Information processing device, control method, and program

Abstract

To improve the convenience of a form in which an information processing device transmits setting information for connecting to a network to a communication device.SOLUTION: A program is provided that causes a computer of an information processing device to execute an acquisition step of acquiring a password from a predetermined wireless profile managed by an operating system (OS) of the information processing device, and a trial step of executing, by a predetermined application program, a trial process for trying to establish a connection between a predetermined access point and the information processing device, using a predetermined password, which is the password acquired from the predetermined wireless profile and is not a password which the predetermined application program has accepted as an input from a user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] A known form is that an information processing device such as a smartphone transmits information for connecting to an access point to a communication device such as a printer, and the communication device connects to the access point using the information. Patent Document 1 describes that the information processing device transmits information to the communication device, thereby setting a connection mode in the communication device for determining the connection form between the information processing device and the communication device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2016-127545 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, as the form in which an information processing device transmits information for connecting to an access point to a communication device becomes widespread, there is a demand for improving the convenience of this form.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to improve the convenience of a form in which an information processing device transmits information for connecting to an access point to a communication device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention is a predetermined application program, which includes an acquisition step of acquiring a password from a predetermined wireless profile managed by an operating system (OS) of the information processing device in a computer of the information processing device, an attempt step of executing, by the predetermined application program, a trial process for attempting to establish a connection between a predetermined access point and the information processing device using the predetermined password acquired from the predetermined wireless profile and not a password input by the predetermined application program from a user, and a step of executing, by the predetermined application program, a trial process for attempting to establish a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device based on the successful establishment of a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process, the predetermined password at a location outside the information processing device and outside the predetermined access point. The method includes a first transmission step of transmitting a password to a communication device, a processing step of executing a process for the specified application program to accept input of a password for connecting to the specified access point from the user based on the failure of the attempt process to establish a connection between the specified access point and the information processing device, and a second transmission step of transmitting the password entered into the specified application program to the communication device based on the specified application program accepting input of a password for connecting to the specified access point from the user, and the communication device executes a process to establish a connection between the communication device and the specified access point based on the password transmitted to the communication device. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the convenience of a configuration in which an information processing device transmits information for connecting to an access point to a communication device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a terminal device and a communication device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 5 is a flowchart showing a network setup of a communication device executed by a terminal device in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 5 is a flowchart showing a process of identifying setting information in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 4 is an example of a selection screen and an input screen displayed in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 4 is an example of a connection screen displayed in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing a process of identifying setting information in the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart showing a process of identifying setting information in the third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] First Embodiment An information processing device and a communication device included in the communication system of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, a smartphone is exemplified as the information processing device, but is not limited thereto, and various devices such as a terminal device, a notebook PC, a tablet terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and a digital camera can be applied. In addition, in the present embodiment, a printer is exemplified as the communication device, but is not limited thereto, and various devices that can perform wireless communication with the information processing device can be applied. For example, if it is a printer, it can be applied to an inkjet printer, a full-color laser beam printer, a monochrome printer, and the like. In addition to printers, it can also be applied to copiers, facsimile machines, terminal devices, smartphones, notebook PCs, tablet terminals, PDAs, digital cameras, music playback devices, televisions, smart speakers, and the like. In addition, it can also be applied to a multifunction machine having multiple functions such as a copy function, a FAX function, and a print function.

[0010] First, a system configuration for implementing this embodiment will be described.

[0011] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system according to the present embodiment. This system includes a communication device 151, a terminal device 101, an access point (AP) 131, and an external server 171.

[0012] The terminal device 101 is an information processing device of this embodiment. The communication device 151 is a communication device of this embodiment. The AP 131 is an external device that exists outside the terminal device 101 and outside the communication device 151. The external server 171 is a server that can provide services to devices connected to the AP 131 via the Internet.

[0013] A LAN (Local Area Network) formed by the AP 131 includes the AP 131, a communication device 151, and a terminal device 101. On the other hand, a WAN (Wide Area Network) includes the AP 131 and an external server 171.

[0014] In this embodiment, when an infrastructure connection, which will be described later, is established, the terminal device 101 can communicate with the communication device 151 via the AP 131. Furthermore, when a direct connection, which will be described later, is established, the terminal device 101 can communicate directly with the communication device 151 without going through the AP 131. Note that in the following, a connection with an AP corresponds to a connection with a network formed by the AP. Note that the AP may be capable of simultaneously forming multiple networks, and in this case, a connection with an AP may be a connection with any one of the multiple networks formed by the AP.

[0015] In this embodiment, the connection 141 between the terminal device 101 and the AP 131 and the connection 142 between the communication device 151 and the AP 131 are connections by a communication method based on the IEEE802.11 series of standards. Specifically, the communication method based on the IEEE802.11 series of standards is Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) (registered trademark). In addition, the connection 143 between the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151 is Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE). Note that the communication method used for each connection is not limited to this form, and may be, for example, Bluetooth Classic, Wi-Fi Aware, Near Field Communication (NFC), etc. The AP 131 and the external server 171 can communicate with each other via the Internet, and when the AP 131 is connected to the Internet, the devices connected to the AP 131 (the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151) can also use the Internet. The connection 141 between the terminal device 101 and the AP 131 and the connection 142 between the communication device 151 and the AP 131 may be a connection by a wired LAN.

[0016] Next, the configuration of the information processing device of this embodiment and the communication device capable of communicating with the information processing device of this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of Fig. 2. In addition, the following configuration will be described as an example in this embodiment, but this embodiment is applicable to devices capable of communicating with the communication device, and the functions are not particularly limited to those shown in this figure.

[0017] The terminal device 101 includes an input interface 102, a CPU 103, a ROM 104, a RAM 105, an external storage device 106, an output interface 107, a display unit 108, a wireless communication unit 109, a short-range wireless communication unit 110, an image capture device 111, a wired communication unit 112, etc. The CPU 103, the ROM 104, the RAM 105, etc. form a computer of the terminal device 101. The terminal device 101 is assumed to be a device such as a smartphone, but is not limited to a smartphone.

[0018] The input interface 102 is an interface for receiving data input and operational instructions from a user, and is composed of a physical keyboard, buttons, a touch panel, etc. Note that the output interface 107 described below and the input interface 102 may be configured in the same manner, so that the screen output and the reception of operations from the user are performed by the same configuration.

[0019] The CPU 103 is a system control unit, and controls the entire terminal device 101 .

[0020] The ROM 104 stores fixed data such as a control program executed by the CPU 103, a data table, and an operating system (hereinafter, referred to as OS) program. In this embodiment, each control program stored in the ROM 104 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing under the management of the embedded OS stored in the ROM 104. In this embodiment, the ROM 104 stores a setup application program (hereinafter, referred to as a setup application). The setup application is installed in the terminal device 101 from the outside by, for example, a store application program. The setup application is an application provided by a vendor of the communication device 151. Note that the setup application may have other functions other than the function of performing network setup of the communication device 151. Specifically, the other functions are, for example, a function of performing setup other than network setup of the communication device 151, a function of transmitting a print job to cause the communication device 151 to perform printing, and a function of transmitting a scan job to cause the communication device 151 to perform scanning.

[0021] The RAM 105 is composed of a static random access memory (SRAM) that requires a backup power source. Since the RAM 105 holds data using a primary battery (not shown) for data backup, it can store important data such as program control variables without volatilizing the data. The RAM 105 also has a memory area for storing setting information for the terminal device 101, management data for the terminal device 101, and the like. The RAM 105 is also used as the main memory and work memory for the CPU 103.

[0022] The external storage device 106 includes various programs such as a print information generation program that generates print information that can be interpreted by the communication device 151, and an information transmission / reception control program that transmits and receives information to and from the communication device 151 connected via the wireless communication unit 109. The external storage device 106 also stores various information used by these programs, as well as image data obtained from other information processing devices and the Internet.

[0023] The output interface 107 is an interface that controls the display unit 108 to display data and to notify the status of the terminal device 101 .

[0024] The display unit 108 is composed of an LED (light emitting diode) and an LCD (liquid crystal display), and displays data and notifies the status of the terminal device 101. Note that a soft keyboard equipped with keys such as numeric input keys, a mode setting key, a decision key, a cancel key, and a power key may be provided on the display unit 108 to accept input from the user via the display unit 108.

[0025] The wireless communication unit 109 is configured to wirelessly connect to devices such as the communication device 151 and the AP 131 to perform data communication. For example, the wireless communication unit 109 may directly communicate with the communication device 151 by wireless communication, or may communicate via the AP 131 that exists outside the terminal device 101 or the communication device 151. In this embodiment, the wireless communication method of the wireless communication unit 109 is assumed to be Wi-Fi, which is a communication method based on the IEEE802.11 standard, but Bluetooth Classic or the like may also be used. In this embodiment, the wireless LAN is assumed to be a network using Wi-Fi. In addition, the AP 131 may be, for example, a device such as a wireless LAN router. In this embodiment, a method in which the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151 are directly connected to each other without going through an external AP is called a direct connection method. In addition, a method in which the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151 are connected to each other via an external AP is called an infrastructure connection method.

