Electronic apparatus and control method

Abstract

To provide a technique for suppressing a decrease in user convenience due to an error in wireless communication of an electronic apparatus.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus 100 includes a wireless communication unit 120 performing wireless communication, and a communication controller 114 controlling communication of the wireless communication unit 120. When an error occurs in the wireless communication, the communication controller 114 executes predetermined processing for resolving the error and disables a predetermined power saving function that affects the wireless communication.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device and a control method. [Background technology]

[0002] In wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), an error may occur in the wireless communication between an electronic device and another device. In relation to this, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses that in a printing device capable of communicating with a terminal device, when a communication error occurs, the communication control unit sends an initialization signal to the communication unit to resolve the communication error. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-15997 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When an error occurs in wireless communication of an electronic device, the electronic device can perform a predetermined process for recovery, which can resolve the error. However, even if the error is resolved once, the error may occur again. This reduces user convenience. Therefore, there is a demand for a technology that can suppress the reduction in user convenience caused by errors in wireless communication of electronic devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The electronic device according to the present disclosure has a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication and a communication control unit that controls communication of the wireless communication unit, and when an error occurs in the wireless communication, the communication control unit executes a specified process to resolve the error and disables a specified power saving function that affects the wireless communication.

[0006] In addition, the control method disclosed herein is a control method for an electronic device that performs wireless communication via a wireless communication unit, and when an error occurs in the wireless communication, executes a specified process to resolve the error and disables a specified power saving function that affects the wireless communication. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a configuration of a processing unit and a wireless communication unit in the electronic device according to the embodiment; [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operations of a processing unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted and simplified as appropriate. In addition, in each drawing, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted as necessary.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system 10 according to the present embodiment. The communication system 10 includes an electronic device 100 and a communication device 200 capable of wireless communication with the electronic device 100. In the present embodiment, the communication device 200 is used as a destination of packet transmission based on execution of a ping command in order to determine whether an error occurs in the wireless communication of the electronic device 100, as described later. Note that the communication device 200 may be a device that relays wireless communication. Specifically, the communication device 200 may be, for example, a default gateway or an access point. However, the communication device 200 does not necessarily have to be a device that relays wireless communication. When the communication device 200 is a device that relays wireless communication, the electronic device 100 may perform wireless communication with another communication device via the communication device 200. Also, the electronic device 100 may perform wireless communication with another communication device without via the communication device 200.

[0010] The electronic device 100 may be any device having a configuration for performing wireless communication. In this embodiment, a technique for suppressing a decrease in the convenience of the user of the electronic device 100 due to an error in wireless communication occurring in the electronic device 100 is shown. In this embodiment, a configuration in which the electronic device 100 is a device having a printing function, that is, a printer, is shown, but the electronic device 100 does not necessarily have to have a printing function. Furthermore, the electronic device 100 may have one or more other functions instead of or in addition to the printing function. For example, the electronic device 100 may have a scanner function, a facsimile function, a copy function, or the like.

[0011] As described above, the electronic device 100 performs wireless communication with other devices. The wireless communication performed by the electronic device 100 may be wireless communication according to a known wireless communication standard, but in the present embodiment, as an example, the electronic device 100 performs communication using the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) system. The Wi-Fi system is a wireless communication system based on, for example, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard and standards equivalent thereto.

[0012] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the electronic device 100 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of the configuration of the processing unit 110 and the wireless communication unit 120 in the electronic device 100.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic device 100 includes a processing unit 110, a wireless communication unit 120, a display unit 130, an operation unit 140, a printing unit 150, and a storage unit 160.

[0014] The processing unit 110 controls each unit of the electronic device 100. The units of the electronic device 100 are, for example, the wireless communication unit 120, the display unit 130, the operation unit 140, the printing unit 150, the storage unit 160, and the like. In this embodiment, the processing unit 110 has a function as a computer, and is configured as an SoC (System on a chip) as an example. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the processing unit 110 is included in a chip 51. The chip 51 is, for example, a semiconductor chip. Thus, in this embodiment, the processing unit 110 is configured by an integrated circuit. The processing unit 110 includes a processor 111, a memory 112, and an interface 113. The processor 111 is a processor that performs processing related to the wireless communication function of the electronic device 100. Note that the processing unit 110 may include another processor that performs processing related to other functions of the electronic device 100, and the processor 111 may perform processing related to other functions in addition to the processing related to the wireless communication function.

