JP7196248B2 - Communication device, control method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to communication technology.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electronic devices such as digital cameras, printers, mobile phones, and smart phones are equipped with wireless communication functions, and the number of cases where these devices are used by connecting to a wireless network is increasing. In particular, the number of cases where wireless LAN is used as a wireless communication function to communicate between devices is increasing.

To connect an electronic device to a wireless network, it is necessary to set various communication parameters such as encryption method, encryption key, authentication method, and authentication key. As a technology for facilitating setting of these communication parameters, a mobile terminal reads a QR code (registered trademark, hereinafter omitted) indicating communication parameters displayed by an electronic device, and causes an access point to set the read communication parameters. There is a technique (Patent Document 1).

As in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200014, by setting communication parameters upon capturing an image of code information such as a two-dimensional code that can encode a large amount of information, it is possible to reduce complicated input operations by the user. Further, Patent Document 1 describes a method in which identification information for identifying a device presenting the QR code is included in the QR code and displayed, and the device that captured the QR code identifies the target device for communication parameter setting. ing.

JP 2014-60623 A

However, identification information that can identify a device may be dynamically changed. For example, an administrator or the like can rewrite the MAC address in the wireless LAN as necessary. In Wi-Fi Direct (registered trademark, hereinafter omitted), there are two types of device identification information: P2P Device Address and P2P Interface Address. In Wi-Fi Direct, a wireless network (P2P group) is formed by protocol processing, and the device identification address used when forming the P2P group is the P2P Device Address. The P2P Interface Address is an address used for device identification in communication within the P2P group after the P2P group is formed. The P2P Device Address and P2P Interface Address are addresses that can be arbitrarily set by the device, and different values can be set dynamically.

When it is possible to dynamically change the identification information of a device in this way, in a device that can display a QR code by dynamically changing the content of the QR code, the identification information of the device is appropriately changed and displayed. can do. However, if the QR code is presented by a sticker such as a label, the content of the QR code cannot be changed dynamically, and information that can identify the device cannot be included in the QR code.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to enable efficient communication parameter setting processing in accordance with acquired information relating to communication parameter setting processing.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the communication device of the present invention includes: acquisition means for acquiring information related to authentication for communication parameter setting processing with a first other communication device; determining means for determining whether or not information about a channel used in wireless communication is included; transmitting means for transmitting the authentication request to the channel if the authentication request is not included, and transmitting the authentication request to a plurality of channels if the determining means determines that the channel information is not included; providing means for providing communication parameters to the first other communication device by executing the communication parameter setting process if successful, wherein the communication parameters are provided by the second other device. Information for connecting to a network is included, and the first other communication device is connected to the network based on the provided communication parameters .

According to the present invention, the communication parameter setting process can be efficiently performed in accordance with the acquired information regarding the communication parameter setting process.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a communication system. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a smart phone 101; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing configurations of an AP 102 and a printer 103; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation sequence of a communication system. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the smart phone 101. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the smart phone 101. FIG.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a communication system according to this embodiment. In FIG. 1, 101 is a smart phone, and 102 is an access point (AP) which is a base station. 103 is a printer, and 104 is a wireless network formed between devices of this communication system. In this embodiment, the wireless network 104 shown in FIG. 1 is a wireless LAN conforming to the IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) 802.11 series. Also, the wireless network 104 is an unrelated network formed by the AP 102 . However, the form of communication between devices is not necessarily limited to IEEE802.11-compliant wireless LAN.

Hereinafter, a case will be described in which parameter setting processing for wireless LAN connection between the AP 102 and the printer 103 is executed via the smart phone 101 .

The communication parameters include various wireless communication parameters for wireless communication conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard. That is, the communication parameters include wireless communication parameters necessary for wireless LAN communication such as SSID (Service Set Identifier) as a network identifier, encryption method, encryption key, authentication method, and authentication key. Also, an IP address or the like for performing communication in the IP (Internet Protocol) layer may be included. In this embodiment, the smartphone 101, AP 102, and printer 103 are equipped with a wireless LAN communication function.