[0026] The short-range wireless communication unit 110 is a component for executing data communication with devices such as the communication device 151 by a short-range wireless communication method, and performs communication by a communication method different from that of the wireless communication unit 109. The short-range wireless communication unit 110 is connectable to a short-range wireless communication unit 157 in the communication device 151. Note that examples of the communication method of the short-range wireless communication unit 110 include BLE, Bluetooth Classic, Wi-Fi Aware, and NFC.

[0027] The photographing device 111 is a device that converts an image photographed by an image sensor into digital data. The digital data is temporarily stored in the RAM 105. After that, the digital data is converted into a predetermined image format by a program executed by the CPU 103, and is stored in the external storage device 106 as image data.

[0028] The wired communication unit 112 is configured to connect to devices such as the communication device 151 and the AP 131 via a wire to perform data communication. For example, the wired communication unit 112 communicates via a wired LAN. In this embodiment, the wired LAN communicates according to the Ethernet standard. However, the present invention is not limited to this form, and the wired communication unit 112 may communicate, for example, via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable.

[0029] The communication device 151 includes a ROM 152, a RAM 153, a CPU 154, a print engine 155, a wireless communication unit 156, a short-range wireless communication unit 157, an input interface 158, an output interface 159, a function control unit 160, a display unit 161, and a wired communication unit 162. The ROM 152, the RAM 153, the CPU 154, etc. form a computer of the terminal device 101.

[0030] The wireless communication unit 156 is configured to wirelessly connect to devices such as the terminal device 101 and the AP 131 to perform data communication. In this embodiment, Wi-Fi is used as the wireless communication method of the wireless communication unit 156, but Bluetooth Classic or the like may also be used. The wireless communication unit 156 has an AP 156-a for connecting to devices such as the terminal device 101 as an AP inside the communication device 151. The AP can be connected to the wireless communication unit 109 of the terminal device 101. The wireless communication unit 156 may directly communicate with the terminal device 101 via the AP 156-a, or may communicate with the terminal device 101 via the AP 131. The AP 156-a may be hardware that functions as an AP, or the wireless communication unit 156 may operate as the AP 156-a by software that functions as an AP. The AP inside the communication device 151 may be configured of multiple APs with different SSIDs (Service Set Identifiers) and passwords. In this embodiment, the APs inside the communication device 151 include at least a connection setting AP, which will be described later.

[0031] The RAM 153 is composed of a DRAM or the like that requires a backup power source. Since the RAM 153 holds data by being supplied with a data backup power source (not shown), it can store important data such as program control variables without volatilizing the data. The RAM 153 is also used as the main memory and work memory of the CPU 154, and stores a receiving buffer for temporarily storing print information received from the terminal device 101, etc., and various other information.

[0032] ROM 152 stores fixed data such as control programs, data tables, and OS programs executed by CPU 154. In this embodiment, each control program stored in ROM 152 performs software execution control such as scheduling, task switching, and interrupt processing under the management of an embedded OS stored in ROM 152. ROM 152 also has a memory area for storing data that needs to be held even when power is not supplied, such as setting information for communication device 151 and management data for communication device 151.

[0033] The CPU 154 is a system control unit, and controls the entire communication device 151 .

[0034] Based on information stored in the print engine 155 and the RAM 153 and a print job received from the terminal device 101, etc., an image is formed on a recording medium such as paper using a recording agent such as ink, and the print result is output. At this time, the print job sent from the terminal device 101, etc., has a large amount of transmission data and requires high-speed communication, so it is received via the wireless communication unit 156, which is capable of communication at a higher speed than the short-range wireless communication unit 157.

[0035] The short-range wireless communication unit 157 is configured to communicate with devices such as the terminal device 101 by a short-range wireless communication method. Note that examples of the communication method of the short-range wireless communication unit 157 include BLE, Bluetooth Classic, and Wi-Fi Aware.

[0036] The input interface 158 is an interface for receiving data input and operation instructions from the user, and is composed of a physical keyboard, buttons, a touch panel, etc. Note that the output interface 159 described below and the input interface 158 may have the same configuration, and may output the screen and receive operations from the user with the same configuration. The output interface 159 is an interface that controls the display unit 161 to display data and notify the status of the communication device 151.

[0037] The function control unit 160 manages the function operations of the communication device 151, determining whether or not the functions are to be operated simultaneously.

[0038] Display unit 161 is composed of an LED (light emitting diode) and an LCD (liquid crystal display), and displays data and notifies the state of communication device 151. Note that a soft keyboard equipped with keys such as numeric input keys, a mode setting key, a decision key, a cancel key, and a power key may be provided on display unit 161 to accept input from a user via display unit 161.

[0039] The wired communication unit 162 is configured to perform data communication by connecting to devices such as the terminal device 101 and the AP 131 via a wire. For example, the wired communication unit 162 communicates via a wired LAN. However, the communication is not limited to this form, and may be performed via a USB cable, for example.

[0040] <About the direct connection method> A direct connection refers to a form in which devices are directly (i.e., peer-to-peer) wirelessly connected to each other without going through an external device such as the AP 131. A direct connection is also called a peer-to-peer connection (P2P connection). The communication device 151 can operate in a mode for communicating via a direct connection (direct connection mode) as one of the connection modes. In Wi-Fi communication, there are multiple modes for communicating via a direct connection, such as a software AP mode and a Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) mode.

[0041] A mode in which a direct connection is performed by WFD is called a WFD mode. WFD is a standard established by the Wi-Fi Alliance, and is included in the IEEE802.11 series of communication standards. In the WFD mode, after a device to be a communication partner is searched for by a device search command, the roles of the P2P group owner (GO) and the P2P client are determined, and the remaining wireless connection processing is performed. The group owner corresponds to a Wi-Fi parent station (parent device), and the client corresponds to a Wi-Fi child station (child device). This role determination corresponds to, for example, GO Negotiation in P2P. Note that in the WFD mode before the role determination, the communication device 151 is in a state of neither a parent station nor a child station. Specifically, first, one device issues a device search command between devices to communicate with each other, and searches for a device to connect in WFD mode. When the other device to be a communication partner is searched for, information on services and functions that can be provided by each device is confirmed between the two devices. Note that this device provision information confirmation is optional and not required. This device provision information confirmation phase corresponds to, for example, Provision Discovery of P2P. Next, by mutually confirming this device provision information, it is determined which one will be the P2P client and which one will be the P2P group owner as their roles. Next, when the client and the group owner are determined, parameters for performing communication by WFD are exchanged between them. Based on the exchanged parameters, the remaining wireless connection processing and IP connection processing are performed between the P2P client and the group owner. Note that in the WFD mode, the communication device 151 may always operate as a GO without executing the above-mentioned GO Negotiation. That is, the communication device 151 may operate in a WFD mode that is an autonomous GO mode. Also, the state in which the communication device 151 operates in the WFD mode is, for example, a state in which the communication device 151 operates as a GO even though a WFD connection is not established, or a state in which a WFD connection is established and the communication device 151 operates as a GO.

