the portable communication terminal device 200 of P2P connection with a channel width of 20 MHz.

The communication mode setting 4 is a pattern that is effectively set in both the wireless infrastructure mode and the P2P mode. In this case, a channel width of 20 MHz mode is set, and communication is performed with an infrastructure-connected access point 400 or a P2P-connected portable communication terminal device 200 with a channel width of 20 MHz.

Here, the reason for setting the channel width as shown in FIG. 8 will be described. As mentioned above, the IEEE802.11n standard defines OBSS scans. Then, the STA (MFP300 in this embodiment) operating in the 40 MHz mode periodically executes the OBSS scan. That is, communication operating in a channel width of 40 MHz involves periodic OBSS scans (regular network detection processing). On the other hand, communication operating in a channel width of 20 MHz does not involve periodic OBSS scans (regular network detection processing).

When performing an OBSS scan, the MFP 300 notifies AP400 that it is absent for a certain period of time. Therefore, even if the AP400 cannot communicate with the MFP300 for a certain period of time due to the OBSS scan by the MFP300, the AP400 does not erroneously recognize that the wireless connection with the MFP300 has been disconnected.

For the above reasons, in the communication mode setting 2, the channel width is set to the 20/40 MHz mode, so that high-speed communication can be executed as much as possible.

On the other hand, while the MFP 300 is executing the OBSS scan, communication on the other party side connected by P2P communication becomes impossible. Therefore, even if the MFP 300 is connected to the AP400 in the wireless infrastructure mode and is connected to the portable communication terminal device 200 in the P2P mode, the portable communication terminal device 200 outputs data to the MFP 300 while the MFP 300 is executing the OBSS scan. Cannot be sent. Therefore, packet loss or the like may occur.

Further, when executing the OBSS scan, the MFP 300 cannot notify the portable communication terminal device 200 connected in the P2P mode that it is absent for a certain period of time. As a result, the portable communication terminal device 200 may mistakenly recognize that the MFP 300 has been absent from the network and disconnect the P2P connection.

For the above reason, by fixing the channel width to 20 MHz in the communication mode setting 4, the MFP 300 does not need to execute the OBSS scan, and the occurrence of the above-mentioned problems such as packet loss can be reduced.

Although the communication mode 3 is fixed at 20 MHz in the present embodiment, it may be set to the 20/40 MHz mode.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the setup of the wireless infrastructure executed by the MFP. These setups are accomplished by the CPU 602 reading the control program stored in the ROM 603 into the RAM 604, deploying it, and executing it.

First, when the wireless infrastructure setup is operated from the operation unit 305 of the MFP 300 in step S901, the wireless IF is activated in step S902. Then, in step S903, the channel width 20/40 MHz mode is set in the WLAN unit 616.

Next, in step S904, the MFP 300 presents the setup method (push button, manual) to the operation unit 305, and causes the user to select one of the methods to start the setup. Then, in step S905, the wireless infrastructure is set up according to the method selected by the user. Here, when the push button is selected, by pressing the button of the access point (AP) 400 and the key of the MFP 300 within a predetermined time, the connection parameters of both are exchanged and the setup is executed. On the other hand, in the manual case, the wireless infrastructure is set up by performing an access point search, selecting a desired access point from the listed list, and inputting connection parameters such as a passphrase.

The setup is completed by the above operation, and in step S906, the connection between the MFP 300 and the access point (AP) 400 is established. Then, in step S907, the parameters necessary for infrastructure connection are stored in the non-volatile memory 605.

After that, in step S908, it is checked whether or not the P2P mode is enabled. As described with reference to FIG. 8, the P2P mode is valid in the communication mode settings 3 and 4, and the P2P mode is invalid in the communication mode settings 1 and 2.

Here, if the P2P mode is not enabled, the setup of the wireless infrastructure ends as it is. On the other hand, when the P2P mode is enabled, the process proceeds to step S909, temporarily stops the wireless infrastructure connection, and further stops the wireless IF in step S910. Then, the wireless IF is restarted in step S911. After that, the setup process proceeds to step S912.

As described above, in steps S909 to S911, the reason why the wireless infrastructure connection is temporarily stopped and the wireless IF is restarted is that the channel width mode is operated due to the limitation of the wireless chip mounted on the MFP 300. This is because it cannot be changed. That is, since the channel width 20/40 MHz mode is set in step S903, in order to operate the infrastructure mode and the P2P mode in parallel, the wireless IF is temporarily stopped and restarted, and then the channel width is 20 MHz. This is because the mode needs to be reset.

