Information processing device, control method for information processing device, electronic apparatus, and information processing system

Abstract

To reduce the effort required for a user to read connection information from a short-range wireless communication tag using an electronic apparatus.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes a short-range wireless communication tag that stores pre-written tag information and is capable of transmitting the tag information to an external apparatus via short-range wireless communication, and a communication unit that is capable of communicating with the external apparatus via a predetermined wireless access point. The tag information includes a host name of the information processing device, and the communication unit communicates with an external apparatus that has accessed the information processing device based on the host name, via the predetermined wireless access point.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, a control method for the information processing apparatus, an electronic device, and an information processing system.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a method for establishing wireless communication between an electronic device such as a mobile terminal and an information processing apparatus such as a printer via an access point, handover using Near Field Communication (NFC) is known. In the handover using NFC, the electronic device reads necessary connection information from the NFC tag, and wireless communication is established between the electronic device and the information processing apparatus based on the read connection information (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] For example, every time a user uses an information processing apparatus, it is inconvenient for the user to bring the electronic device close to the NFC tag to read the connection information. Therefore, it is conceivable to store the connection information read by the electronic device from the NFC tag in the electronic device, and establish wireless communication between the electronic device and the information processing apparatus based on the stored connection information. However, if the IP address or connection mode of the information processing apparatus is changed after the connection information is stored in the electronic device, wireless communication between the electronic device and the information processing apparatus cannot be established.

[0005] In the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, an information processing apparatus selects a valid IP address to write to an NFC tag and writes tag information based on the selected IP address to the NFC tag. However, for example, when the IP address is dynamically changed in a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) environment, in order to update the IP address stored in the electronic device, the user needs to bring the electronic device close to the NFC tag to read the new IP address.

[0006] In the method disclosed in Patent Document 2, an image processing apparatus writes information corresponding to a connection mode selected by a user to an NFC tag. However, after connection information is stored in the electronic device, if the connection mode of the image processing apparatus is changed, in order to update the connection information stored in the electronic device, the user needs to bring the electronic device close to the NFC tag to read the new connection mode.

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure aims to provide an information processing apparatus, a control method for the information processing apparatus, an electronic device, and an information processing system that can reduce the effort for a user to read connection information from a short-range wireless communication tag using the electronic device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing apparatus including a short-range wireless communication tag that stores pre-written tag information and can transmit the tag information to an external device by short-range wireless communication, and a communication unit capable of communicating with an external device via a predetermined wireless access point, where the tag information includes the host name of the information processing apparatus, and the communication unit communicates with an external device that has accessed the information processing apparatus based on the host name via the predetermined wireless access point.

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure includes transmitting tag information pre-written in a short-range wireless communication tag to an external device via short-range wireless communication and performing communication with the external device via a predetermined wireless access point, where the tag information includes the host name of the information processing device, and performing communication with the external device includes communicating with an external device that has accessed the information processing device based on the host name via the predetermined wireless access point.

[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure is an electronic device including a short-range wireless communication unit capable of reading, via short-range wireless communication, tag information including the host name of the information processing device from a short-range wireless communication tag of the information processing device, and a communication unit capable of performing communication with the information processing device based on the tag information read by the short-range wireless communication unit. After connecting to a predetermined wireless access point, the communication unit accesses the information processing device based on the host name of the information processing device to perform communication with the information processing device via the predetermined wireless access point.