In this embodiment, communication parameter setting processing is first performed between the smartphone 101 and the AP 102 . Here, the smartphone 101 sets communication parameters for building the wireless network 104 with respect to the AP 102 . AP 102 builds wireless network 104 using communication parameters acquired from smartphone 101 . Subsequently, communication parameter setting processing is performed between the smartphone 101 and the printer 103 . Here, the smartphone 101 performs processing for providing communication parameters to the printer 103 . The printer 103 connects to the wireless network 104 constructed by the AP 102 using the acquired communication parameters. Note that the communication devices in the communication system of the present embodiment will be described using smartphones, printers, and APs as examples, but other communication devices such as digital cameras, video cameras, smart watches, PDAs, and various digital home appliances can also be used. may be replaced. Also, the AP may be a communication device such as a smart phone, a printer, or a digital camera that has an AP function.

The hardware configuration of the communication device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, 101 indicates the entire smart phone. An imaging unit 201 includes a CCD, a lens, and the like. The image capturing unit 201 captures images and moving images. The image capturing unit 201 captures and reads code information such as barcodes, two-dimensional codes, and QR codes. An image processing unit 202 performs image processing such as an image captured by the imaging unit. The decoding processing and analysis processing of code information such as a QR code, which will be described later, are performed by the image processing unit 202 . The image processing unit 202 analyzes the image captured by the imaging unit 201, decodes the encoded information, and obtains the information.

An operation unit 203 is used to operate the smartphone 101 and includes operation buttons and the like. The operation unit 203 stores a flag corresponding to the input in memory such as the storage unit 207 . A display unit 204 has a function of outputting at least one of visual information and sound information. When displaying visual information, the display unit 204 has a VRAM (Video RAM) that holds image data corresponding to visual information to be displayed. The display unit 204 performs display control to keep the image data stored in the VRAM displayed on the LCD or LED. A power supply unit 205 supplies power to each piece of hardware of the smartphone 101 . The power supply unit 205 is composed of, for example, a battery.

A control unit 206 controls the entire smartphone 101 by executing a control program stored in the storage unit 207 . Various operations to be described later are performed by the control unit 206 executing a control program stored in the storage unit 207 . The control unit 206 is configured by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). A storage unit 207 stores various types of information such as a control program executed by the control unit 206 and information on a communication partner device. The storage unit 207 is configured by a storage medium such as an HDD, flash memory, removable SD card, ROM, or RAM, for example.

208 is an antenna capable of communicating in the 2.4 GHz band and/or 5 GHz band for performing wireless communication by wireless LAN, and 209 is a communication unit for performing wireless communication by wireless LAN conforming to the IEEE802.11 series. . Also, protocol processing conforming to Wi-Fi Direct defined by Wi-Fi Alliance may be performed. A communication unit 209 is configured by a chip that performs wireless communication.

Next, functions that are stored as programs in the storage unit 207 of the smartphone 101 and realized by the control unit 206 executing the programs will be described. It should be noted that the functions described later are realized by the control unit 206 controlling each piece of hardware and calculating and processing information according to a control program.

The smartphone 101 performs communication parameter setting processing for setting communication parameters in the counterpart device. In the communication parameter setting process, the providing device provides the receiving device with communication parameters used for wireless communication. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the smartphone 101 operates as a providing device and a counterpart device (for example, the AP 102 or the printer 103) operates as a receiving device, but the present invention is not limited to this. If the counterpart device already possesses communication parameters, the smartphone 101 may acquire the communication parameters from the counterpart device.

Communication parameter setting processing in this embodiment will be described below. Smartphone 101 captures a QR code displayed on or associated with another device. Here, the QR code associated with another device is, for example, a QR code attached to a housing of another device or a QR code described in an instruction manual of another device.

Then, the smartphone 101 acquires information necessary for performing communication parameter setting processing, which is included in the read QR code. The information necessary for performing the communication parameter setting process is, for example, the communication parameter itself or information used for the communication parameter setting process. Information used when the smartphone 101 searches for a device presenting the QR code may also be included. One of the information used for searching is, for example, identification information for identifying the device presenting the QR code. The device identification information includes MAC (Media Access Control) addresses, UUIDs (Universally Unique Identifiers), and the like that uniquely identify network devices. It may be a P2P Device Address or a P2P Interface Address when setting parameters in Wi-Fi Direct. Furthermore, wireless LAN channel information may be included as one of the information used for the search. By including the channel information of the wireless LAN, the smartphone 101 can narrow down the search for the device presenting the QR code to a predetermined channel, so that the search processing time can be shortened.