[0015] The wireless communication unit 120 performs wireless communication with other devices than the electronic device 100, for example, in accordance with a predetermined wireless communication standard. For example, the wireless communication unit 120 performs wireless communication in accordance with a predetermined wireless LAN (Local Area Network) standard. In this embodiment, specifically, the wireless communication is performed in accordance with, for example, the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) standard, which is one of the wireless LAN standards. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the wireless communication unit 120 is included in a chip 52. The chip 52 is, for example, a semiconductor chip. Thus, in this embodiment, the wireless communication unit 120 is configured by an integrated circuit. Note that the wireless communication unit 120 may have a wireless communication circuit in accordance with a standard other than the wireless LAN standard. For example, the wireless communication unit 120 may include a wireless communication circuit in accordance with a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). Specifically, the wireless communication unit 120 may include a wireless communication circuit in accordance with the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) standard.

[0016] The display unit 130 and the operation unit 140 are a user interface. The display unit 130 is configured with a display or the like that displays various information to the user. The operation unit 140 is configured with buttons or the like that accept input operations from the user. The display unit 130 and the operation unit 140 may be configured integrally with a touch panel or the like.

[0017] The printing unit 150 has a printing function for forming an image on a print medium such as paper. The printing unit 150 includes a print engine. The print engine is a mechanical configuration that prints an image on a print medium using color materials. The print engine may have a mechanism for printing using ink, for example, by an inkjet method. Alternatively, the print engine may have a mechanism for printing using toner, for example, by an electrophotographic method. The print engine may also have a transport mechanism for transporting the print medium.

[0018] The storage unit 160 stores various types of information such as data and programs. The processing unit 110 and the wireless communication unit 120 may use the storage unit 160 as a work area, for example. The storage unit 160 may be a semiconductor memory such as a static random access memory (SRAM) or a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a register, a magnetic storage device, or an optical storage device. The storage unit 160 may store data transmitted from another device by wireless communication. This data may be data used for printing by the printing unit 150.

[0019] Hereinafter, the processing unit 110 and the wireless communication unit 120 in the electronic device 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0020] The processing unit 110 includes a processor 111, a memory 112, and an interface 113. The processor 111 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), but may be a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), or the like. The memory 112 is configured by a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof. The memory 112 is used to store programs executed by the processor 111, data used for various processes of the processing unit 110, and the like. The processor 111 reads out and executes programs from the memory 112 to perform processes for implementing the various functions of the processing unit 110 shown in FIG. 2. The processor 111 may use programs or data stored in a random access memory (RAM) 162 or a read only memory (ROM) 164 instead of or in addition to the memory 112. In this embodiment, the processor 111 specifically performs processes of a communication control unit 114, a wireless chip driver 115, an interface driver 116, and a clock control unit 117. The communication control unit 114, the wireless chip driver 115, the interface driver 116, and the clock control unit 117 will be described later. The processor 111 may also perform other processes.

[0021] The interface 113 is an interface for performing communication, for example, by wire, between internal devices of the electronic device 100. Specifically, the interface 113 is an interface circuit for the processing unit 110 to communicate with the wireless communication unit 120. The interface 113 is, for example, a serial interface capable of high-speed serial transfer. Specifically, the interface 113 is, for example, an interface conforming to a communication standard of USB (Universal Serial Bus), but may be an interface conforming to another communication standard. The processing unit 110 may be connected to the RAM 162 and ROM 164 constituting the storage unit 160 in FIG. 2. The RAM 162 and the ROM 164 may be included in the chip 51 or may be included in the processing unit 110. The RAM 162 is, for example, an SRAM or a DRAM, and may be used as a work area for the processing unit 110. The ROM 164 is a memory that can hold information even when the power supply is cut off. The ROM 164 may be a ROM called a non-volatile memory, such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), from which data can be electrically erased, or may be a mask ROM.

[0022] The wireless communication unit 120 includes a wireless communication circuit 121, an interface 122, a RAM 123, and an antenna 124. As described above, the wireless communication circuit 121 may include a plurality of wireless communication circuits of different standards, such as wireless LAN and short-range wireless communication.