[0011] One aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing system including an information processing device and an electronic device. The information processing device includes a short-range wireless communication tag that stores pre-written tag information and can transmit the tag information to the electronic device via short-range wireless communication. The electronic device includes a short-range wireless communication unit capable of reading the tag information from the short-range wireless communication tag via short-range wireless communication. The tag information includes the host name of the information processing device. After connecting to a predetermined wireless access point, the communication unit of the electronic device accesses the information processing device based on the host name to perform communication with the information processing device via the predetermined wireless access point. The communication unit of the information processing device communicates with the electronic device that has accessed the information processing device based on the host name via the predetermined wireless access point.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the convenience of the user is improved because the user can reduce the trouble of reading connection information from a short-range wireless communication tag using an electronic device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0015] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the configuration of an information processing system 100 according to an embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the information processing system 100. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the information processing apparatus 120. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the electronic device 130. FIG. 4 is a data configuration diagram of tag information 400.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 100 includes a network 110, an information processing device 120, an electronic device 130, and an access point 140. In the present embodiment, the information processing device 120 is a multifunction device such as an image processing device or an image forming device, and the electronic device 130 is a portable terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet, or a notebook PC. The information processing device 120 is connected to the network 110, which is, for example, a wired LAN network, by wire. The access point 140 is connected to the network 110 by wire.

[0017] The information processing device 120 can communicate with external devices (for example, a PC or a server) that are connected to the network 110 by wire via the network 110, and can also communicate with external devices (for example, the electronic device 130) that are connected to the access point 140 wirelessly. The user uses the electronic device 130 to instruct the information processing device 120 to provide a service. For example, when the user instructs the information processing device 120 to execute printing, the electronic device 130 transmits print data to the information processing device 120.

[0018] The information processing device 120 can execute, for example, short-range wireless communication based on NFC. When the user brings the electronic device 130 close to the information processing device 120, the electronic device 130 reads tag information 400 (see FIG. 4) from a short-range wireless communication tag 207 (see FIG. 2) of the information processing device 120. For example, based on the acquired tag information 400, the electronic device 130 connects to the access point 140 by wireless communication such as wireless LAN, and transmits print data to the information processing device 120 via the access point 140. Thereby, the user can establish communication between the electronic device 130 and the information processing device 120 and transmit print data to the information processing device 120 by a simple operation of bringing the electronic device 130 close to the information processing device 120.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus 120, which is a multifunction device, includes a control unit 201, a display operation unit 202, an image forming unit 203, a scanner unit 204, a storage unit 205, a communication unit 206, a short-range wireless communication tag 207, and the like. The control unit 201 is one or more processors such as a CPU, for example, but it may also be a Micro Control Unit (MCU) or a Micro Processor Unit (MPU), or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or other circuits having an arithmetic function.

[0020] The display operation unit 202 is a touch panel display that can receive user input operations and display images. The image forming unit 203 prints the specified image data on the paper conveyed from the paper tray and discharges the printed paper to the paper discharge port. The scanner unit 204 reads the document placed on the document table or the document conveyance device and generates the image data of the read document. The storage unit 205 is a device that stores programs, data, etc. used in the information processing apparatus 120, and is, for example, a ROM, a RAM, a cache memory, a flash memory, or the like.

[0021] The communication unit 206 is a communication module for communicating with external devices and networks, and can execute communication with external devices via a predetermined wireless access point. The communication unit 206 in this example has a wired LAN function for communicating with the network 110 via a wired LAN and a wireless LAN function for communicating with the network 110 via an access point using a wireless LAN (e.g., Wi-Fi (registered trademark)). The communication unit 206 may have a communication function based on mobile wireless communication standards such as 4G, LTE, 5G, etc.

[0022] The communication unit 206 may be operable in the access point mode. When the communication unit 206 operates in the access point mode, by acting as a wireless access point, the communication unit 206 can establish direct wireless communication between the electronic device 130 and the information processing device 120. The method of establishing direct wireless communication between the electronic device 130 and the information processing device 120 is not limited to the access point mode and may be other wireless methods such as Wi-Fi Direct (registered trademark).