[0042] In the software AP mode, between devices that communicate (for example, the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151), one device (for example, the terminal device 101) becomes a client that plays a role of requesting various services. The other device realizes the function of an AP in Wi-Fi by software settings. The software AP corresponds to a parent station of Wi-Fi, and the client corresponds to a child station of Wi-Fi. In the software AP mode, the client searches for a device that will become a software AP using a device search command. When the software AP is found, the remaining wireless connection processing (establishment of a wireless connection, etc.) between the client and the software AP is performed, and then the IP connection processing (assignment of an IP address, etc.) is performed. Note that commands and parameters transmitted and received when realizing a wireless connection between the client and the software AP may be those specified in the Wi-Fi standard, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0043] In this embodiment, when the communication device 151 establishes and maintains a direct connection, it operates as a master station in the network to which the communication device 151 belongs. The master station is a device that constructs a wireless network and provides a slave station with parameters used for connecting to the wireless network. The parameters used for connecting to the wireless network are, for example, parameters related to a channel used by the master station. By receiving the parameters, the slave station connects to the wireless network constructed by the master station using the channel used by the master station. In the direct connection mode, the communication device 151 operates as a master station, so that the communication device 151 can determine which frequency band and which channel to use for communication in the direct connection mode. In this embodiment, the communication device 151 is capable of using a channel corresponding to a 2.4 GHz frequency band and a channel corresponding to a 5 GHz frequency band for communication in the direct connection mode. Then, which frequency band to use (i.e., which channel of the frequency band to use) can be arbitrarily set by the user through a setting on a predetermined screen (not shown) displayed by the communication device 151. That is, when 2.4 GHz is selected on the predetermined screen, the communication device 151 uses a channel corresponding to the 2.4 GHz frequency band for communication in the direct connection mode. On the other hand, when 5 GHz is selected on the predetermined screen, the communication device 151 uses a channel corresponding to the 5 GHz frequency band for communication in the direct connection mode. However, in this embodiment, even if 5 GHz is selected on the predetermined screen, the communication device 151 does not use a channel corresponding to the DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) band of the 5 GHz frequency band for communication in the direct connection mode. In other words, the communication device 151 uses only channels corresponding to frequency bands other than the DFS band of the 5 GHz frequency band for communication in the direct connection mode. Note that when a channel corresponding to the DFS band is being used and a radar wave of the frequency band corresponding to the channel is detected, the currently used channel must be changed.Such a frequency band where a channel change may occur due to the detection of radar waves is called a DFS band. For example, when a wireless chip compatible with the DFS function is used, a channel corresponding to the DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) band in the 5 GHz frequency band may be available for communication in the direct connection mode. The channel determined as the channel to be used in the direct connection mode is used in communication via the direct connection. Furthermore, the channel is also used for transmitting a beacon signal as a parent station and transmitting a response to a received command. That is, the channel is used not only for communication processing in the direct connection mode when a direct connection is established, but also for communication processing in the direct connection mode when a direct connection is not established.

[0044] In the above description, the user can set whether to use a channel corresponding to the 2.4 GHz frequency band or a channel corresponding to the 5 GHz frequency band in the direct connection mode, but the present invention is not limited to this. The user may set a specific channel number to be used in the direct connection mode by receiving a channel number designation from the user. Also, the channel used in the direct connection mode may not be arbitrarily set by the user, but may be set in advance in the communication device 151.

[0045] In the above description, the communication device 151 is described as being capable of using the 2.4 GHz frequency band and the 5 GHz frequency band, but is not limited to this. Other frequency bands may be usable, and in the process in which the 2.4 GHz frequency band and the 5 GHz frequency band are used in this embodiment, other frequency bands may be used. For example, since the IEEE802.11ad standard allows the use of the 60 GHz frequency band, 60 GHz may be used as the other frequency band.

[0046] <About infrastructure connection method> The infrastructure connection is a connection form in which devices that communicate (for example, the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151) are connected to an AP (for example, the AP 131) that manages a network of the devices, and the devices communicate with each other via the AP. The communication device 151 can also operate in a mode for communicating via an infrastructure connection (infrastructure connection mode) as one of the connection modes.

[0047] In infrastructure connections, each device searches for an AP using a device search command. Once an AP is found, the remaining wireless connection processing between the device and the AP (establishment of a wireless connection, etc.) is carried out, and then IP connection processing (assignment of an IP address, etc.) is carried out. Note that commands and parameters sent and received when establishing a wireless connection between a device and an AP can be those specified in the Wi-Fi standard, and so a description of these will be omitted here.

[0048] In this embodiment, when the communication device 151 operates in the infrastructure connection, the AP 131 operates as a parent station, and the communication device 151 operates as a child device. That is, in this embodiment, the infrastructure connection refers to a connection between the communication device 151 operating as a child device and a device operating as a parent device. When the communication device 151 has established an infrastructure connection and the terminal device 101 has also established an infrastructure connection with the AP 131, communication between the communication device 151 and the terminal device 101 via the AP 131 is possible. Since the channel used for communication in the infrastructure connection is determined by the AP 131, the communication device 151 executes communication in the infrastructure connection using the channel determined by the AP 131. In this embodiment, the communication device 151 is assumed to be able to use a channel corresponding to the 2.4 GHz frequency band and a channel corresponding to the 5 GHz frequency band for communication in the infrastructure connection. Note that the communication device 151 is also able to use a channel corresponding to the DFS band in the 5 GHz frequency band for communication in the infrastructure connection. In order for the terminal device 101 to communicate with the communication device 151 via the AP 131, the terminal device 101 needs to recognize that the communication device 151 belongs to the network formed by the AP 131 and to which the terminal device 101 belongs.

[0049] <About connection setting mode> Communication device 151 can operate in a connection setting mode. A trigger for communication device 151 to start operation in the connection setting mode may be, for example, a user pressing a connection setting mode button, or communication device 151 starting up (powering on) for the first time after arrival. The connection setting mode button may be a hard button provided in communication device 151, or may be a soft button displayed on display unit 161 by communication device 151.

[0050] When the communication device 151 starts operating in the connection setting mode, it enables both Wi-Fi communication and BLE communication. Specifically, the communication device 151 enables an internal AP (connection setting AP) of the communication device 151 that is dedicated to the connection setting mode as an enabling process of Wi-Fi communication. This allows the communication device 151 to be in a state in which it can establish a direct connection with the terminal device 101 by Wi-Fi. It is assumed that connection information (SSID and password) for connecting to the connection setting AP is held in advance in a setup application installed in the terminal device 101, and the terminal device 101 recognizes the connection information for connecting to the connection setting AP in advance. Note that an encryption method may not be set in the connection setting AP, and a password may not be required for connecting to the AP. Therefore, unlike the connection information of the AP enabled in the direct connection mode, it is assumed that the connection information for connecting to the connection setting AP cannot be arbitrarily changed by the user. Note that in the connection setting mode, the communication device 151 may connect to the terminal device 101 by Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) instead of normal Wi-Fi. That is, the communication device 151 may act as a Group Owner and receive a setting command from the terminal device 101 through communication using WFD.

[0051] <About wireless profiles> The wireless profile is information stored and managed by the OS of the terminal device 101, and includes connection information of an AP to which the terminal device 101 has previously connected. The wireless profile is used, for example, for a reconnection function in which the OS automatically re-establishes a connection between the terminal device 101 and an AP when the connection between the terminal device 101 and the AP is disconnected.

[0052] FIG. 6(a) is a screen displayed by the OS, which is a connection screen 600 for the terminal device 101 to connect to an AP. The connection screen 600 is assumed to be a screen for connecting to the AP 131 having the SSID displayed on the screen 600. The connection screen 600 includes an area 601 for setting whether or not to enable a reconnection function for connecting to the AP 131, an area 602 for accepting input of a password for connecting to the AP 131, and an area 603 for attempting to establish a connection between the AP 131 and the terminal device 101 using the input password. When the reconnection function is enabled by the area 601, when the connection between the terminal device 101 and the AP 131 is disconnected, the OS automatically re-establishes the connection. On the other hand, when the reconnection function is disabled by the area 601, even when the connection between the terminal device 101 and the AP 131 is disconnected, the OS does not automatically re-establish the connection. When the area 603 is pressed and the connection between the AP 131 and the terminal device 101 is successfully established, the OS saves the connection information (SSID and password) of the AP 131 as a wireless profile. However, in a particular type or version of the OS, if the reconnection function is disabled, the connection information of the AP 131 is not saved as a wireless profile even if the connection between the AP 131 and the terminal device 101 is successfully established.

[0053] FIG. 6(b) is a screen displayed by the OS, which is a wireless profile screen 610 for displaying stored wireless profiles. The wireless profile screen 610 is an example of a screen when the OS stores two wireless profiles. In the wireless profile screen 610, a wireless profile with a higher priority is displayed at a higher position. A wireless profile with a higher priority is a wireless profile that is used with higher priority in a state in which a connection between the terminal device 101 and an AP is not established. An area 611 is an area that represents a first wireless profile with a higher priority by an SSID, and an area 612 is an area that represents a second wireless profile with a lower priority by an SSID. Note that by performing a predetermined operation on the area 611 or the area 612, it is possible to delete the wireless profile corresponding to the area in which the predetermined operation was performed from the terminal device 101.

[0054] <Processing Executed by the Terminal Device 101 and the Communication Device 151> In this embodiment, the setup application can execute network setup (hereinafter, first setup) of the communication device 151 via a wireless connection between the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151 operating in a connection setting mode. In other words, the first setup is a setup method for connecting the communication device 151 to an AP by transmitting setting information from the terminal device 101 to the communication device 151 via wireless communication using the setup application. Note that the setting information includes a password for connecting to the AP.

