Communication device, method for controlling communication device, and program

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a method that allows a device equipped with a plurality of communication interfaces to appropriately perform a communication parameter setting process. A communication apparatus capable of communicating through a plurality of communication interfaces that perform wireless local area network (LAN) communication, the communication apparatus being characterized by comprising an execution means for executing a communication parameter setting process, and a determination means for determining a communication interface to be used in the setting process from among the plurality of communication interfaces, wherein the execution unit executes the setting process by using the communication interface determined by the determination unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the setting of communication parameters. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication devices that support the IEEE802.11 standard and standards have been conventionally proposed. For example, a wireless communication device that simultaneously operates a station (hereinafter, STA) function and an access point (hereinafter, AP) function. A connection with an AP is established through the STA function, and a connection with an STA is established through the AP function. In addition, a single wireless communication device that simultaneously operates multiple STA functions has also been proposed. Therefore, the wireless communication device is connected to multiple different APs. In this way, a single communication device that physically or virtually includes multiple communication interfaces can perform communication.

[0003] As a technique for sharing communication parameters of an access wireless network, for example, Wi-Fi Protected Setup standard (hereinafter, WPS) and Wi-Fi Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP) standard (hereinafter, DPP) have been established. In DPP, a device called a configurator is defined to set communication parameters to a device called an enrollee using bootstrap information. Patent Literature (PTL) 1 discusses a technique in which frequency information is included in bootstrap information including a two-dimensional code according to whether the device is connected to an AP.

[0004] Citation List

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] PTL 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-37978 Summary of the Invention

[0007] Technical Problem

[0008] For example, in the case where the wireless communication device includes multiple communication interfaces as described above, it is not determined which of the multiple communication interfaces is to be used in the setting process of communication parameters. Therefore, the setting process of communication parameters may not be appropriately executed.

[0009] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a method that enables a device including multiple communication interfaces to appropriately execute the setting process of communication parameters.

[0010] Solution to the Problem

[0011] A communication device capable of performing communication using multiple communication interfaces, the communication device including an execution component for performing setting processing of communication parameters and a determination component for determining a communication interface to be used in the setting processing from among the multiple communication interfaces, wherein the execution component performs the setting processing on the communication interface determined by the determination component.

[0012] Advantageous effects of the invention

[0013] In a device including multiple communication interfaces, the setting processing of communication parameters is appropriately performed. Description of the drawings

[0014] Figure 1 Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the communication system.

[0015] Figure 2 Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the communication device 101.

[0016] Figure 3 Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the communication device 101.

[0017] Figure 4 Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of selecting a communication interface.

[0018] Figure 5 Figure 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating the processing according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0019] Figure 6 Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user interface.

[0020] Figure 7 Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the communication device 101 according to a second exemplary embodiment. Detailed description of the invention

[0021] The following exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not necessarily limited to the exemplary embodiments. All combinations of the features described in the exemplary embodiments are not required for the solution means of the present invention.

[0022] [First Exemplary Embodiment]

[0023] The first exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, communication between devices will be described by performing communication via a wireless local area network (LAN) conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard.

[0024] ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Figure 1 The overall configuration of a communication system according to this exemplary embodiment is illustrated. The communication system according to this exemplary embodiment is a communication system including a communication device that operates according to the Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP) standard of Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity). Here, the DPP standard refers to the Wi-Fi Easy (hereinafter described as “WEC”) standard. In Figure 1 , the communication device 111 operates as an access point (AP) that is a wireless base station (master station) and forms a wireless network 131. The communication device 101 is a printer that operates as a station (STA) connected to the network provided by the AP. The communication devices 121 and 122 are smart devices. Here, each of the communication devices 121 and 122 has an AP function in which the device operates as an AP and a station function in which the device operates as an STA. Here, as an example, a printer or a smart device is described as an example of a communication device, but the communication device may be a communication device such as a personal computer (PC), a smart phone, or a digital camera.

[0025] The communication device 101 and the communication devices 121 and 122 perform communication parameter settings according to DPP. In DPP, the communication devices 121 and 122 are configurators that provide communication parameters, and the communication device 101 is a registrar that receives communication parameters. The communication device 101 may be a configurator, and the communication devices 121 and 122 may be registrars. The wireless network 131 is a wide area network (hereinafter, WAN). In the network established by the communication device 111, the communication device 111 is used as a gateway to perform connection with the WAN 131. The communication device 101 can selectively connect to the communication device 111 and the communication devices 121 and 122. In this exemplary embodiment, a description of the connection between the communication device 101 and the communication device 121 using DPP will be given. Even in the case where the communication device 101 and the communication device 122 are connected using DPP, similar processing is performed. Although a description will be given of the case where the communication device 101 performs DPP using the first STA function unit 231, even in the case where the communication device 101 performs DPP using the second STA function unit 232 and the external connection communication unit 233, similar processing is performed.