[0023] The short-range wireless communication tag 207 stores pre-written tag information 400 and can transmit the tag information 400 to an external device via short-range wireless communication. For example, the short-range wireless communication tag 207 is an IC tag compatible with NFC and includes an antenna, a controller, and a memory. In the short-range wireless communication tag 207, the controller controls the wireless communication operation of the antenna or writes the tag information 400 into the memory according to an instruction from the control unit 201 of the information processing device 120. The tag information 400 stored in the memory can be read by an external device using short-range wireless communication. As will be described later, the tag information 400 includes the host name of the information processing device 120.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic device 130, which is a mobile terminal, includes a control unit 301, a display operation unit 302, a storage unit 303, a communication unit 304, a short-range wireless communication unit 305, etc. The control unit 301 is one or more processors such as a CPU, for example, but may also be an MCU, an MPU, an FPGA, an ASIC, or other circuits having an arithmetic function. The display operation unit 302 is a touch panel display, for example. The storage unit 303 is a device capable of storing programs and data used in the electronic device 130 and is, for example, a ROM, a RAM, a cache memory, a flash memory, etc.

[0025] The communication unit 304 is a communication module for communicating with an external device or a network. The communication unit 304 in this example has a Wi-Fi function for communicating with the network 110 via an access point in a wireless LAN. The communication unit 304 may have a communication function based on a mobile wireless communication standard such as 4G, LTE, 5G, etc.

[0026] The short - range wireless communication unit 305 is a communication module for performing short - range wireless communication such as NFC. The short - range wireless communication unit 305 can read tag information 400 including the host name of the information processing device 120 from the short - range wireless communication tag 207 of the information processing device 120 by short - range wireless communication. The communication unit 304 can execute communication with the information processing device 120 based on the tag information 400 read by the short - range wireless communication unit 305.

[0027] In this embodiment, the tag information 400 illustrated in FIG. 4 is stored in the short - range wireless communication tag 207. The tag information 400 includes header information 401, host name information 402, search method information 403, a plurality of access point information, and priority information 406. The header information 401 is control information for short - range wireless communication added to the head of the tag information 400 and the like.

[0028] The host name information 402 indicates the host name of the information processing device 120. The host name is a character string used for identifying a computer on the network and can be converted into an IP address by a corresponding search method (name resolution means). For example, the search methods are Domain Name System (DNS), NetBIOS Name Service (NBNS), Multicast Domain Name System (mDNS), etc.

[0029] The search method information 403 indicates the search method of the host name. Specifically, the search method information 403 indicates the search method to be used to convert the host name indicated by the host name information 402 into an IP address, and indicates, for example, any one of DNS, NBNS, and mDNS. When the search method is not specified for an external device, the search method information 403 may be not set.

[0030] In this embodiment, even when the information processing apparatus 120 is operating in any of a plurality of connection modes, the host name of the information processing apparatus 120 can be searched by a common search method (e.g., DNS). Therefore, the tag information 400 includes only one search method information 403. That is, this search method information 403 indicates one search method common to a plurality of access point information described later.

[0031] The plurality of access point information is wireless information for connecting to a plurality of wireless access points respectively. In this example, the plurality of access point information includes first access point information 404 for connecting to the information processing apparatus 120 as a wireless access point, and second access point information 405 for connecting to a wireless access point different from the information processing apparatus 120.

[0032] The first access point information 404 is information for an external device to directly communicate with the information processing apparatus 120 when the information processing apparatus 120 is a wireless access point. In other words, the first access point information 404 is information for directly communicating with the information processing apparatus 120 operating in the access point mode. The information processing apparatus 120 operating in the access point mode is referred to as a self-access point (self-AP). The first access point information 404 includes SSID information 411, encryption method information 412, and authentication key information 413 as the wireless information of the self-AP.

[0033] The second access point information 405 is information for communicating with the information processing apparatus 120 via an external wireless access point when the information processing apparatus 120 is not a wireless access point. In other words, the second access point information 405 is information for communicating with the information processing apparatus 120 that does not operate in the access point mode via an external access point. A wireless access point different from the information processing apparatus 120 (access point 140 in this example) is referred to as an external access point (external AP). The second access point information 405 includes SSID information 411, encryption method information 412, and authentication key information 413 as the wireless information of the external AP, similar to the first access point information 404.