[0055] However, for example, when there are multiple APs that are different from each other in one house or when one wireless LAN router activates multiple APs that use different frequency bands, the same password may be used between the multiple APs. That is, even if the AP to which the terminal device 101 is connected at the start of the first setup is different from the AP corresponding to the setting information transmitted to the communication device 151 by the first setup, the same password may be used between the APs. In other words, the multiple APs that are different from each other are multiple APs that have different SSIDs. The setup application can obtain the password of the AP to which the terminal device 101 has connected from the wireless profile managed by the OS of the terminal device 101 without accepting a password input from the user on the setup application. That is, even if the AP to which the terminal device 101 is connected at the start of the first setup is different from the AP corresponding to the setting information transmitted to the communication device 151 by the first setup, if the same password is used between the APs, the password obtained from the wireless profile can be used as the setting information without accepting a password input from the user on the setup application. However, conventionally, when the AP to which the terminal device 101 is connected at the start of the first setup is different from the AP corresponding to the setting information transmitted to the communication device 151 by the first setup, the setup application transmits the password input by the user on the setup application as the setting information. In other words, conventionally, the user had to input the password on the setup application, which reduced the usability in transmitting the setting information.

[0056] Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the AP to which the terminal device 101 is connected when the first setup is started is different from the AP corresponding to the setting information transmitted to the communication device 151 by the first setup, the password obtained from the wireless profile is transmitted to the communication device 151 as setting information without accepting password input from the user on the setup app.

[0057] As described above, the setup application can obtain the password of an AP to which the terminal device 101 has connected from a wireless profile managed by the OS of the terminal device 101 without receiving a password input from the user on the setup application. That is, if the password obtained from the wireless profile can be transmitted to the communication device 151 as setting information, the process of receiving a password input from the user on the setup application can be omitted, thereby improving usability. However, on the other hand, a password obtainable from a wireless profile is not necessarily usable in a connection with an AP specified as a connection partner of the communication device 151. Specifically, for example, a case in which a password obtainable from a wireless profile cannot be used is when the AP to which the terminal device 101 is connected at the start of the first setup is different from the AP corresponding to the setting information transmitted to the communication device 151 by the first setup, and different passwords are used between the respective APs. Then, when a password that cannot be used in a connection with an AP specified as a connection partner of the communication device 151 is transmitted to the communication device 151, there is a problem that the communication device 151 cannot establish a connection with the AP.

[0058] Therefore, in this embodiment, the setup application determines in the terminal device 101 whether or not the password acquired from the wireless profile can be used to connect to the AP identified as the connection partner of the communication device 151. If the password acquired from the wireless profile can be used to connect to the AP identified as the connection partner of the communication device 151, the setup application executes the first setup without receiving a password input from the user on the setup application, thereby improving user convenience. On the other hand, if the password acquired from the wireless profile cannot be used to connect to the AP identified as the connection partner of the communication device 151, the setup application controls so that a different password is transmitted to the communication device 151.

[0059] It should be noted that the communication device 151 may be able to connect to an AP by a method other than the first setup. The second setup and the third setup, which are methods other than the first setup, are network setups that are performed without transmitting setting information from the terminal device 101 to the communication device 151 via wireless communication using a setup application. Specifically, for example, the second setup is a network setup using a push button type WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). It should be noted that the second setup may be a network setup using a PIN code type WPS. The second setup may also be a network setup other than WPS, such as AOSS or Raku-Raku Wireless Start. The second setup may also be a network setup that is performed by establishing a connection between the communication device 151 and an AP selected by a user through an operation on the communication device 151 from among the APs searched by the communication device 151, by a wireless LAN. The third setup, which is a method other than the first setup, is a network setup that is performed by establishing a connection between the AP and the communication device 151 by a wired LAN. The third setup may be a network setup performed by establishing a connection between the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151 via a USB. The second setup and the third setup are setup methods that can be executed without the user having to input a password for connecting to an AP into a setup application.

[0060] 3 is a flowchart showing network setup of the communication device 151 executed by the terminal device 101. This flowchart is realized by the CPU 103 reading a program stored in the ROM 104 into the RAM 105 and executing it. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the terminal device 101 executes processing using a setup application. It is assumed that this flowchart is started based on the above-mentioned predetermined instruction being given by the user on a screen displayed by the setup application.

[0061] In S301, the CPU 103 identifies the communication device 151 to be set up by the first setup. Specifically, for example, the CPU 103 detects a beacon emitted by the communication device 151 operating in the connection setting mode. Note that in this embodiment, the SSID of the communication device 151 operating in the connection setting mode is assumed to be recognized in advance by the setup application. Therefore, a beacon including the SSID is detected as a beacon emitted by the communication device 151 operating in the connection setting mode. Then, the communication device 151 that emits the detected beacon is identified as the communication device 151 to be set up. Note that when multiple beacons are detected because multiple communication devices 151 operating in the connection setting mode exist around the communication device 151, the CPU 103 may display a list of multiple communication devices 151 operating in the connection setting mode and identify a communication device 151 selected from the list as the communication device 151 to be set up. Alternatively, the CPU 103 may specify the communication device 151 that is emitting the first detected beacon among the multiple detected beacons as the communication device 151 to be set up.

[0062] In S302, the CPU 103 acquires information on the AP 131 to which the terminal device 101 is currently connected, and stores the information in a memory such as the RAM 105. Specifically, the CPU 103 first executes an API for acquiring the SSID of the AP 131 to which the terminal device 101 is currently connected, thereby acquiring the SSID of the AP 131 to which the terminal device 101 is currently connected from the OS by a setup application. After that, the CPU 103 executes an API for acquiring a password from a wireless profile corresponding to the acquired SSID, thereby acquiring a password, which is the password of the AP 131 to which the terminal device 101 is currently connected and is included in the wireless profile corresponding to the AP 131 to which the terminal device 101 is currently connected, from the OS by the setup application. The wireless profile corresponding to the AP 131 to which the terminal device 101 is currently connected is a wireless profile stored by the OS based on the connection of the terminal device 101 to the AP 131. In other words, the AP 131 to which the terminal device 101 is currently connected is the AP 131 to which the terminal device 101 is connected when a predetermined instruction is performed by the user. The information about the AP 131 may include information indicating an encryption method used by the AP 131, and information indicating a frequency band and a channel used by the AP 131. If there is no AP 131 to which the terminal device 101 is currently connected, this process is omitted.

[0063] In S303, the CPU 103 disconnects the Wi-Fi connection between the AP 131 and the terminal device 101, and establishes a Wi-Fi connection between the communication device 151 identified in S301 and the terminal device 101. Note that in this embodiment, the communication device 151 operating in the connection setting mode is assumed to be a device that can be connected without a password. Note that a password may be required for connection to the communication device 151 operating in the connection setting mode, and in this case, the password is assumed to be recognized in advance by the setup application.

[0064] In S304, the CPU 103 executes a process for identifying the setting information to be transmitted to the communication device 151 identified in S301. Details of this process will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0065] In S305, the CPU 103 establishes a Wi-Fi connection between the communication device 151 identified in S301 and the terminal device 101, and transmits the setting information identified in S304 to the communication device 151 identified in S301.

[0066] In S306, the CPU 103 disconnects the Wi-Fi connection between the communication device 151 identified in S301 and the terminal device 101, and re-establishes a Wi-Fi connection between the AP 131 connected in S302 and the terminal device 101. It is assumed that the information stored in S302 is used to establish the Wi-Fi connection. However, the present invention is not limited to this form, and information (password, etc.) for establishing the Wi-Fi connection may be acquired in S306 from a wireless profile stored by the OS of the terminal device 101. It is to be noted that the AP 131 connected in S302 is the AP 131 to which the terminal device 101 is connected when a predetermined instruction is issued by the user, as described above.

[0067] 4 is a flowchart showing the network setup of the communication device 151 executed by the terminal device 101. This flowchart is realized by the CPU 103 reading a program stored in the ROM 104 into the RAM 105 and executing it. The process shown in this flowchart corresponds to the process of S304.

[0068] In S401, the CPU 103 establishes a Wi-Fi connection between the communication device 151 identified in S301 and the terminal device 101, and receives an AP list from the communication device 151 identified in S301. The AP list here is a list of APs discovered by a search executed by the communication device 151. In other words, the AP list is a list of APs to which the communication device 151 can connect. Specifically, the AP list includes, for example, the SSID of each AP discovered by the search executed by the communication device 151, and information on the encryption method used by each AP discovered by the search executed by the communication device 151.

[0069] In S402, the CPU 103 determines whether or not the AP 131 connected in S302 is included in one or more APs indicated by the AP list acquired in S401. If the CPU 103 determines YES, the process proceeds to S412, and if the CPU 103 determines NO, the process proceeds to S403.