The present invention is not limited to this. Without such restrictions on the wireless chip, steps S909 to S911 are unnecessary, and if it is determined in step S908 that the P2P mode is enabled, the process can proceed to step S912.

Then, in step S912, the channel width 20 MHz mode is set in the WLAN unit 616, and the wireless infrastructure connection with the access point (AP) 400 is established in step S913. After that, the P2P mode is activated in step S914, and the connection from the portable communication terminal device 200 is awaited.

With the above setup, when the infrastructure mode is enabled, if P2P is disabled, the access point is connected in the channel width 20 / 40MHz mode, and if P2P is enabled, the access point or portable communication terminal is connected in the channel width 20MHz mode. Connect with the device. That is, the CPU 602 selects a channel width for wireless communication from options including a channel width of at least 20 MHz and a channel width of 40 MHz for performing periodic network detection processing according to the communication mode. Although 20 MHz and 20 MHz / 40 MHz are described as channel width options in this embodiment, other options may be used.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the internal operation of the MFP when the setting of the P2P mode is changed from invalid to valid. This operation is achieved by the CPU 602 reading the control program stored in the ROM 603 into the RAM 604, expanding it, and executing it.

First, in step S1001, when an instruction to switch the P2P mode from the invalid setting to the valid setting is executed from the screen of the operation unit 305 shown in FIG. 4 (c), is the wireless infrastructure setting valid in step S1002? , Check if it is invalid. Here, if it is determined that the wireless infrastructure is invalid, the MFP 300 is in the LAN invalid state, so the process proceeds to step S1008 to activate the wireless IF. Subsequently, the channel width 20 MHz mode is set in step S1009, and the P2P mode is activated in step S1010. On the other hand, if it is determined that the wireless infrastructure is effective, the process proceeds to step S1003 to reset the channel width, the wireless infrastructure connection is temporarily stopped, and the wireless IF is stopped in step S1004. do.

After that, the wireless IF is restarted in step S1005, and the channel width is set to the 20 MHz mode in step S1006. Then, in step S1007, the wireless infrastructure is reconnected. Subsequently, the P2P mode is activated in step S1010 to wait for a connection from the portable communication terminal device 200.

Also in the above processing flow, steps S1003 to S1005 are due to the restrictions of the wireless chip, and as described with reference to FIG. 9, the present invention is not limited thereto.

When the P2P mode is enabled by the above operation, it is connected to the access point or the portable communication terminal device in the channel width 20 MHz mode.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the internal operation of the MFP when the setting of the P2P mode is changed from valid to invalid.

First, in step S1101, when an instruction to switch the P2P mode from the valid setting to the invalid setting is executed from the screen of the operation unit 305 shown in FIG. 4C, the operation in the P2P mode is stopped in step S1102. After that, in step S1103, it is checked whether or not the infrastructure mode is valid. Here, if it is determined that the wireless infrastructure is invalid, the MFP 300 is in the LAN invalid state, and the process ends as it is. On the other hand, when it is determined that the wireless infrastructure is effective, the process proceeds to step S1104, the wireless infrastructure connection is stopped, and the wireless IF is stopped in step S1105 in order to reset the channel width.

Then, the wireless IF is restarted in step S1106, and the channel width 20/40 MHz mode is set in step S1107. Then, in step S1108, the wireless infrastructure is reconnected.

Also in the above processing flow, steps S1104 to S1106 are due to the restrictions of the wireless chip, and as described with reference to FIG. 9, the present invention is not limited thereto.

According to the above flow, when operating in the infrastructure mode alone, the access point is connected in the channel width 20/40 MHz mode.

Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, when both the infrastructure mode and the P2P mode operation are effective in the MFP or the P2P mode operation is effective, the access point or the portable communication in the channel width 20 MHz mode. Connect to the terminal device. On the other hand, when the operation of the P2P mode is invalid and only the infrastructure mode is valid, the access point is connected in the channel width 20/40 MHz mode.

In this way, the MFP can appropriately change the channel width of wireless communication according to the communication mode. Therefore, when operating only in the infrastructure mode, if the communication partner is a device compatible with high-speed communication, the channel width is 40 MHz. High-speed communication is possible. As a result, when a large amount of image data is transmitted from a communication partner and an image is printed, data communication can be performed in a short time.