[0034] The Service Set Identifier (SSID) is the identification name of a wireless access point used in wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) communication. The SSID information 411 indicates the SSID of the wireless access point to be connected during communication with the information processing device 120. The encryption method information 412 indicates the encryption method used in this wireless LAN communication, for example, WPA3, WPA2, WPA, WEP, NONE, etc. The authentication key information 413 indicates the authentication key used in this encryption method. When no encryption method is used in the wireless LAN communication, the encryption method information 412 and the authentication key information 413 may not be set.

[0035] Therefore, in the first access point information 404, the SSID information 411 indicates the SSID of the information processing device 120 which is the own AP, and the encryption method information 412 and the authentication key information 413 indicate the encryption method and the authentication key used for the wireless LAN communication with this own AP. On the other hand, in the second access point information 405, the SSID information 411 indicates the SSID of the access point 140 which is an external AP, and the encryption method information 412 and the authentication key information 413 indicate the encryption method and the authentication key used for the wireless LAN communication with this external AP.

[0036] The priority information 406 indicates the priority order of attempting to connect among a plurality of wireless access points. For example, the priority information 406 is data indicating the priority order of using the first access point information 404 and the second access point information 405 when an external device communicates with the information processing device 120. In other words, the priority information 406 is information indicating whether to give priority to connecting to the own AP or the external AP.

[0037] Thus, the tag information 400 includes a plurality of access point information (in this example, the first access point information 404 and the second access point information 405). These access point information include not only the access point information of the connection mode currently executed by the information processing apparatus 120, but also the access point information of other connection modes executable by the information processing apparatus 120. In other words, the plurality of access point information included in the tag information 400 corresponds to a plurality of different connection modes executable by the information processing apparatus 120. Details of the connection mode will be described later.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 5, the flow of processing executed in the information processing system 100 will be described. In this example, the electronic device 130 has a name resolution ability capable of corresponding to any of the various search methods (for example, DNS, NBNS, and mDNS) described above. In the information processing apparatus 120, the above-described tag information 400 is previously written in the short-range wireless communication tag 207. In the priority information 406 of this tag information 400, the highest priority is set for the access point information corresponding to the connection mode currently executed by the information processing apparatus 120.

[0039] For example, when the user performs printing on the information processing apparatus 120, the electronic device 130 is brought close to the information processing apparatus 120. At this time, the control unit 301 of the electronic device 130 executes the wireless communication processing of FIG. 5 as follows.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 5, in S501, the control unit 301 causes the short-range wireless communication unit 305 to execute short-range wireless communication, and reads the tag information 400 from the short-range wireless communication tag 207 of the information processing apparatus 120. The control unit 301 stores the read tag information 400 in the storage unit 303.

[0041] In S503, the control unit 301 determines whether the external AP has priority. For example, the control unit 301 refers to the priority information 406 included in the tag information 400, and when the priority order of the second access point information 405 is the highest, it determines that the external AP has priority (S503; YES). In this case, in S505, the control unit 301 controls the communication unit 304 to attempt a wireless connection to the external AP. For example, the control unit 301 performs connection processing by wireless LAN communication with the access point 140 which is the external AP based on the second access point information 405 (i.e., SSID, encryption method, and authentication key) included in the tag information 400.

[0042] In S503, when the priority order of the first access point information 404 is the highest, the control unit 301 determines that the own AP has priority (S503; NO). In this case, in S507, the control unit 301 controls the communication unit 304 to attempt a wireless connection to the own AP. For example, the control unit 301 performs connection processing by wireless LAN communication with the information processing device 120 which is the own AP based on the first access point information 404 included in the tag information 400.

[0043] In S509, the control unit 301 determines whether the wireless connection attempted in S505 or S507 has succeeded. When it is determined that the wireless connection has succeeded (S509; YES), in S511, the control unit 301 performs a network search based on the host name and the search method.