The smartphone 101 transmits a search signal to the target device to perform the communication parameter setting process with the target device based on the information acquired from the QR code, and searches for the target device for the communication parameter setting process.

Note that in the present embodiment, the smartphone 101 performs authentication processing with the target device. This is authentication processing for identifying whether or not the target device is a valid partner device for executing the communication parameter setting processing. The authentication process may use information contained within the QR code to authenticate between devices. Alternatively, a hash value of information included in the QR code may be calculated and used as authentication information. In addition, in the authentication process of the present embodiment, a process of sharing information used when encrypting and transmitting communication parameters between the smartphone 101 and the target device is also performed.

In this embodiment, the search signal for performing the above-described communication parameter setting process is explained as an authentication request signal in the authentication process, but it is not limited to this. For example, the signal for performing the communication parameter setting process may be a search signal such as Probe Request based on the IEEE802.11 standard. Also, a search action frame or the like for searching for a target communication device may be used instead of the Probe Request.

Further, the authentication processing and the communication parameter setting processing may be performed by establishing a secure wireless link between the smart phone 101 and the partner device and using the wireless link. Alternatively, it may be implemented using a predetermined frame such as an Action frame in a wireless LAN. At that time, the Action frame itself may be encrypted. For encryption, for example, an arbitrary character string that is the same between devices may be set, and encryption may be performed based on the information of the character string.

When the smartphone 101 detects the target device and succeeds in the authentication process, the smartphone 101 encrypts the communication parameters and sets them in the target device through wireless communication. The communication parameter setting process may be encrypted using a public key for communication. This public key may be included in the QR code. As a method of encrypting communication parameters using a public key, for example, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-230152 may be used.

In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which information necessary for performing communication parameter setting processing is obtained from a QR code, but the present invention is not limited to this. Proximity wireless communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication) communication may be used. Alternatively, this transfer may use wireless communication other than wireless LAN communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). Alternatively, wireless communication such as IEEE802.11ad or TransferJet (registered trademark) may be used.

Alternatively, information necessary for setting communication parameters may be obtained in advance between both devices. For example, a secure link, an action frame, or the like may be used to acquire information on the opposite device. At that time, the Action frame itself may be encrypted. For encryption, for example, an arbitrary character string that is the same between devices may be set, and encryption may be performed based on the information of the character string. At that time, both information may be exchanged between the smartphone 101 and the counterpart device.

Note that the smartphone 101 can register information of the counterpart device for which communication parameters are to be set. A device to be registered may be a device with which communication parameters have been shared in advance, or a device that can be connected via a secure link. Further, information obtained from a QR code may be used as the registered information of the opposite device. Alternatively, it may be wireless network information such as the SSID when wireless communication was performed with the opposite device last time.

Next, configurations of the AP 102 and printer 103 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, a functional unit 301 of the AP 102 is a control processing unit for operating as a wireless LAN base station. 301 also includes hardware for performing the functions of the functional units. In the printer 103, a functional unit 308 is a printing unit and performs print processing. An operation unit 302 is used to operate the AP 102 and the printer 103, and includes operation buttons and the like. The operation unit 302 stores a flag corresponding to the input in memory such as the storage unit 306 . A display unit 303 has a function of outputting at least one of visual information and sound information. When displaying visual information, the display unit 303 has a VRAM that holds image data corresponding to visual information to be displayed. A display unit 303 performs display control to keep the image data stored in the VRAM displayed on the LCD or LED. A power supply unit 304 supplies power to each hardware of the AP 102 and the printer 103 . The power supply unit 304 is composed of, for example, a battery or an AC adapter power supply.

A control unit 305 controls the entire AP 102 and printer 103 by executing a control program stored in a storage unit 306 . Various operations to be described later are performed by the control unit 305 executing a control program stored in the storage unit 306 . The control unit 305 is configured by, for example, a CPU. A storage unit 306 stores various types of information such as a control program executed by the control unit 305 and information on a communication partner device. The storage unit 306 is configured by a storage medium such as an HDD, flash memory, removable SD card, ROM, or RAM, for example.

307 is an antenna capable of communicating in the 2.4 GHz band and/or 5 GHz band for performing wireless LAN communication, and 308 is a communication unit for performing wireless LAN communication conforming to the IEEE802.11 series. A communication unit 308 is configured by a chip that performs wireless communication.