[0026] Figure 2The figure illustrates the hardware configuration of the communication device 101. The communication device 101 includes a power supply unit 201, an input unit 211, an output unit 221, a first STA function unit 231, a second STA function unit 232, an external connection communication unit 233, a near-field communication unit 234, a control unit 241, and a storage unit 251. The first STA function unit 231 and the second STA function unit 232 can be exclusively controlled in chronological order in one embedded wireless integrated circuit (IC) chip, or can be separately controlled in the embedded wireless IC chip corresponding to the first STA function unit 231 and the embedded wireless IC chip corresponding to the second STA function unit 232. The external connection communication unit 233 controls an externally connected communication adapter via an interface such as Secure Digital Input / Output (SDIO), Universal Serial Bus (USB), or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe). The STA function is also provided in the communication adapter. The STA function units of the first STA function unit 231, the second STA function unit 232, and the external connection communication unit 233 can be controlled by corresponding applications or can be controlled by a shared application.

[0027] The near-field communication unit 234 controls near-field wireless communication such as Near Field Communication (hereinafter, NFC) and The power supply unit 201 supplies power to each hardware. For example, the power supply unit 201 obtains power from an alternating current (AC) power supply or a battery. The input unit 211 receives various operations from the user. For example, the input unit 211 includes buttons, a touch panel, etc. The output unit 221 performs various outputs to the user. Here, the outputs performed by the output unit 221 include, for example, the display of a light-emitting diode (LED), the display on a screen, the voice output of a speaker, the vibration output, etc. Both the input unit 211 and the output unit 221 can be implemented by one module such as a touch panel display. In the present exemplary embodiment, a description will be given of the case where input-output is performed via the touch panel display.

[0028] The first STA functional unit 231 and the second STA functional unit 232 perform wireless LAN control in accordance with the IEEE802.11 standard, perform transmission and reception of radio waves, and are connected to an AP and / or a communication device operating the AP function. The first STA functional unit 231 and the second STA functional unit 232 are communication interfaces for communication and are individually assigned different media access control (MAC) addresses. Although the following description will be given of the case where the first STA functional unit 231 and the second STA functional unit 232 perform communication using different channels from each other, the same channel may be used. In the communication device 101, two STA functions are operated simultaneously, and the communication device 101 is capable of connecting to up to two APs or two communication devices operating the AP function. In addition, the communication device 101 is also capable of activating a third STA function through an external communication adapter of the external connection communication unit 233. That is, in a state where the communication device 101 is performing a communication connection with one AP, the communication device 101 is capable of establishing a communication connection with a different AP or capable of performing a communication connection with a different AP. The external connection communication unit 233 also performs wireless LAN control in accordance with the IEEE802.11 standard. In addition, the first STA functional unit 231, the second STA functional unit 232, and the external connection communication unit 233 have a wireless communication setup protocol based on DPP. Here, although an example configuration including a plurality of STA functional units has been described as an example, the configuration is not limited to this configuration as long as it includes a plurality of communication interfaces. For example, it may include a plurality of communication interfaces of the STA functional unit and the AP functional unit.

[0029] The control unit 241 includes a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessing unit (MPU), and controls the entire communication device 101 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 251. The storage unit 251 includes a memory such as a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM), and stores a program for executing each process shown in the flowcharts to be described below and various other types of processes, as well as various types of information. Each process shown in the flowcharts to be described below may be executed using one CPU, or may adopt another configuration. More specifically, each process shown in the flowcharts to be described below may be executed in a distributed manner by collaborating among a plurality of processors, RAMs, ROMs, and storage devices.

[0030] Figure 3 A flowchart of the processes to be executed by the communication device 101 is illustrated. Hereinafter, reference numerals starting from "S" are assigned to each step (process).

[0031] In step S301, the communication device 101 starts the processing shown in the flowchart in Figure 3 based on an instruction obtained when the user selects a setting menu by operating the input unit 211. The start timing is not limited to this, and may be the timing when the communication device 101 is activated, or the timing when the wireless LAN function of the communication device 101 is enabled. Figure 3 In step S302, the communication device 101 performs a selection of a communication interface for which setting processing of communication parameters based on DPP is to be performed. Details of the communication interface selection processing will be described below.