[0044] Specifically, when the wireless connection with the external AP is successful in S505, the control unit 301 converts the host name indicated by the host name information 402 of the second access point information 405 into an IP address based on the search method indicated by the search method information 403. On the other hand, when the wireless connection with the external AP is successful in S507, the control unit 301 converts the host name indicated by the host name information 402 of the first access point information 404 into an IP address based on the search method indicated by the search method information 403.

[0045] For example, when the search method information 403 indicates DNS, the control unit 301 transmits the host name to the DNS server via the network 110 and obtains the IP address corresponding to this host name from the DNS server. Note that when the search method information 403 is not set, the control unit 301 may search for the IP address corresponding to the host name by using the default search method defined in the electronic device 130 (for example, the search method implemented as a standard in the OS of the electronic device 130).

[0046] In S513, the control unit 301 determines whether the network search in S511 was successful. When it is determined that the network search was successful (S513; YES), in S515, the control unit 301 controls the communication unit 304 to transmit the print data to the IP address of the information processing device 120 obtained by the network search. The information processing device 120 executes print processing based on the print data received from the electronic device 130. After executing S515, the control unit 301 normally terminates the wireless communication process (see FIG. 5).

[0047] When the wireless connection fails in S509 (S509; NO), in S517, the control unit 301 determines whether there is a next candidate access point (next candidate AP). For example, when there is access point information in the tag information 400 that has not been tried for wireless connection among the plurality of access point information, the control unit 301 determines that there is a next candidate AP.

[0048] In this case (S517; YES), in S519, the control unit 301 attempts to make a wireless connection to the next candidate AP. In this example, when a wireless connection to an external AP was attempted in S505, the first access point information 404 is the access point information of the next candidate AP. When a wireless connection to the own AP was attempted in S507, the second access point information 405 is the access point information of the next candidate AP.

[0049] That is, the one with the lower priority among the first access point information 404 and the second access point information 405 is the access point information of the next candidate AP. Based on the access point information of the next candidate AP, the control unit 301 attempts a wireless connection in the same manner as in S505 or S507 and returns the process to S509. When the wireless connection to the next candidate AP is successful, the processes of S511 to S515 are executed as described above.

[0050] On the other hand, when it is determined that the wireless connection to the next candidate AP has not been successful and there is no access point information for which a wireless connection has not been attempted (there is no next candidate AP) (S517; NO), it is determined that the wireless connection has failed for all of the plurality of access point information (that is, the first access point information 404 and the second access point information 405) included in the tag information 400. In this case, the control unit 301 ends the wireless communication process (see FIG. 5) with an error. Even when the network search fails in S513, the control unit 301 ends the wireless communication process (see FIG. 5) with an error. At the time of ending with an error, for example, a message indicating the failure of transmitting print data may be displayed on the electronic device 130.

[0051] Referring to FIGS. 1, 6, and 7, a specific processing mode based on the wireless communication process (see FIG. 5) will be described. FIGS. 6 and 7 are other overall configuration diagrams of the information processing system 100. The information processing system 100 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 has a different connection mode of the information processing apparatus 120 from the information processing system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

[0052] In the first connection mode illustrated in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 120 is connected to the network 110 via a wired LAN, and the information processing apparatus 120 is not operating in the access point mode. In order for an external device to communicate with the information processing apparatus 120, it is necessary to connect to the access point 140 which is an external AP. Therefore, the priority information 406 of the tag information 400 written in advance in the short-range wireless communication tag 207 indicates the second access point information 405 as the access point information with the highest priority.

[0053] When the user brings the electronic device 130 close to the information processing apparatus 120, the tag information 400 in the short-range wireless communication tag 207 is read by the short-range wireless communication 101 (see FIG. 1) in the electronic device 130 in S501. In S503, it is determined that the external AP has priority based on the above priority information 406. In S505, the electronic device 130 is connected to the access point 140 by wireless LAN communication 102 (see FIG. 1) based on the second access point information 405.