Next, functions that are stored as programs in the AP 102 and the storage unit 306 of the printer 103 and realized by the control unit 305 executing the programs will be described. The functions described later are realized by the control unit 305 controlling each hardware and calculating and processing information according to a control program.

The AP 102 and printer 103 can execute communication parameter setting processing for sharing communication parameters between devices. Also, the AP 102 operates as an access point defined by IEEE802.11 in communication in the communication unit 308 . In addition, the printer 103 operates as a station defined by IEEE 802.11 in communication with the communication unit 308 .

Also, the printer 103 may generate a QR code including information necessary for communication parameter setting processing. The generated QR code is displayed on the LCD or the like in the display unit 303 . Alternatively, the QR code may be printed by the print processing of the functional unit 301 .

Information necessary for communication parameter setting processing is, for example, communication parameters themselves or information used in protocol processing for communication parameter setting processing. Other information necessary for setting communication parameters is the same as that of the smart phone 101 described above, so description thereof will be omitted here.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the QR code of the AP 102 is pasted on the housing as a label. It is assumed that AP 102 can rewrite the MAC address of its own device under the authority of the administrator, and that the MAC address is not included in the QR code as identification information of its own device. Also, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the QR code of the AP 102 does not contain channel information. Further, in this embodiment, the printer 103 can dynamically display the QR code on the display unit 303 . Also, the MAC address of the device itself is assumed to be rewritable by an administrator or the like as necessary, and when the printer 103 receives an instruction to start communication parameter setting processing, the printer 103 includes the MAC address at the time of receiving the start instruction. Display the QR code encoded with Similarly, when the printer 103 receives an instruction to start communication parameter setting processing, it is assumed that the printer 103 waits for reception of an authentication request in communication parameter setting processing on a fixed channel. In the printer 103, it is assumed that channel information is included in the QR code as well as the MAC address. It should be noted that the same MAC address cannot be redundantly assigned to a plurality of network devices. Therefore, when performing the following processing in rewriting the MAC address, each device should be set to the administrator mode that can be operated only by the administrator or the service mode that can be operated only by the service person by using the ID or the like. can be At this time, processing may be added to check that the MAC address to be set is not redundantly set to a plurality of devices.

Next, the operation of the communication system having the configuration described above will be described. Here, a case will be described where the smart phone 101 is used to perform communication parameter setting processing with the AP 102 and the printer 103 in order to perform wireless LAN communication between the AP 102 and the printer 103 .

A sequence chart in the communication system will be described with reference to FIG. The sequence chart shown in FIG. 4 describes a case where the smart phone 101 is used to establish a wireless LAN connection between the AP 102 and the printer 103 . In FIG. 4 , the smartphone 101 first captures the QR code of the AP 102 and performs parameter setting processing with the AP 102 . AP 102 builds wireless network 104 using communication parameters acquired from smartphone 101 . Subsequently, the smartphone 101 photographs the QR code of the printer 103 and connects the printer 103 to the wireless network 104 .

First, the smartphone 101 receives an instruction to start communication parameter setting processing. When there is an instruction to start the communication parameter setting process, the display unit 204 of the smart phone 101 may display, for example, "Please take a picture of the QR code of the AP." Upon receiving the instruction to start the communication parameter setting process, the smartphone 101 activates the imaging unit 201 (F401). The smartphone 101 then captures the QR code attached to the housing of the AP 102 (F402).

After shooting, the smartphone 101 transmits an authentication request to the AP 102 based on the information included in the QR code (F403). Here, based on the information contained in the QR code, the process of FIG. 5, which will be described later, determines whether the authentication request is unicast, broadcast, transmitted to a specific channel, or transmitted to all channels. A determination is made as to whether to transmit. It should be noted that transmitting to all channels means transmitting authentication requests in order while switching between a plurality of channels that can be used by the smartphone 101 in a time division manner. Although detailed processing will be described later, here, the authentication request from the smartphone 101 to the AP 102 is unicast and transmitted to all channels. As described above, the authentication request includes various information based on the information included in the acquired QR code and is transmitted. When the AP 102 receives the authentication request, it compares it with the information contained in the QR code of its own device, performs authentication processing, and transmits the authentication result to the smartphone 101 as an authentication response (F404).