[0032] In step S303, the communication device 101 outputs boot information including the MAC address of the communication interface selected in step S302. The boot information includes public key information, MAC address, channel information, and band information. The output of the boot information in this exemplary embodiment is performed by displaying the boot information as a Quick Response

[0033] code on the output unit 221. The output method of the boot information is not limited to the display of a QR code, and the boot information may be notified to other communication devices (such as communication devices 121 and 122) via NFC or near-field wireless communication performed by the near-field communication unit 234 (such as ) Alternatively, the boot information may be pre-generated for each MAC address information of a corresponding one of the plurality of communication interfaces and stored in the storage unit 251, and the boot information corresponding to the communication interface selected in step S302 may be output. In addition to this, boot information including the MAC address information of the communication interface for which the timing selection for selecting the communication interface in step S302 is made may be generated and output in step S303. When selecting the output method of the boot information, the output method may be selected according to the capabilities of the device, such as outputting the boot information as a QR code when the device includes a display unit. Here, the boot information including the MAC address of the communication interface selected in step S302 is output. However, the information included in the boot information is not limited to this. Boot information including channel information about the channel to be used in the selected communication interface or boot information including band information about the band to be used in the selected communication interface may be output. At least one or more pieces of information about these may be output. In the case of outputting boot information including channel information, an authentication request in the channel corresponding to the channel information is awaited. The following description will be given for the case of outputting boot information including a MAC address.

[0034] ​In the processing in step S304 and subsequent steps, the communication device 101, together with the communication device 121 operating as a configurator, performs the setting of communication parameters conforming to DPP using the usage guidance information with any one of the first STA functional unit 231, the second STA functional unit 232, and the external connection communication unit 233. Since the communication device 121 that has acquired the MAC address information output in step S303 sends an authentication request with the destination set to the MAC address, in subsequent processing, the communication of information is performed using the communication interface selected in step S302.

[0035] In step S304, the communication device 101 and the communication device 121 perform an authentication process. First, to perform the authentication process, the communication device 101 waits for an authentication request sent by the communication device 121. Here, the "authentication request" is a DPP_Authentication_Request frame conforming to the DPP standard. In step S304, if the authentication request is not received within a predetermined time since the communication device 101 starts waiting for the authentication request, the communication parameter reception process may end. The authentication request includes authentication information to be used in the authentication process, identification information about the communication device 121, a random number generated by the communication device 121, and a shared key generation public key (the public key of the communication device 121) to be used for generating a shared key. When encrypting the random number for authentication, the shared key is used. Here, the "authentication information" specifically refers to the hash value of the public key for the authentication of the communication device 101 included in the QR code. The identification information about the communication device 121 is the hash value of the public key for authentication. When receiving the authentication response described below, the random number is used for authentication (step S304).

[0036] The communication device 101 that has received the authentication request performs verification processing of the device that has sent the authentication request. This determination is performed using the authentication information included in the authentication request. That is, the communication device 101 calculates the hash value of the public key for the authentication of the communication device 101, compares the calculated hash value with the hash value (authentication information) included in the authentication request, and determines that the verification is successful when the two hash values are the same. At this time, the hash function used in the calculation of the hash value is defined in the DPP standard and is the same as the hash function used by the communication device 121 when calculating the hash value. When the verification is successful, the communication device 101 generates a shared key using both the public key of the communication device 121 for shared key generation and the key of the communication device 101 for shared key generation. The shared key is generated, for example, based on the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) method. The method for generating the shared key is not limited to the ECDH method and may be another public key encryption method. Then, the communication device 101 sends an authentication response. When the verification fails, the communication device 101 ends the process without sending an authentication response. Instead, when the verification fails, the communication device 101 may send an authentication response indicating that the verification has failed. Here, the "authentication response" is a DPP_Authentication_Response frame compliant with the DPP standard. The authentication response includes the public key for the shared key generation of the communication device 101, a random number generated by the communication device 101, and tag information. The tag information is information obtained by encrypting the hash value of the random number included in the authentication request sent by the communication device 121 using the above shared key. The tag information is used in the authentication processing in the communication device 121.

[0037] The communication device 101 that has sent the authentication response waits for an authentication confirmation sent by the communication device 121. The time for which the communication device 101 waits for the authentication confirmation may be a predetermined time from the sending of the authentication response. Here, the "authentication confirmation" is a DPP_Authentication_Confirm frame compliant with the DPP standard and includes tag information. The tag information is information obtained by the communication device 121 by encrypting the random number included in the authentication response sent by the communication device 101 using the shared key. The authentication processing here is to determine whether the role is a configurator that provides communication parameters or a registrar that receives communication parameters. Hereinafter, the case where the communication device 121 is a configurator and the communication device 101 is a registrar will be described.

[0038] In step S305, when the authentication in step S305 has been successful, the communication device 101 sends a request for communication parameters to the communication device 121. This request is a DPP_Configuration_Request frame compliant with the DPP standard. The communication parameters are information to be used for performing a communication connection and include, for example, a service set identifier (SSID), an encryption method, an encryption key, an authentication method, an authentication key, and connector information defined in the DPP standard.