[0054] Next, in S511, based on the host name and search method specified by the tag information 400, the IP address corresponding to the host name of the information processing apparatus 120 is searched on the network. In S515, the print data is transmitted from the electronic device 130 toward the searched IP address. This print data is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 120 by wired LAN communication 103 (see FIG. 1) on the network 110 after passing through the access point 140.

[0055] In the second connection mode illustrated in FIG. 6, unlike FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 120 is connected to the access point 140 by wireless LAN communication and can communicate with the network 110 via this access point 140. Similar to FIG. 1, since the information processing apparatus 120 is not operating in the access point mode, an external device needs to connect to the access point 140, which is an external AP, in order to communicate with the information processing apparatus 120. Therefore, the priority information 406 of the tag information 400 written in the short-range wireless communication tag 207 in advance indicates the second access point information 405 as having the highest priority.

[0056] When the user brings the electronic device 130 close to the information processing apparatus 120, wireless communication processing is executed as in the case of FIG. 1. Specifically, in S501, the tag information 400 in the short-range wireless communication tag 207 is read by the electronic device 130 through short-range wireless communication 601 (see FIG. 6). In S505, based on the second access point information 405, the electronic device 130 is connected to the access point 140 through wireless LAN communication 602 (see FIG. 6). In S515, the print data is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 120 through wireless LAN communication 603 (see FIG. 6) after passing through the access point 140.

[0057] In the third connection mode illustrated in FIG. 7, different from FIGS. 1 and 6, the information processing apparatus 120 is connected to the network 110 through a wired LAN, and the information processing apparatus 120 is operating in an access point mode. The external device can directly communicate with the information processing apparatus 120, which is its own AP, through a wireless LAN. Therefore, the priority information 406 of the tag information 400 written in advance in the short-range wireless communication tag 207 indicates the first access point information 404 as the access point information with the highest priority.

[0058] When the user brings the electronic device 130 close to the information processing apparatus 120, in S501, the tag information 400 in the short-range wireless communication tag 207 is read by the electronic device 130 through short-range wireless communication 701 (see FIG. 7). In S503, based on the above priority information 406, it is determined that the external AP is not a priority. In S507, based on the first access point information 404, the electronic device 130 is connected to the information processing apparatus 120 through wireless LAN communication 702 (see FIG. 7).

[0059] Next, in S511, based on the host name specified by the tag information 400 and the search method, a network search is performed for the IP address corresponding to the host name of the information processing apparatus 120. At this time, the information processing apparatus 120, which is the own AP, may search for the IP address corresponding to the host name by itself without making an inquiry to an external DNS server by functioning as a DNS server by itself, and notify the electronic device 130. In S515, the print data is directly transmitted to the information processing apparatus 120 by wireless LAN communication 702 (see FIG. 7) without passing through the access point 140.

[0060] According to the above wireless communication process (see FIG. 5), after the communication unit 304 of the electronic device 130 connects to a predetermined wireless access point, it accesses the information processing apparatus 120 based on the host name of the information processing apparatus 120, thereby executing communication with the information processing apparatus 120 via the predetermined wireless access point. On the other hand, the communication unit 206 of the information processing apparatus 120 communicates with an external device (in this example, the electronic device 130) that has accessed the information processing apparatus 120 based on the host name via a predetermined wireless access point. Note that in the first connection mode and the second connection mode, the predetermined wireless access point is the access point 140. In the third connection mode, the predetermined wireless access point is the information processing apparatus 120.

[0061] As described above, in this embodiment, the electronic device 130 can search for the IP address of the information processing apparatus 120 based on the host name information 402 included in the tag information 400 and execute communication with the information processing apparatus 120. While the IP address may change according to the connection mode, the host name is fixed regardless of the connection mode. Therefore, the electronic device 130 can discover and communicate with the information processing apparatus 120 without the need to reread the short-range wireless communication tag 207 by the electronic device 130 even in a network environment where the IP address of the information processing apparatus 120 is not fixed.