[0023] The wireless communication circuit 121 performs wireless communication with an external device using an antenna 124. The wireless communication circuit 121 may include, for example, a transceiver that is a circuit of the physical layer of wireless communication, and a communication processing circuit that performs processing of the link layer. The transceiver includes, for example, a transmitting circuit and a receiving circuit of wireless communication. The communication processing circuit may be realized by, for example, a processor such as a CPU. The interface 122 is, for example, a serial interface capable of high-speed serial transfer, and is an interface of the same communication standard as the interface 113 of the processing unit 110. For example, the interface 122 is an interface of the USB communication standard. The interface 113 of the processing unit 110 and the interface 122 of the wireless communication unit 120 are connected via a bus 60. The RAM 123 temporarily stores various data and programs. The communication processing circuit of the wireless communication circuit 121 may operate using the RAM 123 as a work area.

[0024] Next, the wireless chip driver 115, the interface driver 116, the clock control unit 117, and the communication control unit 114, which are processed by the processing unit 110, will be described.

[0025] The wireless chip driver 115 is a device driver of the wireless communication unit 120. That is, the wireless chip driver 115 is software for operating the wireless communication unit 120. Specifically, the wireless chip driver 115 is software such as a program that controls the operation of the wireless communication circuit 121 of the wireless communication unit 120. The wireless chip driver 115 has a function of operating the wireless communication unit 120 in a power saving mode to perform wireless communication. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the wireless chip driver 115 can operate the wireless communication unit 120 in a power save mode of the IEEE 802.11 standard. The wireless chip driver 115 can also operate the wireless communication unit 120 in a non-power saving mode to perform wireless communication. That is, the wireless chip driver 115 can also operate the wireless communication unit 120 in a mode other than the power save mode (i.e., a non-power saving mode). In the present embodiment, the wireless chip driver 115 operates the wireless communication unit 120 in a mode designated by the communication control unit 114.

[0026] The interface driver 116 is a device driver of the bus 60 for the processing unit 110 to communicate with the wireless communication unit 120. That is, the interface driver 116 is software that controls the communication connection between the processing unit 110 (chip 51) and the wireless communication unit 120 (chip 52). In this embodiment, specifically, the interface driver 116 is a USB host driver. The interface driver 116 also controls the power supply to the wireless communication unit 120 by the VBUS of the USB. Note that, when a predetermined power saving function is enabled, the communication connection between the processing unit 110 and the wireless communication unit 120 may transition to a power saving mode. In this embodiment, this predetermined power saving function is specifically a USB Auto Suspend function. When the USB Auto Suspend function is enabled, the interface driver 116 stops the normal power supply to the wireless communication unit 120 by the VBUS when communication between the processing unit 110 and the wireless communication unit 120 is interrupted for a predetermined time or more, thereby suppressing power consumption. That is, the interface driver 116 shifts the communication connection from the non-power saving mode (active state) to the power saving mode (suspended state). That is, the power state for the communication connection shifts from the non-power saving mode (active state) to the power saving mode (suspended state). After that, when communication occurs, the interface driver 116 starts normal power supply again. That is, the interface driver 116 shifts the communication connection from the power saving mode (suspended state) to the non-power saving mode (active state). That is, the power state for the communication connection shifts from the power saving mode (suspended state) to the non-power saving mode (active state). On the other hand, when the USB Auto Suspend function is not enabled, that is, when it is disabled, the interface driver 116 continues normal power supply to the wireless communication unit 120 regardless of whether there is communication between the processing unit 110 and the wireless communication unit 120. That is, the interface driver 116 performs the communication connection in the non-power saving mode (active state) regardless of whether there is communication. In other words, the power state for communication connection is maintained in the non-power saving mode (active state).In this embodiment, the communication control unit 114 specifies whether or not the above-mentioned predetermined power saving function (USB Auto Suspend function) for the communication connection between the processing unit 110 and the wireless communication unit 120 is to be enabled.