[0039] In step S306, the communication device 101 receives a setup response from the communication device 121 acting as a configurator. Here, the "setup response" is a DPP_Configuration_Response frame compliant with the DPP standard. The setup response sent by the communication device 121 includes communication parameters, the validity period of the communication parameters, the public key specific to the configurator of the communication device 121, role information, and provided channel information. The communication parameters include, in addition to the credentials compliant with the DPP standard and including the information to be used for the communication connection, the public key included in the authentication response from the communication device 101. The information included in the setup response is encrypted using the shared key generated by the communication device 121. The communication device 101 that has received the setup response decodes the information included in the setup response using the shared key (step S306).

[0040] In step S307, based on the communication parameters obtained by decoding, the communication device 101 connects to the wireless network established by the communication device 121. Although an example in which the communication device 101 connects to the wireless network established by the communication device 121 has been described, the example is not limited thereto. The communication device 101 may obtain the communication parameters of the communication device 121 connected to the wireless network established by an AP device (e.g., the communication device 111) to connect to the wireless network formed by the AP device.

[0041] In step S308, the communication device 101 shares the communication parameters received from the configurator through the setup of the communication parameters among the first STA functional unit 231, the second STA functional unit 232, and the external connection communication unit 233 so that the communication parameters are to be used by these units.

[0042] For example, in a case where connection to an AP or a smart phone is performed by executing DPP processing (the above-described authentication processing and communication parameter reception) using the first STA functional unit 231, information about the AP or smart phone to which the connection has been performed using the STA functional unit 231 may be displayed on a user interface (UI) for selecting a connection destination using the second STA functional unit 232 or the external connection communication unit 233. Further, in a case where connection is performed by executing DPP processing using the first STA functional unit 231, connector information defined in the DPP standard is shared between the second STA functional unit 232 and the external connection communication unit 233, and then in a case where connection is performed using the second STA functional unit 232 or the external connection communication unit 233, the communication parameter setting process by DPP may be skipped, and the connection process by network introduction processing may be performed.

[0043] Figure 4 The flowchart of the selection process of the communication interface is illustrated. The process shown in this flowchart corresponds to Figure 3 the process in step S302 of

[0044] In step S401, the communication device 101 waits for an instruction issued by the user to select a communication interface of an STA for performing communication parameter setting according to DPP. In the present exemplary embodiment, the communication device 101 waits for an instruction to select any one of the first STA functional unit 231, the second STA functional unit 232, and the external connection communication unit 233 for a certain period of time. Alternatively, the communication device 101 may cause the user to issue an instruction to manually or automatically select a communication interface, instead of receiving the instruction to select a communication interface issued by the user. In a case where the user has issued an instruction to manually select a communication interface, the instruction to select a communication interface issued by the user is received.

[0045] After the communication device 101 waits for an instruction issued by the user to select a communication interface, in step S402, the communication device 101 determines whether an instruction issued by the user to select a communication interface has been received. In a case where an instruction issued by the user to select a communication interface has been received (Yes in step S402), the process proceeds to step S403. In step S403, the communication device 101 determines to perform communication parameter setting via the communication interface selected by the user. In a case where an instruction issued by the user to select a communication interface has not been received (No in step S402), the process proceeds to step S404. In step S404, the communication device 101 starts the process of automatically selecting a communication interface using the control unit 241 and determines whether there is an unconnected communication interface. That is, the communication device 101 determines whether there is any unconnected communication interface among the first STA functional unit 231, the second STA functional unit 232, and the external connection communication unit 233.

[0046] In the case where there is an unconnected communication interface (Yes in step S404), the process proceeds to step S405. In step S405, the communication device 101 determines to perform communication parameter setting via the unconnected communication interface. In the case where there are multiple unconnected communication interfaces, the communication device 101 determines one unconnected communication interface based on the priority information described below. In the case where there is no unconnected communication interface (No in step S404), the process proceeds to step S406. In step S406, the communication device 101 refers to the priority information and determines to perform communication parameter setting via the communication interface with a high priority. The priority information is information in which the priorities of the communication interfaces to be used by the user are preset and is stored in the storage unit 251. The priority information can prioritize the communication interfaces that control less congested frequency bands in view of the surrounding communication conditions rather than the priorities determined in advance by the user.

[0047] Figure 5 A sequence diagram of the communication device 101 and the communication device 121 is illustrated. This sequence diagram illustrates the processes of selecting a communication interface, performing DPP processing via the selected communication interface, and performing connection processing.