[0070] In S403, the CPU 103 displays the AP list acquired in S401 and accepts the user's selection of one or more APs indicated by the AP list. Specifically, for example, the CPU 103 displays a selection screen 510 shown in FIG. 5(a). The selection screen 510 includes a pull-down menu 511 and a button 512. The selection screen 510 may also include a message 513 indicating the reason why the AP 131 connected in S302 was not included in the one or more APs indicated by the AP list acquired in S401. For example, the reason is that the communication device 151 does not support communication using the 5 GHz frequency band, and an AP using the 5 GHz frequency band is not included in the AP list, but the AP 131 connected in S302 was an AP using the 5 GHz frequency band. Therefore, the message 513 may be a message indicating that the communication device 151 does not support communication using the 5 GHz frequency band. The pull-down menu 511 is a menu that displays the AP list acquired in S401 when operated by the user. After the user selects the pull-down menu 511, the user selects one of the APs from the AP list. Until one of the APs is selected by the user, the button 512 may be grayed out so that it cannot be pressed by the user. When one of the APs is selected by the user, the pull-down menu 511 displays the SSID of the AP selected by the user, as in the selection screen 520 shown in FIG. 5(b). Furthermore, the selection screen 520 displays the MAC address of the AP selected by the user and the encryption method used by the AP selected by the user. After that, when the user presses the button 512 that has been enabled by selecting one of the APs, the process proceeds to S404.

[0071] In S404, the CPU 103 judges whether or not the password for connecting to the AP 131 connected in S302 conforms to the password condition corresponding to the encryption method used by the AP selected in S403. The password for connecting to the AP corresponding to the AP 131 connected in S302 is included in the information saved in S302. The password condition is a condition regarding a character string permitted as a password, specifically, for example, a condition regarding the type of characters and the number of characters. The password condition is uniquely determined for each encryption method. Specifically, for example, the password condition corresponding to WPA2-Personal is "8 to 63 half-width alphanumeric characters or symbols, or 64 hexadecimal characters." Therefore, for example, when the encryption method used by the AP selected in S403 is WPA2-Personal, it is judged in this process whether or not the password for connecting to the AP 131 connected in S302 conforms to the condition "8 to 63 half-width alphanumeric characters or symbols, or 64 hexadecimal characters." If the CPU 103 determines that the answer is YES, the process proceeds to S405, and if the CPU 103 determines that the answer is NO, the process proceeds to S408. If the CPU 103 determines that the answer is NO, the connection attempt process of S405 is not executed.

[0072] In S404, instead of the above-mentioned determination, CPU 103 may determine whether the encryption method used by the AP selected in S403 matches the encryption method used by AP 131 connected in S302. This is because if the encryption methods match, the password for connecting to AP 131 connected in S302 necessarily matches the password conditions corresponding to the encryption method used by the AP selected in S403. On the other hand, if the encryption methods do not match, there is a possibility that the password for connecting to AP 131 connected in S302 does not match the password conditions corresponding to the encryption method used by the AP selected in S403.

[0073] In addition, in this embodiment, the determination in S404 is executed, and the process branches based on the result of the determination in S404, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. This embodiment may be an embodiment in which the determination in S404 is not executed. Specifically, for example, after any AP is selected in S403, the process in S405 may be executed without executing the determination in S404.

[0074] In S405, the CPU 103 disconnects the connection between the communication device 151 and the terminal device 101. Then, the CPU 103 attempts to establish a connection between the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101 by using a password for connecting to the AP 131 connected in S302. Note that this process is executed when the determination in S402 is NO, so in the situation in which this process is executed, the AP selected in S403 and the AP 131 connected in S302 are different. Specifically, for example, the SSID of the AP selected in S403 and the SSID of the AP 131 connected in S302 are different. However, in this embodiment, even though the AP selected in S403 and the AP 131 connected in S302 are different, the establishment of a connection between the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101 is attempted by using a password for connecting to the AP 131 connected in S302. This is because even if the AP selected in S403 is different from the AP 131 connected in S302, the password for connecting to the AP selected in S403 may be the same as the password for connecting to the AP 131 connected in S302.

[0075] In S406, the CPU 103 determines whether or not the connection attempt executed in S405 has succeeded in establishing a connection between the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101. If the CPU 103 determines YES, the process proceeds to S410, and if the CPU 103 determines NO, the process proceeds to S407.

[0076] In S407, the CPU 103 re-establishes the connection between the communication device 151 and the terminal device 101. Note that the process of S407 may be executed after the process of S408 or the process of S409.

[0077] In S408, the CPU 103 displays a password input screen for accepting input of a password for connecting to the AP selected in S403 from the user. The CPU 103 then accepts input of a password for connecting to the AP selected in S403 from the user via the password input screen. For example, an input screen 530 as shown in FIG. 5(c) is displayed as the password input screen. That is, the screen displayed by the terminal device 101 is switched from the selection screen 520 shown in FIG. 5(b) to the input screen 530. The input screen 530 includes an input box 531, a check box 532, and a button 533. The input box 531 is an area for accepting input of a password from the user. The check box 532 is an area for switching whether to display the input password or to display it in place of obscured characters such as asterisks. Until the password is input by the user, the button 533 may be grayed out so that it cannot be pressed by the user. When the button 533, which has been enabled by inputting the password, is pressed by the user, the process proceeds to S409.

[0078] Note that the process may not immediately proceed to S409 after the process of S408. Specifically, for example, the CPU 103 may disconnect the connection between the communication device 151 and the terminal device 101 after the process of S408. Then, the CPU 103 may attempt to establish a connection between the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101 using the password input in S408. Then, the CPU 103 may determine whether the connection between the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101 has been successfully established by the connection attempt. If the CPU 103 determines YES, it may proceed to S409 after re-establishing the connection between the communication device 151 and the terminal device 101, and if the CPU 103 determines NO, it may return to S408 after displaying an error screen. Note that in this embodiment, the process of S407 executed before the process of S408 may be skipped.

[0079] In S409, CPU 103 specifies the SSID of the AP selected in S403 and the password input by the user in S408 as the setting information to be transmitted to communication device 151 specified in S301. Note that other information such as the frequency band and encryption method used by the AP selected in S403 may also be specified here. Thereafter, the process of this flowchart ends, and the process proceeds to S305.

[0080] In S410, the CPU 103 disconnects the connection between the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101, and re-establishes the connection between the communication device 151 and the terminal device 101. Note that the process of S410 may be executed after the process of S411.

[0081] In S411, the CPU 103 specifies the SSID of the AP selected in S403 and the password for connecting to the AP 131 connected in S302 as the setting information to be transmitted to the communication device 151 specified in S301. Since the connection between the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101 has been successfully established using the password for connecting to the AP 131 connected in S302, the password for connecting to the AP 131 connected in S302 is also the password for connecting to the AP selected in S403. Here, other information such as the frequency band and encryption method used by the AP selected in S403 may also be specified. Thereafter, the process of this flowchart ends, and the process proceeds to S305.

[0082] In S412, the CPU 103 specifies the SSID of the AP 131 connected in S302 and a password for connecting to the AP 131 connected in S302 as the setting information to be transmitted to the communication device 151 specified in S301. Note that other information such as the frequency band and encryption method used by the AP 131 connected in S302 may also be specified here. Note that all of the information specified here is information included in the information saved in S302. Thereafter, the process of this flowchart ends, and the process proceeds to S305.

[0083] By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to improve the convenience for the user in the setup process for the communication device 151. Specifically, for example, in a specific situation, it is possible to specify the setting information to be transmitted to the communication device 151 without accepting a password input from the user.

[0084] In the above description, the setting information transmitted to the communication device 151 includes an SSID as information for identifying an AP, but is not limited to this. The information for identifying an AP is, for example, identification information of the AP selected in S403, and may be information such as an IP address or a MAC address.

[0085] In the above description, the information for identifying the AP selected in S403 is transmitted in S305, but the present invention is not limited to this. The information for identifying the AP selected in S403 may be transmitted via the connection between the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151 before the connection attempt is made in S405. Then, in S305, which is executed after the connection attempt in S405 is successful, the information for identifying the AP selected in S403 may not be transmitted, and only the password may be transmitted.

[0086] <Second embodiment> In the second embodiment, a password used in a connection attempt is different from that in the first embodiment.

[0087] Unless otherwise specified, this embodiment is similar to the communication system of the first embodiment. Specifically, for example, the process shown in Fig. 3 described in the first embodiment is also executed in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the process shown in Fig. 7 described below is executed instead of the process shown in Fig. 4 described in the first embodiment.

[0088] 7 is a flowchart showing the network setup of the communication device 151 executed by the terminal device 101. This flowchart is realized by the CPU 103 reading a program stored in the ROM 104 into the RAM 105 and executing it. The process shown in this flowchart corresponds to the process of S304.

[0089] The processing in S701 to S703 is similar to the processing in S401 to S403, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0090] In S704, the CPU 103 attempts to acquire the password of the AP selected in S703 from the wireless profile stored in the OS of the terminal device 101.