When an authentication response is transmitted from the AP 102 and received by the smartphone 101, the smartphone 101 analyzes the authentication result. If the authentication result indicates that the authentication was successful, information for encrypting communication parameters transferred between the smartphone 101 and the AP 102 can be shared between both devices. If necessary, after the smart phone 101 receives the authentication response, the smart phone 101 may resend information necessary for encryption to the AP 102 .

After the authentication processing, communication parameter setting processing is performed between the smartphone 101 and the AP 103, and the communication parameters are transferred from the smartphone 101 to the AP 102 (F405). In the communication parameter setting process, the communication parameters are encrypted and communicated between the smartphone 101 and the AP 102 based on the encryption information shared in the authentication process. In this embodiment, various messages transmitted and received in the authentication request, authentication response, and communication parameter setting processing are assumed to be executed using Action frames in a wireless LAN conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard. It is assumed that the AP 102 is also in a state capable of transmitting/receiving this Action frame.

After completing the communication parameter setting process between the smartphone 101 and the AP 102 , the AP 102 forms the wireless network 104 using the communication parameters provided from the smartphone 101 . Note that if the AP 102 has already formed a wireless network with different communication parameters, the wireless network is re-formed using the communication parameters provided from the smartphone 101 .

Subsequently, in the printer 102, the user issues an instruction to start communication parameter setting processing. When the printer 103 receives the instruction to start the communication parameter setting process, the printer 103 displays on the display unit 303 the encoded QR code containing the current MAC address of the printer 103 and the channel information for communication parameter setting (F406). ). Also, the printer 103 is in a waiting state for receiving an authentication request from the opposite device through the parameter setting channel.

The smartphone 101 acquires information about the printer 103 by capturing the QR code displayed on the display unit 303 of the printer 103 (F407). Note that the smartphone 101 may automatically enter a state capable of capturing the QR code after completing the communication parameter setting process with the AP 102, or may capture the QR code by receiving an instruction to start the communication parameter setting process from the user again. It may be ready for shooting. Further, after photographing the QR code of the AP 103 with the smart phone 101 and then photographing the QR code of the printer 102 , authentication with the AP 103 and parameter setting may be performed, followed by authentication with the printer 102 and parameter setting. In this case, the display unit 204 of the smart phone 101 may display “AP QR code capture” and “printer QR code capture” in sequence for navigation. After photographing the QR code, the smartphone 101 transmits an authentication request to the printer 103 based on the information contained in the QR code (F408). Here, based on the information contained in the QR code, whether the authentication request is transmitted by unicast, by broadcast, by a specific channel, or by all channels is determined by the processing in FIG. 5, which will be described later. A determination is made as to whether to transmit to Although detailed processing will be described later, here, the authentication request from the smartphone 101 to the printer 103 is unicast and transmitted to a specific channel included in the QR code. Since the printer 103 is waiting to receive an authentication request on the channel, it can immediately receive the authentication request sent from the opposite device. As described above, the authentication request includes various information based on the information contained in the QR code and is transmitted. When the printer 103 receives the authentication request, the printer 103 compares the information included in the authentication request with the information included in the QR code of its own device, performs authentication processing, and transmits the authentication result to the smartphone 101 as an authentication response (F409). ).

When the smartphone 101 receives the authentication response transmitted from the printer 103, the smartphone 101 analyzes the authentication result. As a result of the analysis, if the authentication is successful, information for encrypting communication parameters transferred between the smartphone 101 and the printer 103 can be shared between both devices. If necessary, after the smart phone 101 receives the authentication response, the smart phone 101 may resend information necessary for encryption to the printer 103 .

After the authentication processing is performed, communication parameter setting processing is performed between the smartphone 101 and the printer 103, and the communication parameters are transmitted from the smartphone to the printer 103 (F410). In the communication parameter setting process, encrypted communication is performed between the smartphone 101 and the printer 103 based on the encryption information shared in the authentication process. In this embodiment, various messages transmitted and received in the authentication request, authentication response, and communication parameter setting process are executed using the action frame of the wireless LAN. It is assumed that the printer 103 is also in a state capable of transmitting and receiving this Action frame. Also, the communication parameters transmitted from the smartphone 101 to the printer 103 are the communication parameters of the wireless network 104 constructed by the AP 102 .