[0027] The clock control unit 117 controls the clock frequency of the processor 111 of the processing unit 110. For example, the clock control unit 117 controls to change the clock frequency from a first frequency (maximum frequency) to a predetermined second frequency, or to return the clock frequency from the second frequency to the first frequency. Here, the second frequency is a value lower than the first frequency. By operating the processor 111 at the clock frequency of the second frequency, the processing unit 110 can operate with less power than when the processor 111 operates at the clock frequency of the first frequency. Note that a mode in which the processor 111 operates at the clock frequency of the first frequency may be referred to as a non-power saving mode. Similarly, a mode in which the processor 111 operates at the clock frequency of the second frequency may be referred to as a power saving mode. In this way, the clock control unit 117 controls switching between the non-power saving mode and the power saving mode. In this embodiment, the clock control unit 117 operates the processor 111 in a mode according to an instruction from the communication control unit 114. It should be noted that the processing unit 110 does not necessarily have to have the function of changing the clock frequency, in which case the processing unit 110 does not necessarily have to have the clock control unit 117.

[0028] The communication control unit 114 controls the wireless communication of the electronic device 100. That is, the communication control unit 114 controls the communication of the wireless communication unit 120. In this embodiment, the communication control unit 114 not only performs a transmission control process for controlling the transmission and reception of data by wireless communication, but also performs a process related to a wireless communication error in particular. The process related to a wireless communication error performed by the communication control unit 114 will be described below. A wireless communication error refers to a state in which wireless communication cannot be performed normally, and can also be called a wireless connection error.

[0029] The communication control unit 114 performs a process of detecting the occurrence of an error in wireless communication (hereinafter, also referred to as an error detection process). Specifically, the communication control unit 114 judges whether an error has occurred in wireless communication by periodically transmitting packets to the communication device 200, which is an example of a predetermined device. The communication control unit 114 transmits packets at intervals of, for example, 10 minutes. More specifically, the communication control unit 114 judges the state of the wireless communication connection of the wireless communication unit 120 by executing a ping command and transmitting packets to the communication device 200. That is, the communication control unit 114 judges whether an error has occurred in wireless communication by checking a response to the packet transmitted by executing the ping command. When a response is obtained from the communication device 200, the communication control unit 114 judges that no error has occurred in wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 120. On the other hand, when a response is not obtained from the communication device 200, the communication control unit 114 judges that an error has occurred in wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 120. By detecting an error in wireless communication by periodically transmitting packets in this way, it is possible to detect the error in wireless communication early. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the error in wireless communication early. This is expected to resolve wireless communication errors before the user becomes aware of them.

[0030] The communication control unit 114 may perform the error detection process only in the following cases. The communication control unit 114 may perform the above-mentioned error detection process only when a response to a packet transmission from the electronic device 100 (wireless communication unit 120) has been normally received from the communication device 200. For example, when the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the communication device 200 has not been set in advance for the electronic device 100 or when the set IP address of the communication device 200 contains an error, the communication control unit 114 may omit the error detection process.

[0031] When the communication control unit 114 determines that an error has occurred in wireless communication, it executes a predetermined process for resolving the error that has occurred (hereinafter also referred to as error resolution process) and control for disabling a predetermined power saving function that affects wireless communication (hereinafter also referred to as power saving disable control).

[0032] First, the error resolution process will be described. In this embodiment, when the communication control unit 114 determines that an error has occurred in wireless communication, it executes at least one of the following three error resolution processes as the error resolution process. However, these are merely specific examples of the error resolution process, and the communication control unit 114 may execute a predetermined error resolution process different from the following three error resolution processes.

[0033] As the first error resolution process, the communication control unit 114 reinstalls the wireless chip driver 115. That is, the communication control unit 114 uninstalls the wireless chip driver 115 and installs the wireless chip driver 115 after the uninstallation.

[0034] The wireless chip driver 115 is stored in, for example, the ROM 164, and the driver is installed by reading out the wireless chip driver 115 from the ROM 164. That is, the wireless chip driver 115 is incorporated into the execution program of the processor 111 and installed to enable execution. In the first error resolution process, first, the communication control unit 114 uninstalls the installed wireless chip driver 115. That is, uninstallation is performed to delete the wireless chip driver 115 from the execution program of the processor 111. At this time, the communication control unit 114 may perform negotiation processing with the wireless communication unit 120 and initialize various settings set in the register of the wireless communication circuit 121. Then, in the first error resolution process, the communication control unit 114 reinstalls the wireless chip driver 115 from the ROM 164 after the uninstallation. Thereby, when there is a problem in the register setting of the wireless communication circuit 121 controlled by the wireless chip driver 115 or a problem in the wireless chip driver 115, these problems can be resolved. For example, even if the register settings of the wireless communication circuit 121 have been lost or changed to an incorrect setting, the register settings of the wireless communication circuit 121 can be restored to the correct settings by the wireless chip driver 115 newly installed after uninstallation. Furthermore, uninstallation of the wireless chip driver 115 can also reset the state of the memory used by the wireless chip driver 115. Therefore, by executing the first error resolution process, it is possible to resolve a wireless communication error caused by a problem occurring in the operation of the wireless chip driver 115 or the operation of the wireless communication unit 120.