[0091] In S705, the CPU 103 determines whether or not the password of the AP selected in S703 has been acquired from the wireless profile stored by the OS of the terminal device 101. If the terminal device 101 has previously connected to the AP selected in S703 and a wireless profile corresponding to the AP selected in S703 has been stored by the OS of the terminal device 101, acquisition of the password of the AP selected in S703 is successful. On the other hand, if the terminal device 101 has not previously connected to the AP selected in S703 or if the terminal device 101 has previously connected to the AP selected in S703 but the wireless profile corresponding to the AP selected in S703 has been deleted, acquisition of the password of the AP selected in S703 fails. If the CPU 103 determines YES, the process proceeds to S706, and if the CPU 103 determines NO, the process proceeds to S709.

[0092] In S706, the CPU 103 disconnects the connection between the communication device 151 and the terminal device 101. Then, the CPU 103 attempts to establish a connection between the AP selected in S703 and the terminal device 101 by using the password obtained in S704.

[0093] The processing of S707 to S711 is the same as the processing of S406 to S410, and therefore the description will be omitted. Note that after the processing of S709, the processing may not immediately proceed to the processing of S710. This is the same as the processing of S409 that is not immediately followed by the processing of S408, as described in the first embodiment.

[0094] In S712, CPU 103 specifies the SSID of the AP selected in S703 and the password acquired in S704 as the setting information to be transmitted to communication device 151 specified in S301. Note that other information such as the frequency band and encryption method used by the AP selected in S703 may also be specified here. Thereafter, the process of this flowchart ends, and the process proceeds to S305.

[0095] The process of S713 is similar to the process of S412, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0096] Even in this configuration, the setting information can be specified without receiving a password input on the setup application, thereby improving usability.

[0097] <Third embodiment> In the third embodiment, a configuration in which the features of the first embodiment and the features of the second embodiment are combined will be described.

[0098] Unless otherwise specified, this embodiment is similar to the communication system of the first embodiment. Specifically, for example, the process shown in Fig. 3 described in the first embodiment is also executed in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the process shown in Fig. 8 described below is executed instead of the process shown in Fig. 4 described in the first embodiment.

[0099] The processing in S801 to S804 is similar to the processing in S701 to S704, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0100] In S805, the CPU 103 determines, similarly to the processing of S705, whether or not the password of the AP selected in S803 has been acquired from the wireless profile stored in the OS of the terminal device 101. If the CPU 103 determines YES, the process proceeds to S806, and if the CPU 103 determines NO, the process proceeds to S808.

[0101] The process of S806 is similar to the process of S706, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0102] In S807, similarly to the processing of S707, the CPU 103 determines whether or not the connection attempt executed in S806 has succeeded in establishing a connection between the AP selected in S803 and the terminal device 101. If the CPU 103 determines YES, the process proceeds to S815, and if the CPU 103 determines NO, the process proceeds to S808.

[0103] The processing in S808 to S810 is similar to the processing in S40 to S406, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0104] In S811, CPU 103 determines whether or not a connection attempt was made in S806. If a connection attempt was made in S806, it means that a connection between communication device 151 and terminal device 101 has not been established. Note that this determination may be a determination as to whether or not a connection between communication device 151 and terminal device 101 has not been established. If CPU 103 determines YES, it proceeds to S812, and if it determines NO, it proceeds to S813.

[0105] The processing of S812 to S815 is the same as the processing of S407 to S410, and therefore the description will be omitted. Note that after the processing of S813, the processing may not immediately proceed to the processing of S814. This is the same as the processing of S409 that is not immediately followed by the processing of S408, as described in the first embodiment.

[0106] In S816, CPU 103 identifies the SSID of the AP selected in S403 as the setting information to be transmitted to communication device 151 identified in S301. If the connection attempt in S806 is successful, CPU 103 identifies the password acquired in S804 as the setting information to be transmitted to communication device 151 identified in S301. If the connection attempt in S809 is successful, CPU 103 identifies the password for connecting to AP 131 connected in S302 as the setting information to be transmitted to communication device 151 identified in S301.

[0107] The process of S817 is similar to the process of S412, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0108] Even in this configuration, the setting information can be specified without receiving a password input on the setup application, thereby improving usability.

[0109] <Other embodiments> In the above description, in the first setup, the terminal device 101 transmits the setting information to the communication device 151 using the wireless communication unit 109 (i.e., using Wi-Fi), but the present invention is not limited to this form. The terminal device 101 may transmit the setting information to the communication device 151 using the short-range wireless communication unit 110. That is, the setting information may be transmitted by a wireless connection between the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151 using BLE, Bluetooth, or the like. In this form, it is not necessary to disconnect the Wi-Fi connection between the terminal device 101 and the AP in S303, or to re-establish the Wi-Fi connection between the terminal device 101 and the AP in S306. That is, the terminal device 101 may transmit the setting information to the communication device 151 using the short-range wireless communication unit 110 while maintaining the Wi-Fi connection between the terminal device 101 and the AP. In this embodiment, it is not necessary to disconnect the connection between the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151 in S405, or to re-establish the connection between the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151 in S407 or S408. In other words, an attempt to establish a connection between the terminal device 101 and the AP may be performed while maintaining a wireless connection between the terminal device 101 and the communication device 151 using BLE, Bluetooth, or the like.

[0110] In the above description, if the result of the determination in S404 is NO, the process immediately proceeds to S408. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the result of the determination in S404 is NO, the CPU 103 may determine whether or not a wireless profile corresponding to the AP selected in S403 is stored by the OS of the terminal device 101. If the determination is YES, the CPU 103 may obtain a password for connecting to the AP selected in S403 from the wireless profile corresponding to the AP selected in S403. The CPU 103 may then disconnect the connection between the communication device 151 and the terminal device 101, and attempt to establish a connection between the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101 using the password obtained from the wireless profile as described above. The CPU 103 may then determine whether or not the establishment of a connection between the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101 has been successful through this connection attempt. If the CPU 103 determines YES, the process proceeds to S410, and if the CPU 103 determines NO, the process proceeds to S407. In this embodiment, the CPU 103 may determine, before S404, whether or not a wireless profile corresponding to the AP selected in S403 has been saved by the OS of the terminal device 101.

[0111] In the above description, if the result of the determination in S406 is NO, the process immediately proceeds to S407, but this is not limiting. For example, if the result of the determination in S406 is NO, the CPU 103 may determine whether or not a wireless profile corresponding to the AP selected in S403 is stored by the OS of the terminal device 101. The wireless profile corresponding to the AP selected in S403 is a wireless profile stored by the OS based on a connection when the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101 were previously connected. In other words, the determination of whether or not a wireless profile corresponding to the AP selected in S403 is stored by the OS of the terminal device 101 corresponds to a determination of whether or not the AP selected in S403 and the terminal device 101 have previously connected. If this determination is YES, the CPU 103 may obtain a password for connecting to the AP selected in S403 from the wireless profile corresponding to the AP selected in S403. Then, CPU 103 may attempt to establish a connection between the AP selected in S403 and terminal device 101 using the password acquired from the wireless profile as described above. CPU 103 may then determine whether or not the connection attempt has succeeded in establishing a connection between the AP selected in S403 and terminal device 101. If CPU 103 determines YES, it may proceed to S410, and if CPU 103 determines NO, it may proceed to S407. In this embodiment, CPU 103 may also determine before S404 whether or not a wireless profile corresponding to the AP selected in S403 has been saved by the OS of the terminal device 101.

[0112] Furthermore, when a password is input in S408, CPU 103 may attempt to establish a connection between the AP selected in S403 and terminal device 101 using the password input in S408 before proceeding to S409. CPU 103 may then determine whether or not the connection attempt has succeeded in establishing a connection between the AP selected in S403 and terminal device 101. If CPU 103 determines YES, it may proceed to S409, and if it determines NO, it may proceed to S408 again.

[0113] In addition, when a wireless LAN router enables multiple APs that use different frequency bands, the same password is often used between the multiple APs. Therefore, after an AP is selected in S403, CPU 103 may determine whether the frequency band used by the AP selected in S403 is different from the frequency band used by AP 131 connected in S302. If CPU 103 determines YES, it may proceed to S404 or S405, and if CPU 103 determines NO, it may proceed to S408.

[0114] In the above description, the process proceeds immediately to S406 after the process of S405, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, after the process of S405, the CPU 103 may display a screen for confirming whether or not to attempt a connection using the password of the AP 131 connected in S302. Then, if an input indicating that a connection attempt is to be made using the password of the AP 131 connected in S302 is received from the user, the process proceeds to S406, and if an input indicating that a connection attempt is not to be made using the password of the AP 131 connected in S302 is received from the user, the process proceeds to S408.