Further, in the case of simultaneous operation of the infrastructure mode and the P2P mode, or operation of only the P2P mode, the channel width is fixed. As a result, since the channel width is not switched during communication, stable communication without packet loss due to channel switching can be realized.

The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

300 MFP, 305 operation unit, 400 access point (AP)

Claims (20)

A printing device capable of executing a first mode of executing wireless communication via an external base station and a second mode of executing wireless communication with a communication partner device without using the external base station.
When the first mode is enabled and the second mode is disabled, a plurality of channel widths including at least the first channel width and the second channel width of the external base station When the channel width specified based on the setting is set as the channel width for wireless communication, the first mode is disabled, and the second mode is enabled, the wireless communication channel. When the first channel width is set as the width, the first mode is enabled, and the second mode is enabled, the first channel width is set as the channel width of wireless communication. Setting means to set and
A communication control means that executes wireless communication according to the channel width set by the setting means, and
A printing means that prints based on the data received by using the communication control means, and a printing means.
Have,
The printing device operates as a device that executes a function corresponding to a base station in the wireless communication of the second mode.
A printing apparatus characterized in that the communication speed using the second channel width is faster than the communication speed using the first channel width. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first channel width is 20 MHz, and the second channel width is 40 MHz. From the state where the first mode is enabled and the second mode is disabled, the first mode is enabled and the second mode is enabled. When the state of the printing apparatus is changed to the state of the printing device, the wireless communication in the second channel width is disconnected, and the first channel width is set by the communication control means. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. From the state in which the first mode is enabled and the second mode is enabled, the first mode is enabled and the second mode is disabled. When the state of the printing apparatus is changed to the state of the printing device, the wireless communication in the first channel width is disconnected, and the second channel width is set by the communication control means. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Any of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the second channel width is set, a detection process in which the detection result of a predetermined network is notified to the external base station is executed in the printing apparatus. The printing apparatus according to item 1. A printing device capable of executing a first mode of executing wireless communication via an external base station and a second mode of executing wireless communication with a communication partner device without using the external base station.
When the first mode is enabled and the second mode is disabled, a plurality of frequencies including at least a first frequency band and a second frequency band wider than the first frequency band. The frequency band specified from the band based on the setting of the external base station is set as the frequency band for wireless communication, the first mode is invalidated, and the second mode is enabled. If so, the first frequency band is set as the frequency band for wireless communication, and when the first mode is enabled and the second mode is enabled, the frequency band for wireless communication is set. The setting means for setting the first frequency band and
It has a communication control means for executing wireless communication in a frequency band set by the setting means.
The printing device is characterized in that it operates as a device that executes a function corresponding to a base station in the wireless communication of the second mode. The printing according to claim 6, wherein when the second frequency band is set, a detection process in which the detection result of a predetermined network is notified to the external base station is executed in the printing apparatus. Device. The printing apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the first frequency band is 20 MHz and the second frequency band is 40 MHz. As the detection process, OBSS (Overlapping Basic Service)
eSet) Scan is performed and
The detection result of the predetermined network obtained by executing the OBSS scan is
The printing apparatus according to claim 5 or 7, wherein the external base station is notified. The printing apparatus according to claim 5 or 7, wherein the predetermined network is a network that does not comply with the IEEE802.11n standard. The printing apparatus according to claim 5 or 7, wherein the predetermined network is a network that does not support wireless communication at 40 MHz. The printing according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the first mode and the second mode are enabled based on a user's instruction using the operation panel of the printing device. Device. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12 , wherein the communication control means performs wireless communication in accordance with the standard of IEEE802.11n. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13 , wherein the first mode is an infrastructure mode, and the second mode is a P2P mode. The printing apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the P2P mode is a Wi-Fi Direct mode. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15 , further comprising a print control means for executing a print process using ink supplied from an ink tank. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 16 , wherein the printing device executes a process constituting a network as a device that executes a function corresponding to a base station in the wireless communication of the second mode. The printing device described. The printing apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein a BSS (Basic Service Set) network is configured as the network. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 18 , wherein the printing device can operate as a group owner in the Wi-Fi Direct mode . A program that causes a computer to function as each means of the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 19 .

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