[0062] Furthermore, the electronic device 130 searches for the IP address of the information processing apparatus 120 based on the search method information 403 included in the tag information 400. Therefore, even when the search method (name resolution means) to be used varies according to the network environment, the electronic device 130 can discover the information processing apparatus 120 using an appropriate search method.

[0063] As described above, the tag information 400 read from the short-range wireless communication tag 207 in S501 is stored in the electronic device 130. When the user uses the information processing apparatus 120 again, the user instructs execution of wireless communication processing (see FIG. 5) by performing a predetermined operation (for example, a touch operation on the display operation unit 302) on the electronic device 130. In this case, in S501, the control unit 301 reads out the tag information 400 in the storage unit 303 and executes the processing after S503 based on this tag information 400. Thereby, even without rereading the short-range wireless communication tag 207 by the electronic device 130, communication between the electronic device 130 and the information processing apparatus 120 can be executed, and print data can be transmitted to the information processing apparatus 120.

[0064] The information processing apparatus 120 executes any of the plurality of connection modes described above in a network environment connected to the network 110. In the present embodiment, for example, even when the connection mode of the information processing apparatus 120 is changed, the user can realize communication between the electronic device 130 and the information processing apparatus 120 based on this tag information 400 without overwriting and updating the tag information 400 in the electronic device 130.

[0065] For example, assume that after the user uses the information processing apparatus 120 in the first connection mode (see FIG. 1), the communication setting of the information processing apparatus 120 is changed to the third connection mode (see FIG. 7). In this case, in order for the user to use the information processing apparatus 120 again, the user instructs execution of wireless communication processing (see FIG. 5) by performing a predetermined operation on the electronic device 130 as described above. In this case, in S501, the control unit 301 reads out the tag information 400 in the storage unit 303 and executes the processing after S503 based on this tag information 400 as follows.

[0066] The priority information 406 of the tag information 400 indicates the second access point information 405 as the access point information with the highest priority corresponding to the first connection mode. Therefore, in S505, the control unit 301 attempts to wirelessly connect to the external AP, but since it is currently in the third connection mode, this wireless connection fails. The control unit 301 determines in S509 that the wireless connection has failed, and attempts to wirelessly connect to the next candidate AP in S519. That is, the control unit 301 attempts to wirelessly connect to the information processing device 120 which is the own AP based on the first access point information 404. Since the information processing device 120 in the third connection mode is operating in the access point mode, the wireless connection to the next candidate AP is successful. The processing of S511 to S515 hereafter is the same as described above.

[0067] As described above, in this embodiment, a plurality of access point information corresponding to a plurality of connection modes that the information processing device 120 can execute are included in the tag information 400 in advance. The electronic device 130 can establish a wireless connection corresponding to the connection mode currently executed by the information processing device 120 by sequentially attempting wireless connections based on each of the plurality of access point information based on the priority information 406 included in the tag information 400. The user can use the information processing device 120 via the network without the need to reread the short-range wireless communication tag 207 by the electronic device 130 and without being aware that the connection mode of the information processing device 120 has been changed.

[0068] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment, new technical features can be formed.

[0069] For example, the information processing device 120 may be an electronic device different from a multifunction device (e.g., a communication device), and the electronic device 130 may be an electronic device different from a mobile terminal (e.g., a PC). A part of the wireless communication processing (see FIG. 5) may be executed by another electronic device connected to the electronic device 130. Each process included in the wireless communication processing (see FIG. 5) may be executed by hardware such as an electronic circuit instead of being executed by the control unit 301 based on a program.

[0070] The tag information 400 is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, the tag information 400 may not include the priority information 406. In this case, instead of S503 to S509 of the wireless communication processing (see FIG. 5), the control unit 301 of the electronic device 130 may attempt wireless communication based on a plurality of access point information included in the tag information 400 in a predetermined order or randomly to establish a wireless connection corresponding to the currently executed connection mode.