[0048] For example, the communication device 101 and the communication device 121 start communication setting processing (steps S501, S502) in response to an instruction from the user. A communication interface for performing DPP is selected from the input unit 211, and the communication device 101 displays, as a QR code, the guidance information including the MAC address information of the selected communication interface via the output unit 221 and waits for an authentication request (steps S503, S504). In the case where an authentication request is not received within a predetermined time, the communication device 101 may end waiting for the authentication request. In the case where the communication device 101 does not include a display for displaying the QR code and the QR code is printed on a label attached to its housing or accessory, the process in step S504 is skipped. In response to receiving a communication setting instruction from the user (step S502), the communication device 121 activates the imaging unit to capture an image of the QR code displayed (or printed on the label) by the communication device 101 (step S505). The imaging unit of the communication device 121 captures an image of the QR code, whereby the communication device 121 acquires the information indicated by the QR code (step S506). The output method of the guidance information is not limited to the display of the QR code, and the guidance information may be notified to other communication devices (such as the communication devices 121 and 122) via NFC or near-field wireless communication performed by the near-field communication unit 234 (such as ) In this case, the processes in steps S504 and S505 are skipped, and the process in step S506 is performed via near-field communication.

[0049] The communication device 121 that has obtained the information indicated by the QR code generates and sends an authentication request, and the communication device 101 receives the authentication request (step S507). The communication device 101 verifies the received authentication request (step S508). In the case where the communication device 101 determines that the communication device 121 that has sent the authentication request is the device that has captured the image of the QR code, the communication device 101 generates and sends an authentication response (step S509). The communication device 101 that has sent the authentication response to the communication device 121 waits for an authentication confirmation to be sent from the communication device 121.

[0050] The communication device 121 that has received the authentication response verifies the authentication response (step S510). In the case where the communication device 121 determines that the authentication has been successful, the communication device 121 sends an authentication confirmation to the communication device 101 (step S511). The communication device 101 that has received the authentication confirmation in step S511 verifies the authentication confirmation (step S512). In the case where the tag information has been correctly decoded using the shared key generated by the communication device 101, the communication device 101 determines that the authentication has been successful. In the case where the communication device 101 determines that the authentication has been successful, the communication device 101 sends a setting request for requesting communication parameters (step S513) and waits for a setting response to be sent from the communication device 121.

[0051] The communication device 121 that has received the setting request sends a setting response including the communication parameters (step S514). The communication device 101 that has received the setting response connects to the wireless network based on the communication parameters included in the setting response (step S515).

[0052] Figure 6 An example of the transition of the user interface (i.e., the screen of the display unit) of the communication device 101 is illustrated. Figure 6 An example of the screen display in the processing in the above steps S401, 402, and S503 is illustrated. Although a description will be given of the case where the communication device 101 is not connected to any of the communication devices 111 and 121 and 122, all communication interfaces can be used for connection.

[0053] The display 601 is the "Communication Settings" screen that is to be displayed when the user selects the communication settings menu by operating the output unit 221 or the input unit 211. On the "Communication Settings" screen for selecting the communication interface for which settings are to be performed, "Wireless LAN 1 Settings", "Wireless LAN 2 Settings", and "Wi-Fi Direct" are provided as the settings menu. In the present exemplary embodiment, "Wireless LAN 1 Settings" is the settings menu for the settings related to the wireless LAN communication using the first STA function unit 231. "Wireless LAN 2 Settings" is the settings menu for the settings related to the wireless LAN communication using the second STA function unit 232. "Wireless LAN 3 Settings" is the settings menu for the settings related to the wireless LAN communication using the external connection communication unit 233. Here, the user has selected "Wireless LAN 1 Settings" on the display 601.

[0054] The display 602 is the "Settings Method" screen and is the screen that is displayed when "Wireless LAN 1 Settings" is selected on the "Communication Settings" screen. Here, the display 602 is the screen for selecting the method for setting the parameters for connecting the first STA function unit 231 to an external device via wireless LAN communication. On the "Settings Method" screen, "Manual Settings", "WPS", and "DPP" are provided as the settings menu. "Manual Settings" is the item for manually setting the service set identifier (hereinafter, SSID) or password to be used for the wireless connection. In other words, "Manual Settings" is the setting for the user to type in the parameters for connecting the first STA function unit 231 to an external device via wireless LAN communication. "WPS" is the setting item for setting the parameters to be used for the wireless connection in Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS). "DPP" is the setting item for exchanging the parameters to be used for the wireless connection in the above DPP method. Here, on the display 502, the user has selected "DPP".

[0055] The display 603 is the "Method Selection" screen and is the screen that is displayed when "DPP" is selected on the "Settings Method" screen. The "Method Selection" screen is the screen for selecting the method for providing the guidance information in the DPP process, and "QR Code", "NFC", and "Bluetooth" are provided as the settings menu. For example, "QR Code" is the setting item for outputting the guidance information through a two-dimensional code such as a QR code. "NFC" is the setting item for outputting the guidance information via NFC, and "Bluetooth" is the setting item for outputting the guidance information via Bluetooth communication. Here, on the display 603, the user has selected "QR Code". In the case where "NFC" or "Bluetooth" is selected, the guidance information is provided via the near-field wireless communication using the near-field communication unit 234 by writing the guidance information into an NFC tag or setting the guidance information in a Bluetooth advertisement beacon.