[0035] Furthermore, as the second error resolution process, the communication control unit 114 cuts off the power supply to the wireless communication unit 120 and resumes the power supply after the power supply has been cut off. That is, as the second error resolution process, the communication control unit 114 executes a hardware reset of the wireless communication unit 120. For example, when power is supplied to the wireless communication unit 120 by the VBUS of the USB, the communication control unit 114 first prevents the power supply by this VBUS. Then, after the power supply is cut off, the communication control unit 114 resumes the power supply by the VBUS. In this embodiment, specifically, the communication control unit 114 instructs the interface driver 116 to cut off the power supply to the wireless communication unit 120. Furthermore, the communication control unit 114 instructs the interface driver 116 to resume the power supply to the wireless communication unit 120. In this way, the power supply to the wireless communication unit 120 is cut off and resumed. By cutting off and restarting the power supply in this manner, the register settings of the wireless communication circuit 121 and the like are initialized, so that the wireless communication error can be resolved.

[0036] Furthermore, as a third error resolution process, the communication control unit 114 reboots the communication control unit 114 itself. That is, the communication control unit 114 reboots the software operating as the communication control unit 114. An error may occur in wireless communication due to an abnormality in the transmission control process executed by the communication control unit 114. In such a case, rebooting the communication control unit 114 can return the operating state of the software functioning as the communication control unit 114 and the state of the memory used for the operation of the software to the state when the software was started. This can stabilize the operation of the software and resolve the wireless communication error.

[0037] When the communication control unit 114 determines that an error has occurred in wireless communication, the communication control unit 114 may execute any one of the plurality of predetermined error resolution processes, or may execute two or more processes in sequence. When executing two or more error resolution processes in sequence, the communication control unit 114 may execute the error resolution processes in sequence according to a predetermined order until the error is resolved. That is, when the error is not resolved by executing the kth (k is an integer equal to or greater than 1) error resolution process, the communication control unit 114 may execute the k+1th error resolution process. Note that the k+1th error resolution process is an error resolution process different from the kth error resolution process. The communication control unit 114 may execute the plurality of error resolution processes in order of shortest processing time until the error is resolved. That is, the above-mentioned predetermined order may be in order of shortest processing time. This makes it possible to minimize the time required for error resolution, thereby improving user convenience. In this embodiment, of the first to third error resolution processes, the first error resolution process can be executed in the shortest time. Among the first to third error resolution processes, the process that takes the second longest processing time after the first error resolution process is the second error resolution process. This is because it takes time for the power supply voltage to stabilize. In this embodiment, among the first to third error resolution processes, the third error resolution process that requires a long time for rebooting takes the longest processing time. For this reason, for example, when the communication control unit 114 determines that an error has occurred in wireless communication, it may execute an error resolution process as follows. First, the communication control unit 114 executes the first error resolution process. If the error is not resolved by this, then the second error resolution process is executed. Then, if the error is still not resolved, finally, the third error resolution process is executed. Note that the communication control unit 114 may execute multiple error resolution processes regardless of whether the error is resolved by executing one error resolution process.

[0038] In addition, when the second error resolution process, which is an error resolution process involving a temporary interruption of the power supply to the wireless communication unit 120, is performed, the second error resolution process and the first error resolution process involving a reinstallation of the wireless chip driver 115 may be performed in the following order. First, the communication control unit 114 uninstalls the installed wireless chip driver 115. Next, the communication control unit 114 sequentially interrupts the power supply to the wireless communication unit 120 and resumes the power supply after the power supply is interrupted. After that, the communication control unit 114 reinstalls the wireless chip driver 115. According to such a procedure, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a state in which the wireless chip driver 115 cannot recognize the wireless communication unit 120 when the power supply is interrupted, and therefore it is possible to suppress the possibility of a malfunction caused by the occurrence of such a state.