[0115] Needless to say, the object of the present invention can also be achieved by supplying a recording medium on which is recorded the program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments to a system or device, and having the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or device read and execute the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium will realize the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments, and the recording medium on which the program code is stored constitutes the present invention.

[0116] Examples of storage media for supplying the program code include flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, ROMs, and DVDs.

[0117] Furthermore, it goes without saying that the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments are not only realized by the computer executing the program code it has read, but also that the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments are realized by an operating system (OS) running on the computer performing some or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program code.

[0118] The present disclosure also includes the following configuration.

[0119] (Configuration 1) A predetermined application program, The computer of the information processing device An acquisition step of acquiring a password from a predetermined wireless profile managed by an operating system (OS) of the information processing device; a trial step of executing, by the predetermined application program, a trial process for attempting to establish a connection between a predetermined access point and the information processing device, using a predetermined password that is acquired from the predetermined wireless profile and is not a password that the predetermined application program has accepted as an input from a user; a first transmission step of transmitting the predetermined password to a communication device outside the information processing device and outside the predetermined access point based on the successful establishment of a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a processing step of causing the predetermined application program to execute a process for receiving, from a user, an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point, based on a failure in establishing a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a second transmission step of transmitting, to the communication device, the password input to the predetermined application program based on the input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point by the user being received by the predetermined application program; Run the command, A program, comprising: a process for establishing a connection between the communication device and the predetermined access point, the process being executed by the communication device based on a password transmitted to the communication device.

[0120] (Configuration 2) 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined wireless profile is a wireless profile managed by the OS and corresponds to the predetermined access point.

[0121] (Configuration 3) 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined wireless profile is a wireless profile managed by the OS and corresponds to an access point other than the predetermined access point.

[0122] (Configuration 4) further executing a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation from a user; 4. The program according to claim 3, wherein the other access point is an access point to which the information processing device is connected when the predetermined operation is accepted.

[0123] (Configuration 5) a list acquisition step of acquiring, from the communication device, a list of one or more access points found by a search performed by the communication device; if the other access point is not included in the list, a receiving step of receiving from a user a selection of any one of the access points from the list; the predetermined access point is an access point selected by a user from the list; 5. The program according to claim 3, wherein the trial process is executed based on the fact that the other access point is not included in the list.

[0124] (Configuration 6) The program according to claim 5, characterized in that, when the other access point is included in the list, the specified password and information for identifying the other access point are controlled to be transmitted to the communication device.

[0125] (Configuration 7) a second attempt step of executing a second attempt process for attempting to establish a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device, using the password for connecting to the predetermined access point input to the predetermined application program, when the other access point is not included in the list and the predetermined application program has received an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point from the user; The program described in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, based on the successful establishment of a connection between the specified access point and the information processing device by the second attempt process, a password for connecting to the specified access point entered into the specified application program and information for identifying the specified access point are sent to the communication device.

[0126] (Configuration 8) The program according to claim 7, characterized in that if the second attempt process fails to establish a connection between the specified access point and the information processing device, a process is executed again for the specified application program to accept input of a password from the user for connecting to the specified access point.

[0127] (Configuration 9) a first disconnection step of disconnecting a connection between the other access point and the information processing device; an establishment step of establishing a connection between the communication device and the information processing device after the connection between the other access point and the information processing device is disconnected; and after the list is acquired via a connection between the communication device and the information processing device, a second disconnection step of disconnecting the connection between the communication device and the information processing device is further performed. 9. The program according to claim 5, wherein the trial process is executed after the connection between the communication device and the information processing device is cut off.

[0128] (Configuration 10) the predetermined wireless profile is a wireless profile managed by the OS and corresponds to an access point other than the predetermined access point, If the predetermined password satisfies a condition regarding a character string permitted as a password corresponding to an encryption method used by the predetermined access point, the trial process is executed; A program as described in any one of claims 1, 3 to 9, characterized in that the trial process is not executed if the specified password does not conform to conditions regarding a character string permitted as a password corresponding to the encryption method used by the specified access point.

[0129] (Configuration 11) a processing step of executing a process for causing the predetermined application program to receive, from a user, an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point, if the predetermined password does not conform to a condition related to a character string permitted as a password corresponding to an encryption method used by the predetermined access point; The program according to claim 10, characterized in that, based on the specified application program accepting input of a password for connecting to the specified access point from a user, the password for connecting to the specified access point inputted into the specified application program is transmitted to the communication device.

[0130] (Configuration 12) a second acquisition step of acquiring a second password from a second wireless profile that is a wireless profile managed by an OS of the information processing device and that is a wireless profile corresponding to the predetermined access point, when the predetermined password does not conform to a condition related to a character string permitted as a password corresponding to an encryption method used by the predetermined access point; a third attempt step of executing a third attempt process for attempting to establish a connection between the second access point and the information processing device by using the second password acquired from the second wireless profile; The program according to claim 10, characterized in that, based on the successful establishment of a connection between the second access point and the information processing device by the third attempt process, the second password obtained from the second wireless profile and information for identifying the specified access point are sent to the communication device.

[0131] (Configuration 13) the predetermined password is a password obtained from a predetermined wireless profile that is a wireless profile managed by the OS and corresponds to an access point different from the predetermined access point, When the encryption method used by the other access point coincides with the encryption method used by the predetermined access point, the trial process is executed; 10. The program according to claim 1, wherein the trial process is not executed if the encryption method used by the other access point does not match the encryption method used by the specified access point.

[0132] (Configuration 14) a processing step of executing a process for causing the predetermined application program to receive, from a user, an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point, when the encryption method used by the other access point does not match the encryption method used by the predetermined access point; The program according to claim 13, characterized in that, based on the specified application program accepting input of a password for connecting to the specified access point from a user, the password for connecting to the specified access point inputted into the specified application program is transmitted to the communication device.

[0133] (Configuration 15) a second acquisition step of acquiring a second password from a second wireless profile that is a wireless profile managed by an OS of the information processing device and that is a wireless profile corresponding to the predetermined access point, when the predetermined password does not conform to a condition related to a character string permitted as a password corresponding to an encryption method used by the predetermined access point; a third attempt step of executing a third attempt process for attempting to establish a connection between the second access point and the information processing device by using the second password acquired from the second wireless profile; The program described in claim 13, characterized in that, based on the successful establishment of a connection between the second access point and the information processing device by the third attempt process, the second password obtained from the second wireless profile and information for identifying the specified access point are sent to the communication device.

[0134] (Configuration 16) a disconnection step of disconnecting the connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device after the connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device is successfully established by the trial process; The program according to any one of claims 1 to 15, further comprising an establishment step of establishing a connection between the communication device and the information processing device after the connection between the specified access point and the information processing device is disconnected.

[0135] (Configuration 17) 17. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined password is transmitted to the communication device by Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0136] (Configuration 18) 17. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined password is transmitted to the communication device by Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0137] (Configuration 19) 19. The program according to claim 1, further comprising a job sending step of sending at least one of a print job for causing the communication device to execute printing and a scan job for causing the communication device to execute scanning.

[0138] (Configuration 20) The program according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that, based on the successful establishment of a connection between the specified access point and the information processing device through the trial process, information for identifying the specified access point and the specified password are sent to the communication device.

[0139] (Configuration 21) 21. The program according to claim 1, wherein the information for identifying the predetermined access point is identification information of the predetermined access point.

[0140] (Configuration 22) 22. The program according to claim 21, wherein the information for identifying the predetermined access point is a Service Set Identifier (SSID) of the predetermined access point.

[0141] (Configuration 23) A method for controlling an information processing device having a predetermined application program, comprising: An acquisition step of acquiring a password from a predetermined wireless profile managed by an operating system (OS) of the information processing device; a trial step of executing, by the predetermined application program, a trial process for attempting to establish a connection between a predetermined access point and the information processing device, using a predetermined password that is acquired from the predetermined wireless profile and is not a password that the predetermined application program has accepted as an input from a user; a first transmission step of transmitting the predetermined password to a communication device outside the information processing device and outside the predetermined access point based on the successful establishment of a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a processing step of causing the predetermined application program to execute a process for receiving, from a user, an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point, based on a failure in establishing a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a second transmission step of transmitting, to the communication device, the password input to the predetermined application program based on the input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point by the user being received by the predetermined application program; having A control method, comprising the steps of: executing, by the communication device, a process for establishing a connection between the communication device and the predetermined access point based on a password transmitted to the communication device.