When the setting of the communication parameters is completed in the printer 103, the printer 103 uses the communication parameters transmitted from the smartphone 101 to perform wireless LAN connection to the wireless network 104 (F411). In order for the printer 103 to shorten the search time for the AP 102 , when the communication parameters are transferred from the smartphone 101 to the printer 103 , information that can identify the AP 102 may be included in the transmission. The information that can identify the AP 102 includes the MAC address of the AP 102, channel information of the wireless network 104, operating frequency band, and the like. Alternatively, the communication parameters may include information that allows the printer 103 and the AP 102 to share information that can identify both of them, and may be transmitted. The mutually identifiable information may be information related to both public keys contained within the QR code.

By the above sequence, the AP 102 can form the wireless network 104 and the printer 103 can participate in the wireless network 104 .

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing when the smartphone 101 performs communication parameter setting processing. The flowchart in FIG. 5 is started when the user instructs the start of communication parameter setting processing via the operation unit 203 . Also, the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 shows the flow of processing performed by the control unit 206 reading out and executing the computer program stored in the storage unit 207 . A part or all of the steps shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 may be implemented by hardware such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

Upon receiving the instruction to start the communication parameter setting process, the smartphone 101 captures a QR code with the imaging unit 201 in S501, decodes the captured QR code, and acquires information. Then, if the content of the information acquired from the captured QR code is information necessary for setting communication parameters, the process proceeds to step S502. It should be noted that the smartphone 101 may perform an error termination when the captured QR code does not contain information necessary for setting communication parameters. In this case, by displaying on the display unit 204 the missing information, the format incompatibility, and the like that caused the error termination, the visualization effect for the user can be enhanced.

In step S<b>502 , the smartphone 101 executes processing for transmitting an authentication request to the counterpart device that captured the QR code. Details of the process of transmitting the authentication request will be described later with reference to FIG. When the authentication request transmission process is performed in S502 and an authentication response is received from the counterpart device (S503), the smartphone 101 analyzes the authentication result included in the authentication response. In S504, as a result of analyzing the authentication result, if the authentication is successful, the process proceeds to S505. If the authentication fails, the communication parameter setting process is terminated. In this case, by displaying the cause of the error termination on the display unit 204, the visualization effect for the user can be enhanced.

In S505, the smartphone 101 performs communication parameter setting processing with the partner device. Since the contents of the communication parameter setting process have been described above, description thereof will be omitted here.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing authentication request transmission processing executed in the smartphone 101, and is a flowchart explaining in detail S502 in FIG. In step S<b>601 , the smartphone 101 determines whether or not the identification information of the target device for communication parameter setting processing has been acquired. In this embodiment, if the QR code contains the identification information of the device to be set, it is determined that the identification information has been obtained, and if the identification information is not included, it is determined that the identification information has not been obtained. It shall be. If the identification information has been acquired, the process proceeds to S602, and if the identification information has not been acquired, the process proceeds to S603.
Since the identification information of the target device has been acquired in step S602, the smartphone 101 determines to transmit the authentication request by unicast transmission specifying the identification information of the target device as the destination, and proceeds to step S604. On the other hand, since the identification information of the target device cannot be acquired in step S603, the smartphone 101 determines that the authentication request is to be transmitted by broadcasting without designating a specific device as the destination, and proceeds to step S604.

For example, in this embodiment, since the QR codes of both the AP 102 and the printer 103 contain identification information for identifying the AP 102 and the printer 103, the process proceeds to step S602, and it is determined that the authentication request is to be transmitted by unicast. If the QR code does not contain identification information for identifying the target device, it is determined that the authentication request should be transmitted by broadcast or by multicast that can be received only by devices in the multicast group.

In step S<b>604 , the smartphone 101 determines whether or not the channel information of the channel to which the authentication request should be transmitted has been acquired. In this embodiment, if the QR code contains channel information, it is determined that the channel information has been acquired when the authentication request is transmitted to the target device. If the QR code does not contain the channel information, it is determined that the channel information for transmitting the authentication request to the target device has not been obtained. If the channel information has been acquired, the process proceeds to S605, and if the channel information has not been acquired, the process proceeds to S606.

Since the channel information has been acquired in S605, the smartphone 101 determines to transmit the authentication request to the target device through the predetermined channel indicated by the acquired channel information, and proceeds to S607. On the other hand, since channel information cannot be acquired in step S606, the smartphone 101 determines to transmit an authentication request to the target device through all channels, and proceeds to step S607. Note that transmitting an authentication request through all channels means transmitting an authentication request to all of a plurality of channels that can be used by the smartphone 101 while sequentially switching the channels.