[0039] Next, the power saving disabling control will be described. In this embodiment, when the communication control unit 114 determines that an error has occurred in wireless communication, it executes at least one of the following three power saving disabling controls as the power saving disabling control. However, these are merely specific examples of the power saving disabling control, and the communication control unit 114 may execute a predetermined power saving disabling control different from the following three power saving disabling controls.

[0040] The communication control unit 114 performs control so that the communication connection between the processing unit 110 and the wireless communication unit 120 does not transition to a power saving mode as a first power saving invalidation control. In the present embodiment, specifically, the communication control unit 114 performs control so as to invalidate the USB Auto Suspend function. This makes it possible to prevent the state of power supply to the wireless communication unit 120 from fluctuating. The inventors have found that when wireless communication occurs during a timing in which the communication connection mode transitions from a non-power saving mode (active state) to a power saving mode (suspended state) or during a timing in which the communication connection mode returns from a power saving mode to a non-power saving mode, a wireless communication error is likely to occur. For this reason, by preventing the communication connection between the processing unit 110 and the wireless communication unit 120 from transitioning to a power saving mode (suspended state), it is possible to suppress the possibility of a wireless communication error occurring again after a wireless communication error is resolved.

[0041] Moreover, the communication control unit 114 performs control to prohibit the clock frequency of the processor 111, which is a processor that performs processing related to wireless communication, from decreasing from the first frequency to the second frequency as the second power saving invalidation control. The clock frequency of the processor 111 can be said to be the clock frequency of the processor that performs processing of the communication control unit 114, or the clock frequency of the processor that performs processing of the wireless chip driver 115 or the interface driver 116. Here, the first frequency is, for example, the maximum clock frequency, and the second frequency is, for example, a predetermined frequency lower than the maximum clock frequency. By preventing the clock frequency from being changed, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of an error in wireless communication caused by the occurrence of wireless communication at the timing of the fluctuation of the clock frequency. It is also possible to suppress the occurrence of an error in wireless communication caused by a decrease in the processing ability of the processor 111 due to a decrease in the clock frequency. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the possibility of an error in wireless communication occurring again after the error in wireless communication is resolved.

[0042] Further, the communication control unit 114 performs control so that the wireless communication unit 120 operates in a non-power saving mode as a third power saving invalidation control. That is, the communication control unit 114 performs control so that the wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 120 operates in a non-power saving mode. In other words, it can be said that the communication control unit 114 controls so that the wireless communication unit 120 does not operate in a power saving mode. In this embodiment, specifically, the communication control unit 114 controls so that the wireless communication unit 120 does not operate in a power saving mode of the IEEE 802.11 standard, but operates in a non-power saving mode in which the power saving mode is not activated. This makes it possible to realize wireless communication more stably and reliably than when operating in the power saving mode. Furthermore, when there is a wireless communication error caused by operation in a power saving mode such as a power saving mode, the third power saving invalidation control can also contribute to suppressing the possibility of such a wireless communication error occurring.

[0043] When it is determined that an error has occurred in wireless communication, the communication control unit 114 may execute one of the plurality of predetermined power saving disable controls, or may execute two or more of the controls. Furthermore, the communication control unit 114 may determine which power saving disable control to execute as follows.

[0044] The communication control unit 114 may perform the first power saving disable control when the frequency of transitions between the non-power saving mode and the power saving mode in the communication connection is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold during a predetermined period until the occurrence of a wireless communication error. Here, the time when the wireless communication error occurs refers to the time when the error detection process of the communication control unit 114 determines that an error has occurred in the wireless communication. As described above, if wireless communication occurs during a timing in the middle of a mode change, a wireless communication error is likely to occur. Therefore, if the frequency of mode transitions during a predetermined period until the occurrence of a wireless communication error is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it is highly likely that an error caused by a mode change has occurred. Therefore, in such a case, the first power saving disable control can be performed to suppress the possibility of a similar error recurring.

[0045] Furthermore, communication control unit 114 may perform second power saving disabling control when the load rate of processor 111 (e.g., CPU usage rate) at the time when a wireless communication error occurs is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold. If the load rate of processor 111 is high when an error occurs, there is a possibility that the error occurred due to low processing power of processor 111. For this reason, by performing second power saving disabling control when the load rate of processor 111 at the time when a wireless communication error occurs is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, it is possible to suppress the possibility of a similar error recurring.