[0056] The display 604 indicates the And it is displayed when "QR code" is selected on the "Method Selection" screen. When guiding information including the MAC address information of the selected communication interface is output, as described above, information can be dynamically generated and displayed, or pre-generated information can be obtained and displayed. The communication device 121 or the communication device 122 reads this QR code, thereby starting the DPP process. The display 605 is a screen displayed when performing the DPP process with the communication device 121 or the communication device 122 using the first STA functional unit 231. The display 606 is a screen displayed in response to the completion of the communication connection after the first STA functional unit 231 has performed the DPP process.

[0057] The display 607 is the display of the "Communication Settings" screen. Since the first STA functional unit 231 is currently performing a communication connection, "Wireless LAN1" is indicated by a display indicating that the connection is in progress. This display can use characters or use an icon display. Information indicating that the connection is in progress can be included and displayed in a manner recognizable by the user. In this case, for example, information including the SSID of the network indicating that the connection is in progress can be included and displayed. Since the second STA functional unit 232 and the external connection communication unit 233 are not in a connected state, for "Wireless LAN2 Settings" and "Wireless LAN3 Settings", information indicating that the connection is in progress is not displayed. For "Wireless LAN2 Settings" and "Wireless LAN3 Settings", communication settings are also performed in a similar manner to "Wireless LAN1 Settings".

[0058] Although an example case of outputting guiding information including the MAC address information of one selected communication interface has been described, the information included in the guiding information is not limited to this. Guiding information including the MAC address information of multiple communication interfaces can be output. For example, guiding information including the MAC addresses of two communication interfaces of the first STA functional unit 231 and the second STA functional unit 232 is output. Instead of the MAC address, guiding information including channel information or band information regarding multiple communication channels can be output.

[0059] A description has been given of the case where, when the communication device is configured to operate multiple STA functions simultaneously, a communication interface capable of performing the STA function is selected from among multiple communication interfaces and communication parameter settings are performed by DPP. In the case of a configuration having one STA function as in the prior art, which communication interface is used for the DPP process is not considered, but in a configuration having multiple STA functions, it involves selecting a communication interface from among multiple executable communication interfaces to perform DPP. Therefore, by the present invention, in a configuration having multiple STA functions, a communication interface capable of performing the STA function is selected from among multiple communication interfaces and DPP is performed, which leads to an improvement in user convenience.

[0060] As described above, the communication interface providing the STA function can be exclusively controlled in sequence by time in an embedded wireless IC chip, or can be individually controlled in the embedded wireless IC chip corresponding to each communication interface. The STA function can be provided in a wireless communication adapter connected externally.

[0061] Although the description of the case of controlling the communication interface through a common application has been given in this exemplary embodiment, DPP can be executed by a separate application (such as an auxiliary application of a communication adapter connected to the externally connected communication unit 233).

[0062] The communication device 101 according to this exemplary embodiment has three STA functions of a first STA function unit 231, a second STA function unit 232, and an externally connected communication unit 233, but the number of STA functions is not limited to three as long as the communication device 101 has a plurality of STA functions. For example, the communication device 101 can have two STA functions of a first STA function unit 231 and a second STA function unit 232, or can have two STA functions of a first STA function unit 231 and an externally connected communication unit 233.

[0063] Although multiple STA functions have been described as examples of multiple wireless LAN communication interfaces, the examples of multiple communication interfaces are not limited thereto, and may be multiple communication interfaces including an AP function and an STA function. Multiple wireless IC chips may be provided to physically provide multiple communication interfaces, or multiple communication interfaces may be virtually provided on one wireless IC chip. For example, in the IEEE 802.11be standard, which is part of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series of standards, the present invention is also applied to a configuration that performs multi-link communication, in which one device and another device establish multiple wireless links and perform communication in parallel using the multiple wireless links. A device capable of performing multi-link communication by establishing multiple wireless links and performing communication is referred to as a multi-link device (MLD). An AP and an STA establish multiple wireless links using different frequency channels and perform communication. For example, an STA can establish a first link using the 5-gigahertz (GHz) band and a second link using the 6-GHz band with an AP. However, this is an example, and three or more links may be established, or a frequency band combination other than the combination of the 5-GHz band and the 6-GHz band may be used. The frequency channels to be used in the multiple wireless links may be multiple different frequency channels included in the same frequency band. For example, in the first link, 36 channels (ch) in the 5-GHz band may be used, and in the second link, 161 ch in the 5-GHz band may be used. The term "ch" represents "channel". In the case of establishing three or more wireless links, links using the same frequency band and links using different frequency bands may be used in combination. For example, in addition to a first link using 5 ch in the 6-GHz band and a second link using 213 ch in the 6-GHz band, a third link using 6 ch in the 2.4-GHz band may be established. Establishing multiple connections using different frequency channels allows communication to be performed with good communication quality using another frequency channel even when sufficient communication quality cannot be obtained in any frequency channel due to congestion. This prevents deterioration of the communication throughput and an increase in communication latency. The communication interfaces corresponding to the respective links in the case of performing such multi-link communication are also applicable to the configuration of this exemplary embodiment as multiple communication interfaces. In this case, at least one or more of the channel information, frequency band information, or MAC address of the selected link are output as guidance information. Then, in the selected link, communication parameter setting processing is performed according to DPP.