In S607, the smartphone transmits an authentication request based on the determinations made in S602, S603, S605, and S606.

In the present embodiment, the determination is made based on whether or not each piece of information (identification information and channel information of the target device) can be acquired from the QR code. It is not limited to the example using the QR code. For example, these information may be acquired using other communication methods such as NFC and Bluetooth, and the presence or absence of these information may be determined based on the communication method such as NFC and Bluetooth. Similarly, these pieces of information may be acquired by transmitting and receiving Action frames, and the presence or absence of these pieces of information may be determined by transmitting and receiving Action frames.

Also, in the present embodiment, both of the determination processes of S601 and S604 are performed as the authentication request transmission process of FIG. 6, but only one of them may be performed. Furthermore, the determination process is not limited to this, and other determination processes may be performed. For example, determination may be made as to whether or not the target device is connected to the same network. For example, when the smartphone 101 captures the QR code of the printer 103 , the smartphone 101 and the printer 103 are connected to the wireless network 104 constructed by the AP 102 .

It is assumed that the smartphone 101 can register devices connected to the wireless network 104 in the storage unit 207 . When the smartphone 101 captures the QR code of the printer 103 and can identify the printer 103 from the information in the QR code, it can be determined from the information registered in the storage unit that the printer 103 is connected to the AP 102. . In this case, the smartphone 101 may determine to send an authentication request to the printer 102 via the AP 102 within the wireless network 104 . Alternatively, an authentication request may be sent to the channel while channel information is acquired, and if it is determined that there is no response to the authentication request from the target device, the authentication request message may be sent to all channels again. .

Further, in the present embodiment, an authentication request is sent as the target device search process, but a message such as a Probe Request based on the IEEE802.11 standard may be sent to perform the search process. In that case, it switches between unicast transmission and broadcast transmission, as with the authentication request message, depending on whether or not the identification information of the target device has been acquired. Also, similarly, whether or not the channel information is acquired is switched between transmission on the channel of the channel information and transmission on all channels. In addition, it may be realized by using another frame such as an Action frame for searching for the target communication device, not limited to the Probe Request.

According to the embodiment, based on whether or not the smart phone 101 has acquired the identification information of the partner device for the communication parameter setting process and whether or not the channel information has been acquired, the search process for the partner device for the communication parameter setting process is performed. The method can be changed autonomously. Thereby, the communication parameter setting process can be efficiently performed.

(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiments, the QR code to be read is not limited to the QR code displayed on the display. For example, it may be a QR code affixed in the form of a sticker to the housing of the communication device, or a QR code affixed to an instruction manual or packaging such as cardboard when the communication device is sold. A bar code or a two-dimensional code other than the QR code may be used instead of the QR code. Also, instead of machine-readable information such as a QR code, information in a user-readable format such as an arbitrary character string may be used. Also, the AP 102 or the printer 103 may have the function of a WEB server so that the QR code can be displayed on the WEB page.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where communication between devices is performed by wireless LAN communication conforming to IEEE 802.11 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be implemented using wireless communication media such as wireless USB, MBOA, Bluetooth, UWB, ZigBee, and NFC. Here, MBOA is an abbreviation for Multi Band OFDM Alliance. UWB includes wireless USB, wireless 1394, WINET, and the like.

Also, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the AP 102 and the printer 103 are connected in the wireless LAN infrastructure mode has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied when connecting in ad-hoc mode of wireless LAN. Alternatively, a communication device such as a PC may be used instead of the AP 102, and Wi-Fi Direct may be used between the PC and the printer 103 to perform connection processing between the devices. Furthermore, when the smartphone 101 and the printer 103 have a Wi-Fi Direct connection function, the two devices may be connected in a Wi-Fi Direct form. In this case, after the communication parameter setting is completed, one of the smartphone 101 and the printer 103 operates as a group owner in Wi-Fi Direct that performs a function equivalent to an AP, and constructs a wireless network using the shared communication parameters. The other device, which is not the Group Owner, connects to the Group Owner as a Client in Wi-Fi Direct, thereby enabling connection in the Wi-Fi Direct mode.