[0046] The executed power saving disable control continues until the operating state of the electronic device 100 is terminated. In other words, the power saving disable control continues until the power supply of the electronic device 100 is turned off. Then, when the electronic device 100 is restarted, the communication control unit 114 enables a predetermined power saving function. For example, the communication control unit 114 performs control to enable all power saving functions. Note that the communication control unit 114 may also perform control to enable only some of the power saving functions when the electronic device 100 is started up. By such control, the operation of the electronic device 100 in the power saving mode can be resumed.

[0047] Next, the flow of operations of the processing unit 110 regarding a wireless communication error will be described. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of operations of the processing unit 110. The flow of operations will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. Note that, for example, this flow is started when the electronic device 100 has succeeded in wireless connection with any other device, but this flow may be started at any timing.

[0048] First, in preparation for the error detection process, the processes from step S100 to step S102 are carried out. In step S100, the communication control unit 114 determines whether or not an IP address of the communication device 200, which is an example of a predetermined device, has been set in advance in the electronic device 100. If the communication device 200 is, for example, a default gateway, in step S100, the communication control unit 114 determines whether or not an IP address of the default gateway has been set in the electronic device 100. If an IP address has not been set (NO in step S100), the error detection process cannot be performed appropriately, and this flow relating to a wireless communication error ends. If an IP address has been set (YES in step S100), the process proceeds to step S101.

[0049] In step S101, the communication control unit 114 executes a ping command to transmit a packet to the communication device 200. That is, the communication control unit 114 transmits a packet addressed to the IP address of the communication device 200 using the wireless communication unit 120. After step S101, the process proceeds to step S102.

[0050] In step S102, the communication control unit 114 judges whether or not a response to the packet transmitted in step S101 has been obtained. If there is no response from the communication device 200 (NO in step S102), the error detection process cannot be performed appropriately, and this flow regarding the wireless communication error ends. For example, if there is an error in the IP address of the communication device 200 set by the user, the result is NO in step S102. If a response is obtained (YES in step S102), the error detection process can be performed appropriately, and the process proceeds to step S103 and subsequent steps. In this way, by judging whether it is appropriate to execute the process in step S103 and subsequent steps in steps S100 to S102, it is possible to prevent the error detection process from erroneously judging that an error has occurred. This makes it possible to avoid the error resolution process and the power saving disable control being performed even if an error has not occurred.

[0051] In steps S103 to S105, an error detection process is performed. In step S103, the communication control unit 114 waits for a certain period of time. After that, in step S104, the communication control unit 114 executes a ping command to transmit a packet to the communication device 200. That is, the communication control unit 114 transmits a packet addressed to the IP address of the communication device 200 using the wireless communication unit 120. After step S104, the process proceeds to step S105. In step S105, the communication control unit 114 determines whether or not a response to the packet transmitted in step S104 has been obtained. If a response has been obtained from the communication device 200 (YES in step S105), the communication control unit 114 determines that no error has occurred in the wireless communication. In this case, the process returns to step S103. If no response has been obtained from the communication device 200 (NO in step S105), the communication control unit 114 determines that an error has occurred in the wireless communication. In this case, the process proceeds to step S106.

[0052] In step S106, the communication control unit 114 executes an error resolution process. In this embodiment, the communication control unit 114 executes at least one of the first to third error resolution processes described above. After step S106, the process proceeds to step S107. In step S107, the communication control unit 114 executes a power saving disable control. In this embodiment, at least one of the first to third power saving disable controls described above is executed. The power saving disable control continues until the electronic device is restarted. Therefore, after step S107, in step S108, the communication control unit 114 determines whether the electronic device 100 has been restarted. When the electronic device 100 is restarted, the process proceeds to step S109. In step S109, the communication control unit 114 enables the power saving function. Then, the process returns to step S100.

[0053] The embodiment has been described above. In this embodiment, when an error occurs in wireless communication, the communication control unit 114 executes an error resolution process and also executes power saving disable control. This makes it possible to suppress the recurrence of wireless communication errors, and improves user convenience. Note that, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the power saving disable control is performed after the error resolution process, but these may be performed in the reverse order or in parallel.