[0142] (Configuration 24) An information processing device having a predetermined application program, An acquisition means for acquiring a password from a predetermined wireless profile managed by an operating system (OS) of the information processing device; a trial means for executing, by the predetermined application program, a trial process for attempting to establish a connection between a predetermined access point and the information processing device, using a predetermined password that is acquired from the predetermined wireless profile and is not a password that the predetermined application program has accepted as an input from a user; a first transmission means for transmitting the predetermined password to a communication device outside the information processing device and outside the predetermined access point, based on the successful establishment of a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a processing means for executing a process for allowing the predetermined application program to receive, from a user, an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point, based on a failure in establishing a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a second transmission means for transmitting, to the communication device, a password input to the predetermined application program based on the input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point by the user being received by the predetermined application program; having An information processing apparatus, characterized in that a process for establishing a connection between said communication device and said predetermined access point is executed by said communication device based on a password transmitted to said communication device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0143] 101 Terminal Equipment 151 Communication equipment

Claims

1. A predetermined application program, The computer of the information processing device an acquisition step of acquiring a password from a predetermined wireless profile managed by an operating system (OS) of the information processing device; a trial step of executing, by the predetermined application program, a trial process for attempting to establish a connection between a predetermined access point and the information processing device, using a predetermined password that is acquired from the predetermined wireless profile and is not a password that the predetermined application program has accepted as an input from a user; a first transmission step of transmitting the predetermined password to a communication device outside the information processing device and outside the predetermined access point based on a successful establishment of a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a processing step of causing the predetermined application program to execute a process for receiving, from a user, an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point, based on a failure in establishing a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a second transmission step of transmitting, to the communication device, the password input to the predetermined application program based on the input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point by the user being received by the predetermined application program; Run the command, A program, comprising: a process for establishing a connection between the communication device and the predetermined access point, the process being executed by the communication device based on a password transmitted to the communication device.

2. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined wireless profile is a wireless profile managed by the OS and corresponds to the predetermined access point.

3. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined wireless profile is a wireless profile managed by the OS and corresponds to an access point other than the predetermined access point.

4. further executing a receiving step of receiving a predetermined operation from a user; 4. The program according to claim 3, wherein the other access point is an access point to which the information processing device is connected when the predetermined operation is accepted.

5. a list acquisition step of acquiring, from the communication device, a list of one or more access points found by a search performed by the communication device; if the other access point is not included in the list, a receiving step of receiving from a user a selection of any one of the access points from the list; the predetermined access point is an access point selected by a user from the list; 4. The program according to claim 3, wherein the trial process is executed based on the fact that the other access point is not included in the list.

6. The program according to claim 5, characterized in that, when the other access point is included in the list, the specified password and information for identifying the other access point are controlled to be transmitted to the communication device.

7. a second attempt step of executing a second attempt process for attempting to establish a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device, using the password for connecting to the predetermined access point input to the predetermined application program, when the other access point is not included in the list and the predetermined application program has received an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point from the user; The program described in claim 5, characterized in that, based on the successful establishment of a connection between the specified access point and the information processing device by the second attempt process, a password for connecting to the specified access point entered into the specified application program and information for identifying the specified access point are sent to the communication device.

8. The program described in claim 7, characterized in that if the second attempt process fails to establish a connection between the specified access point and the information processing device, a process is executed again for the specified application program to accept input of a password from the user for connecting to the specified access point.

9. a first disconnection step of disconnecting a connection between the other access point and the information processing device; an establishment step of establishing a connection between the communication device and the information processing device after the connection between the other access point and the information processing device is disconnected; and after the list is acquired via a connection between the communication device and the information processing device, a second disconnection step of disconnecting the connection between the communication device and the information processing device is further executed.

6. The program according to claim 5, wherein the trial process is executed after the connection between the communication device and the information processing device is cut off.

10. the predetermined wireless profile is a wireless profile managed by the OS and corresponds to an access point other than the predetermined access point, If the predetermined password satisfies a condition regarding a character string permitted as a password corresponding to an encryption method used by the predetermined access point, the trial process is executed; 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the trial process is not executed if the specified password does not conform to conditions regarding a character string permitted as a password corresponding to the encryption method used by the specified access point.

11. a processing step of executing a process for causing the predetermined application program to receive, from a user, an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point, if the predetermined password does not conform to a condition related to a character string permitted as a password corresponding to an encryption method used by the predetermined access point; The program according to claim 10, characterized in that, based on the specified application program accepting input of a password for connecting to the specified access point from a user, the password for connecting to the specified access point inputted into the specified application program is transmitted to the communication device.

12. a second acquisition step of acquiring a second password from a second wireless profile that is a wireless profile managed by an OS of the information processing device and that is a wireless profile corresponding to the predetermined access point, when the predetermined password does not conform to a condition related to a character string permitted as a password corresponding to an encryption method used by the predetermined access point; a third attempt step of executing a third attempt process for attempting to establish a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by using the second password acquired from the second wireless profile; The program described in claim 10, characterized in that, based on the successful establishment of a connection between the specified access point and the information processing device by the third attempt process, the second password obtained from the second wireless profile and information for identifying the specified access point are sent to the communication device.

13. the predetermined password is a password acquired from a predetermined wireless profile that is a wireless profile managed by the OS and corresponds to an access point different from the predetermined access point, When the encryption method used by the other access point coincides with the encryption method used by the predetermined access point, the trial process is executed; 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the trial process is not executed when an encryption method used by the other access point does not match an encryption method used by the predetermined access point.

14. a processing step of executing a process for causing the predetermined application program to receive, from a user, an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point, when the encryption method used by the other access point does not match the encryption method used by the predetermined access point; The program according to claim 13, characterized in that, based on the specified application program accepting input of a password for connecting to the specified access point from a user, the password for connecting to the specified access point inputted into the specified application program is transmitted to the communication device.

15. a second acquisition step of acquiring a second password from a second wireless profile that is a wireless profile managed by an OS of the information processing device and that is a wireless profile corresponding to the predetermined access point, when the predetermined password does not conform to a condition related to a character string permitted as a password corresponding to an encryption method used by the predetermined access point; a third attempt step of executing a third attempt process for attempting to establish a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by using the second password acquired from the second wireless profile; The program described in claim 13, characterized in that, based on the successful establishment of a connection between the specified access point and the information processing device by the third attempt process, the second password obtained from the second wireless profile and information for identifying the specified access point are sent to the communication device.

16. a disconnection step of disconnecting the connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device after the connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device is successfully established by the trial process; 2. The program according to claim 1, further comprising an establishment step of establishing a connection between the communication device and the information processing device after the connection between the specified access point and the information processing device is disconnected.

17. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined password is transmitted to the communication device via Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

18. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined password is transmitted to the communication device by Bluetooth (registered trademark).

19. 2 . The program according to claim 1 , further comprising a job sending step of sending at least one of a print job for causing the communication device to execute printing and a scan job for causing the communication device to execute scanning.

20. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that, based on the successful establishment of a connection between the specified access point and the information processing device through the trial process, information for identifying the specified access point and the specified password are sent to the communication device.

21. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the information for specifying the predetermined access point is identification information of the predetermined access point.

22. 22. The program according to claim 21, wherein the information for identifying the predetermined access point is a Service Set Identifier (SSID) of the predetermined access point.

23. A method for controlling an information processing device having a predetermined application program, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring a password from a predetermined wireless profile managed by an operating system (OS) of the information processing device; a trial step of executing, by the predetermined application program, a trial process for attempting to establish a connection between a predetermined access point and the information processing device, using a predetermined password that is acquired from the predetermined wireless profile and is not a password that the predetermined application program has accepted as an input from a user; a first transmission step of transmitting the predetermined password to a communication device outside the information processing device and outside the predetermined access point based on a successful establishment of a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a processing step of causing the predetermined application program to execute a process for receiving, from a user, an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point, based on a failure in establishing a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a second transmission step of transmitting, to the communication device, the password input to the predetermined application program based on the input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point by the user being received by the predetermined application program; having A control method, comprising the steps of: executing, by the communication device, a process for establishing a connection between the communication device and the predetermined access point based on a password transmitted to the communication device.

24. An information processing device having a predetermined application program, an acquisition means for acquiring a password from a predetermined wireless profile managed by an operating system (OS) of the information processing device; a trial means for executing, by the predetermined application program, a trial process for attempting to establish a connection between a predetermined access point and the information processing device, using a predetermined password that is acquired from the predetermined wireless profile and is not a password that the predetermined application program has accepted as an input from a user; a first transmission means for transmitting the predetermined password to a communication device outside the information processing device and outside the predetermined access point, based on the successful establishment of a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a processing means for executing a process for allowing the predetermined application program to receive, from a user, an input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point, based on a failure in establishing a connection between the predetermined access point and the information processing device by the trial process; a second transmission means for transmitting, to the communication device, a password input to the predetermined application program based on the input of a password for connecting to the predetermined access point by the user being received by the predetermined application program; having An information processing apparatus, characterized in that a process for establishing a connection between said communication device and said predetermined access point is executed by said communication device based on a password transmitted to said communication device.

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