[0064] [Second Exemplary Embodiment]

[0065] In the first exemplary embodiment, an example has been given of providing communication parameters from communication device 121 to communication device 101, where communication device 101 serves as a registrar and communication device 121 serves as a configurator. The configuration is not limited to this. As another case, communication device 101 can serve as a configurator and communication device 121 can serve as a registrar. This case will be described in the present exemplary embodiment. Since the basic configuration of the present exemplary embodiment is the same as that of the first exemplary embodiment, only the differences will be described.

[0066] Figure 7 The flowchart in shows the processing performed by communication device 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment. This flowchart has the same basic configuration as the processing in the flowchart in Figure 3 and only the differences will be described.

[0067] In step S701, communication device 101 receives a request for communication parameters from communication device 121. The request is a DPP_Configuration_Request frame compliant with the DPP standard.

[0068] In step S702, communication device 101 sends a setup response to communication device 121 acting as a registrar. The "setup response" is a DPP_Configuration_Response frame compliant with the DPP standard. The setup response sent by communication device 101 includes communication parameters, the expiration period of the communication parameters, the public key dedicated to the configurator of communication device 121, role information, and provided channel information. The communication parameters sent here are the communication parameters for connecting to the network to which the first STA functional unit 231 is connected, but the communication parameters are not limited to this. The communication parameters can be the communication parameters stored in communication device 101. Communication device 121 with the communication parameters set uses the provided communication parameters to join the network.

[0069] Through the above processing, the communication parameters for joining the network connected to the selected communication interface are provided to the other device. For example, in the case where the first STA functional unit 231 is connected to AP1 and the second STA functional unit 232 is connected to AP2, and when the user selects the first STA functional unit 231, communication device 101 provides the communication parameters for connecting to AP1 to the other device.

[0070] [Third Exemplary Embodiment]

[0071] Although the DPP processing has been described as an example of the communication parameter setting processing in the first exemplary embodiment, the example of the communication parameter setting processing is not limited to this. In the present exemplary embodiment, an example of performing the communication parameter setting processing using WPS instead of DPP processing will be described.

[0072] Since the basic configuration of this exemplary embodiment is the same as that of the first exemplary embodiment, only the differences will be described.

[0073] In response to the start of the communication parameter setting process using WPS, similar to Figure 3 step S302, a communication interface for executing WPS is selected. In the communication interface selection, a process equivalent to the flowchart shown in Figure 4 is executed. After selecting the communication interface in the step equivalent to step S302, the WPS process is executed using the selected communication interface. For example, the communication device 101 sends a probe request frame using the selected communication interface.

[0074] The communication device 121 that has started receiving the probe request frame from the communication device 101 receives the probe request frame from the communication device 101. Then, the communication device 121 sends a probe response frame including an information element indicating that WPS is being activated to the communication device 101.

[0075] In response to receiving the probe response frame from the communication device 121, the communication device 101 connects to the wireless network established by the communication device 121. Specifically, the communication device 101 sends an association request including an information element of WPS to the communication device 121.

[0076] In response to receiving the association request from the communication device 101, the communication device 121 sends an association response including an information element of WPS to the communication device 101. In this way, the connection from the communication device 101 to the wireless network 103 is completed. In the case of performing a connection using a signal including an information element of WPS, only signals for sharing communication parameters are transmitted between the communication device 101 and the communication device 121. That is, communication of user data and the like between the communication device 101 and the communication device 121 cannot be performed.

[0077] Then, the communication device 101 starts the parameter sharing process compliant with the WPS standard. Specifically, the communication device 101 starts the WPS parameter sharing session by sending an EAPOL-Start frame.