[0054] Although the embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0055] Also, in the above examples, the program includes a set of instructions (or software code) that, when loaded into a computer, causes the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, the computer-readable medium or tangible storage medium includes random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD), Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, the transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

[0056] A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but is not limited to, the following supplementary notes. (Appendix 1) a wireless communication unit for performing wireless communication; a communication control unit that controls communication of the wireless communication unit; having The communication control unit When an error occurs in the wireless communication, a predetermined process is executed to eliminate the error, and a predetermined power saving function that affects the wireless communication is disabled. electronic equipment. (Appendix 2) When the electronic device is restarted, the communication control unit enables the predetermined power saving function. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1. (Appendix 3) The communication control unit periodically transmits a packet to a predetermined device to determine whether or not the error has occurred. 3. An electronic device according to claim 1 or 2. (Appendix 4) The communication control unit executes a plurality of predetermined processes for eliminating the error in order of shortest processing time until the error is eliminated. 4. An electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. (Appendix 5) The communication control unit performs control to disable the predetermined power saving function so as to prevent a communication connection between a processing unit including the communication control unit and the wireless communication unit from transitioning to a power saving mode. 5. An electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. (Appendix 6) The communication control unit performs control so that the communication connection does not transition to the power saving mode when a transition frequency between a non-power saving mode and a power saving mode in the communication connection is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold during a predetermined period until the error occurs. 6. The electronic device according to claim 5. (Appendix 7) The communication control unit performs control to disable the predetermined power saving function by prohibiting a clock frequency of a processor that performs processing related to the wireless communication from decreasing from a first frequency to a second frequency. 7. An electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. (Appendix 8) The communication control unit performs control to prohibit the clock frequency from decreasing from the first frequency to the second frequency when a load factor of the processor at the time when the error occurs is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. 8. The electronic device according to claim 7. (Appendix 9) The communication control unit performs control to disable the predetermined power saving function so that the wireless communication unit operates in a non-power saving mode. 9. An electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. (Appendix 10) A method for controlling an electronic device that performs wireless communication by a wireless communication unit, comprising: When an error occurs in the wireless communication, a predetermined process is executed to eliminate the error, and a predetermined power saving function that affects the wireless communication is disabled. Control methods. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 10...communication system, 51...chip, 52...chip, 60...bus, 100...electronic device, 110...processing unit, 111...processor, 112...memory, 113...interface, 114...communication control unit, 115...wireless chip driver, 116...interface driver, 117...clock control unit, 120...wireless communication unit, 121...wireless communication circuit, 122...interface, 124...antenna, 130...display unit, 140...operation unit, 150...printing unit, 160...storage unit, 200...communication device

Claims

1. a wireless communication unit for performing wireless communication; a communication control unit that controls communication of the wireless communication unit; having The communication control unit When an error occurs in the wireless communication, a predetermined process is executed to eliminate the error, and a predetermined power saving function that affects the wireless communication is disabled. electronic equipment.

2. When the electronic device is restarted, the communication control unit enables the predetermined power saving function.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

3. The communication control unit periodically transmits a packet to a predetermined device to determine whether or not the error has occurred.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The communication control unit executes a plurality of predetermined processes for eliminating the error in order of shortest processing time until the error is eliminated.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

5. The communication control unit performs control to disable the predetermined power saving function so as to prevent a communication connection between a processing unit including the communication control unit and the wireless communication unit from transitioning to a power saving mode.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

6. The communication control unit performs control so that the communication connection does not transition to the power saving mode when a transition frequency between a non-power saving mode and a power saving mode in the communication connection is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold during a predetermined period until the error occurs.

6. The electronic device according to claim 5.

7. The communication control unit performs control to disable the predetermined power saving function by prohibiting a clock frequency of a processor that performs processing related to the wireless communication from decreasing from a first frequency to a second frequency.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

8. The communication control unit performs control to prohibit the clock frequency from decreasing from the first frequency to the second frequency when a load factor of the processor at the time when the error occurs is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7.

9. The communication control unit performs control to disable the predetermined power saving function so that the wireless communication unit operates in a non-power saving mode.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

10. A method for controlling an electronic device that performs wireless communication by a wireless communication unit, comprising: When an error occurs in the wireless communication, a predetermined process is executed to eliminate the error, and a predetermined power saving function that affects the wireless communication is disabled. Control methods.

Images