The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a 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 processing to It can also be implemented by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

101 smart phone 102 base station 103 printer 104 wireless network

Claims (18)

A communication device,
Acquisition means for acquiring information relating to authentication for communication parameter setting processing with a first other communication device;
determination means for determining whether or not the information acquired by the acquisition means includes information on a channel used in wireless communication;
When transmitting the authentication request for the authentication, if the determination means determines that the channel information is included, the authentication request is transmitted to the channel, and the determination means determines that the channel information is included. transmitting means for transmitting the authentication request to a plurality of channels when it is determined that the authentication request is not included;
providing means for providing communication parameters to the first other communication device by executing the communication parameter setting process when the authentication is successful;
wherein the communication parameters include information for connecting to a network provided by a second other device, and based on the provided communication parameters, the first other communication device connects to the network A communication device characterized by being connected . A communication device,
Acquisition means for acquiring information relating to authentication for communication parameter setting processing with a first other communication device;
determination means for determining whether or not the information acquired by the acquisition means includes information on a channel used in wireless communication;
When transmitting the authentication request for the authentication, if the determination means determines that the channel information is included, the authentication request is transmitted to the channel, and the determination means includes the channel information. transmitting means for transmitting the authentication request to a plurality of channels when it is determined that the
setting means for setting communication parameters with the first other communication device by executing the communication parameter setting process when the authentication is successful;
and the communication parameters include information for connecting to a network provided by a second other device
A communication device characterized by: further comprising imaging means for imaging an image;
3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said acquisition means acquires information regarding said authentication by analyzing a captured image. 4. The communication device according to claim 3 , wherein the image includes at least one of a bar code and a two-dimensional code. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition means acquires the information regarding the authentication from the first other communication device by communication conforming to NFC (Near Field Communication) or Bluetooth. . 3. The communication device according to claim 2 , further comprising providing means for providing communication parameters to said first other communication device when said authentication process is successful. 7. The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the communication parameters are communication parameters used for communication conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard. 8. A communication device according to any preceding claim, wherein said communication parameters are communication parameters of an access point of a wireless network in which said communication device participates. 7. The communication device according to claim 6 , wherein said providing means further provides information for specifying an access point of a wireless network in which said communication device participates. If the determination means determines that the channel information is included, the authentication request is transmitted to the channel, and there is no response to the authentication request, the transmission means transmits the authentication request to a plurality of channels. 10. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , characterized by: 11. The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , further comprising display control means for displaying a cause of said authentication failure on a display when said authentication fails. the transmitting means transmits the authentication request to the first channel if the determining means determines that the information of the first channel is included when transmitting the authentication request for authentication; 12. The authentication request according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the authentication request is transmitted to a plurality of channels including the first channel when the determination means determines that the channel information is not included. A communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 13. The transmission means according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein said transmission means transmits said authentication request to all available channels when said determination means determines that the channel information is not included. 1. The communication device according to claim 1. 14. The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the communication parameters include any one of SSID (Service Set Identifier), encryption method, encryption key, authentication method, and authentication key. 15. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising execution means for executing communication parameter setting processing with said second other device. A control method for a communication device,
an acquisition step of acquiring information related to authentication for communication parameter setting processing with another communication device;
a determination step of determining whether or not the information acquired by the acquisition step includes information of a channel used in wireless communication;
When transmitting the authentication request for the authentication, if the determination step determines that the channel information is included, the authentication request is transmitted to the channel, and the determination step determines that the channel information is included. a sending step of sending the authentication request to a plurality of channels if determined not to be included;
a providing step of providing communication parameters to the first other communication device by executing the communication parameter setting process when the authentication is successful;
wherein the communication parameters include information for connecting to a network provided by a second other device, and based on the provided communication parameters, the first other communication device connects to the network A control method characterized by being connected . A control method for a communication device,
an acquisition step of acquiring information related to authentication for communication parameter setting processing with a first other communication device;
a determination step of determining whether or not the information acquired by the acquisition step includes information of a channel used in wireless communication;
When transmitting the authentication request for the authentication, if it is determined that the channel information is included in the determining step, the authentication request is transmitted to the channel, and the channel information is included in the determining step. a sending step of sending the authentication request on a plurality of channels if it is determined that the
a setting step of setting communication parameters with the first other communication device by executing the communication parameter setting process when the authentication is successful;
and the communication parameters include information for connecting to a network provided by a second other device
A control method characterized by: A program for operating a computer as the communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 15 .

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