[0078] The communication device 121 performs WPS parameter sharing processing with the communication device 101 by using an EAP frame. Specifically, by using the EAP frame, the communication device 121 performs sharing of an encryption key by using Diffie-Hellman key exchange (DH). The communication device 121 transmits communication parameters encrypted by using the encryption key shared with the communication device 101. The communication device 101 decodes the communication parameters by using the encryption key shared with the communication device 121. After that, the communication device 101 connects to the wireless network by using the decoded communication parameters. In this case, the communication device 101 and the communication device 121 can transmit user data. Through such processing, the communication device 101 performs communication parameter setting processing with the communication device 121 by a method compliant with the WPS standard on the selected communication interface. The communication device 101 can transmit frames such as an authentication request frame or an association request to the communication device 121 by using the communication interface selected in the step corresponding to step S302. The communication device 101 can transmit a frame including the MAC address, channel information, or frequency information of the selected communication interface to the communication device 121. Similar to the first exemplary embodiment, for example, the configuration of this exemplary embodiment is also applicable to multiple communication interfaces in multi-link communication.

[0079] [Fourth Exemplary Embodiment]

[0080] In the first exemplary embodiment, the DPP processing has been described as an example of communication parameter setting processing. In this exemplary embodiment, an example of communication parameter setting processing using Wi-Fi (hereinafter referred to as “WFD”) will be described.

[0081] Since the basic configuration of this exemplary embodiment is similar to the basic configuration of the first exemplary embodiment, only the differences will be described.

[0082] In response to the start of communication parameter setting processing using WFD, similar to Figure 3 step S302, a communication interface for performing WFD is selected. In the communication interface selection, the processing of the flowchart shown in Figure 4 is performed. After selecting a communication interface in the step corresponding to step S302, WFD processing is performed by using the selected communication interface. For example, the communication device 101 performs a device search process (P2P discovery process) defined by the Wi-Fi Direct specification by using the selected communication interface.

[0083] In the case where the communication device 101 and the communication device 121 discover each other, next, a group owner (GO) determination process (GO negotiation process) defined by the Wi-Fi Direct specification is performed. Then, the communication device 101 and the communication device 121 exchange communication parameters.

[0084] (Other embodiments)

[0085] Configurations in which one or more of the above-described exemplary embodiments are combined may be employed. Although DPP, WPS, etc. have been described as examples of communication parameter setting processes, the present exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto.

[0086] The present invention can also be implemented by the following process, in which a program for implementing one or more functions of the above-described exemplary embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. The present invention can also be implemented by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

[0087] The present invention is not limited to the above-described exemplary embodiments, and various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. To disclose the scope of the present invention, the following claims are appended.

[0088] This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-150563, filed on September 21, 2022, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-106363, filed on June 28, 2023, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Claims

1. A communication device that can perform communication using a plurality of communication interfaces for wireless local area network (LAN) communication, the communication device comprises: an execution component for performing a setting process of communication parameters; and a determination component for determining, from among the plurality of communication interfaces, a communication interface to be used in the setting process, wherein the execution component performs the setting process on the communication interface determined by the determination component.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the setting process is a setting process based on the Device Provisioning Protocol (DPP), and wherein the communication device further comprises an output component for outputting guidance information including information corresponding to the communication interface determined by the determination component.

3. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the information corresponding to the communication interface is the media access control (MAC) address of the communication interface.

4. The communication device according to claim 3, further comprising a receiving component for receiving an authentication request that complies with the DPP and has been sent with the destination set to the MAC address.

5. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the guidance information includes the public key of the communication device.

6. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein the guidance information includes channel information.

7. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the output component displays a two-dimensional code including the guidance information.

8. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the output component outputs via near field communication (NFC) or Bluetooth communication including the guidance information.

9. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the setting process is a setting process based on Wi-Fi Protected Setup.

10. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the setting process is a setting process based on Wi-Fi .

11. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device performs a plurality of station functions using the plurality of communication interfaces and can be connected to a plurality of base stations simultaneously.

12. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device performs multi-link communication using the plurality of communication interfaces.

13. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving component for receiving a user operation of selecting a communication interface, wherein the determination component determines, based on the user operation received by the receiving component, a communication interface to be used in the setting process.

14. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of interfaces are provided on one communication chip or on a plurality of communication chips.

15. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprises: an acquisition component for acquiring communication parameters through the setting process; and an execution component for performing a communication connection based on the communication parameters acquired by the acquisition component by using the communication interface determined by the determination component.

16. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of communication interfaces include an embedded wireless integrated circuit (IC) chip and an externally connected wireless communication adapter.

17. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless connection is performed by sharing communication parameters obtained in the setting process among the plurality of communication interfaces.

18. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the determining component determines a communication interface to be used in the setting process according to a preset priority.

19. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the determining component determines a communication interface to be used in the setting process based on the surrounding communication conditions.

20. A control method, which is executed by a communication device capable of performing communication using a plurality of communication interfaces for wireless local area network (LAN) communication, the control method comprises: an execution step for performing a setting process of communication parameters; and a determination step for determining a communication interface to be used in the setting process from among the plurality of communication interfaces, wherein in the execution step, the setting process is performed on the communication interface determined by the determining component.

21. A program for causing a computer to function as the communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

Images