[0071] The plurality of access point information included in the tag information 400 is not limited to two pieces of access point information (the first access point information 404 and the second access point information 405), and may be three or more pieces of access point information. For example, the tag information 400 may include three pieces of access point information respectively corresponding to the three connection modes described above. When the information processing device 120 in the first connection mode or the second connection mode can be connected to a plurality of different wireless access points, the tag information 400 may include a plurality of access point information respectively corresponding to these wireless access points.

[0072] FIG. 8 is a data configuration diagram of tag information 800 according to a modified example. Depending on the connection mode and network environment of the information processing device 120, the search method to be used for searching for a host name in the network may be different. Therefore, as in the tag information 800 shown in FIG. 8, the search method information 403 may be included in each of the plurality of access point information.

[0073] In the example of FIG. 8, the search method information 403 included in the first access point information 404 indicates the search method to be used for network search of the host name of the information processing apparatus 120 in the mode of wireless connection with the information processing apparatus 120 which is the own device AP. The search method information 403 included in the second access point information 405 indicates the search method to be used for network search of the host name of the information processing apparatus 120 in the mode of wireless connection with the access point 140 which is an external AP.

Description of Signs

[0074] 100 Information processing system, 120 Information processing apparatus, 130 Electronic device, 140 Access point, 206 Communication unit, 207 Short-range wireless communication tag, 304 Communication unit, 305 Short-range wireless communication unit, 400 Tag information

Claims

1. A short-range wireless communication tag that stores pre-written tag information and can transmit the tag information to an external device via short-range wireless communication, and A communication unit capable of communicating with an external device via a predetermined wireless access point, An information processing apparatus comprising: The tag information includes the host name of the information processing apparatus, The communication unit communicates with an external device that has accessed the information processing apparatus based on the host name via the predetermined wireless access point. Information processing apparatus.

2. The tag information includes a plurality of access point information for connecting to a plurality of wireless access points respectively, and priority information indicating a priority order for attempting to connect among the plurality of wireless access points, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The plurality of access point information includes first access point information for connecting to the information processing apparatus as the wireless access point, and second access point information for connecting to a wireless access point different from the information processing apparatus, The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The tag information includes search method information indicating a search method for the host name, The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

5. The search method information indicates one search method common to the plurality of wireless access points, The information processing apparatus according to claim 4.

6. The search method information indicates a plurality of search methods respectively corresponding to the plurality of wireless access points, The information processing apparatus according to claim 5.

7. Transmitting tag information pre-written in a short-range wireless communication tag to an external device via short-range wireless communication, Communicating with an external device via a predetermined wireless access point, A control method for an information processing apparatus, comprising: The tag information includes the host name of the information processing apparatus, Communicating with the external device includes communicating with an external device that has accessed the information processing apparatus based on the host name via the predetermined wireless access point. Control method for an information processing apparatus.

8. A short-range wireless communication unit capable of reading, via short-range wireless communication, tag information including the host name of the information processing apparatus from a short-range wireless communication tag of the information processing apparatus, and A communication unit capable of communicating with the information processing apparatus based on the tag information read by the short-range wireless communication unit An electronic device comprising: After connecting to a predetermined wireless access point, the communication unit accesses the information processing apparatus based on the host name of the information processing apparatus, and thereby executes communication with the information processing apparatus via the predetermined wireless access point. An electronic device. Claim 9 An information processing system including an information processing apparatus and an electronic device, wherein the information processing apparatus includes a short-range wireless communication tag that stores tag information written in advance and can transmit the tag information to the electronic device by short-range wireless communication, the electronic device includes a short-range wireless communication unit that can read the tag information from the short-range wireless communication tag by short-range wireless communication, the tag information includes the host name of the information processing apparatus, after connecting to a predetermined wireless access point, the communication unit of the electronic device accesses the information processing apparatus based on the host name, and thereby executes communication with the information processing apparatus via the predetermined wireless access point, the communication unit of the information processing apparatus communicates with the electronic device that has accessed the information processing apparatus based on the host name via the predetermined wireless access point, An information processing system.

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