Image forming system and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To simplify network connection and ensure security in an image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: When an image forming apparatus and an electronic terminal start Wi-Fi direct for a Wi-Fi simple set-up mode, the electronic terminal transmits connection setting information of an access point (SSID and password) stored therein to the image forming apparatus. A control unit of the image forming apparatus displays a selection screen for whether to change Wi-Fi settings of a network communication unit of the image forming apparatus on the basis of the connection setting information transmitted from the electronic terminal. When a permission to change the Wi-Fi settings is selected, the control unit changes the Wi-Fi settings of the network communication unit by using the connection setting information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of direct wireless communication with an electronic terminal, and an image forming system including the electronic terminal and the image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Many image forming apparatuses, such as multifunction peripherals, that have functions such as scanning, printing, copying, and facsimile function have a direct wireless communication function (Wi-Fi Direct) that communicates directly with electronic terminals, such as personal computers (PCs), tablet terminals, and smartphones, using a predetermined wireless communication method such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark).Patent documents 1 to 3 describe methods for preventing the interruption of network connection due to erroneous operation when setting up a network connection of a communication apparatus (image forming apparatus) with a terminal device using direct wireless communication. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-143999 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-022876 [Patent Document 3] Patent Publication No. 2021-141365 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the case of the methods described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, there is a risk that a malicious third party may communicate with the image forming device using direct wireless communication while an authorized user, such as an administrator of the image forming device, is setting up a network connection for the communication device via direct wireless communication from a terminal device.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to simplify the network connection of an image forming apparatus while ensuring security. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An image forming system according to one aspect of the present invention is an image forming system comprising an image forming device and an electronic terminal that communicates with the image forming device using direct wireless communication, which is direct wireless communication, wherein the electronic terminal comprises a terminal-side communication unit that communicates with the image forming device and a terminal-side control unit that causes the terminal-side communication unit to send connection setting information with an access point connected to a network to the image forming device, and the image forming device comprises a direct wireless communication unit that performs the direct wireless communication with the electronic terminal, a network communication unit that connects to the access point, and a control unit that controls processing in an easy setup mode that sets up the connection of the network communication unit based on the connection setting information with the access point received by the direct wireless communication unit from the electronic terminal, thereby connecting the image forming device to the access point.

[0007] An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that connects to an electronic terminal via direct wireless communication, and includes a direct wireless communication unit that performs the direct wireless communication with the electronic terminal, a network communication unit that connects to an access point connected to a network, and a control unit that controls processing in an easy setup mode that performs connection settings for the network communication unit based on connection setting information with the access point received by the direct wireless communication unit from the electronic terminal, and connects the image forming apparatus to the access point. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the connection setting information required for the network setting of the image forming device is received from the electronic terminal using direct wireless communication, and the control unit uses the connection setting information to perform the connection setting of the network communication unit, so that the administrator or user of the image forming device can easily perform the network setting to connect to an access point. In other words, according to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both simplification of the network connection of the image forming device and ensuring security. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the image forming apparatus and the image forming system. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a Wi-Fi easy setup mode. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a display unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a display unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a display unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a display unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a display unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a display unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a display unit. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of a display unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The image forming apparatus in this embodiment is a printer, a copier, or a multifunction peripheral having the functions of these.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the electrical configuration of an image forming system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The image forming system 1 is configured to include an image forming apparatus 100 and an electronic terminal 8. The image forming apparatus 100 and the electronic terminal 8 communicate using direct wireless communication W. Direct wireless communication W is a method in which devices exchange data directly with each other using short-range wireless communication such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (registered trademark) without using a router or the like. Direct wireless communication using Wi-Fi is generally referred to as "Wi-Fi Direct," and direct wireless communication will be referred to as "Wi-Fi Direct" below.

[0012] The electronic terminal 8 is an electronic device such as a personal computer 81, a tablet terminal 82, or a smartphone 83. The electronic terminal 8 stores an application for performing data communication with the image forming apparatus 100 using Wi-Fi Direct.

[0013] The access point 9 is a device that wirelessly connects to the image forming apparatus 100 and the electronic terminal 8 and acts as an intermediary for a network N such as the Internet. The access point 9 may be a wireless LAN router (Wi-Fi router) that has both an access point function and a router function.

[0014] The image forming apparatus 100 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, an input receiving unit 13, an image reading unit 14, an image forming unit 15, and a storage unit 16. The communication unit 12 is composed of a communication module and has a direct wireless communication unit 121 and a network communication unit 122. The direct wireless communication unit 121 is a communication module that executes processing for performing direct wireless communication W with the electronic terminal 8. The direct wireless communication unit 121 causes the image forming apparatus 100 to function as an access point, and communicates with the electronic terminal 8 via Wi-Fi Direct.

[0015] The network communication unit 122 is a communication module that connects to the access point 9 and exchanges various data with external devices such as a server via a network N such as the Internet. Note that, in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 and the access point 9 are described as using Wi-Fi for wireless communication, but a connection using a wireless communication standard other than Wi-Fi may also be used.

[0016] The input receiving unit 13 includes hard keys such as a decision key and a start key for confirming various operations and settings, and a display unit 131. The display unit 131 displays an operation screen, messages, etc. The display unit 131 may be configured integrally with a touch panel. The input receiving unit 13 receives instructions input based on the operation of the hard keys such as the decision key and start key, or the touch panel.

[0017] The image reading unit 14 includes a scanner and the like, and reads an image of a document to obtain image data. The image forming unit 15 includes an image forming mechanism that forms an image using an electrophotographic method, and prints the image data obtained by the image reading unit 14 and the image data received by the communication unit 12 from the electronic terminal 8, etc., on paper.

[0018] The storage unit 16 is a large-capacity storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores image data, various programs, data tables, and the like.

[0019] The control unit 11 is composed of a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The processor is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc. The control unit 11 functions as a control unit 111 when the processor executes a control program stored in the ROM, etc. The control unit 111 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0020] Furthermore, the control unit 111 has a Wi-Fi easy setup mode (easy setup mode) that receives connection setting information required for the network communication unit 122 to connect to the network N via the access point 9 from the electronic terminal 8 by Wi-Fi Direct, and performs connection settings for the network communication unit 122 to the access point 9 based on the connection setting information. The control unit 111 executes the Wi-Fi easy setup mode in response to a user's operation of the input receiving unit 13.

[0021] When installing the image forming apparatus 100, a user or an administrator needs to configure the network connection of the image forming apparatus 100. At that time, a Wi-Fi easy setup mode is used to configure the network connection of the image forming apparatus 100 from the electronic terminal 8 using Wi-Fi Direct.

[0022] Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the Wi-Fi easy setup mode in this embodiment. Fig. 3 shows network setting screen D1 in image forming apparatus 100. When control unit 111 is causing display unit 131 to display network setting screen D1 and input receiving unit 13 detects a touch on button 51, control unit 111 receives an instruction to start the Wi-Fi easy setup mode and starts the Wi-Fi easy setup mode (S11).

[0023] In this embodiment, when control unit 111 executes the Wi-Fi easy setup mode for the first time, such as immediately after installation of image forming apparatus 100, there is a high possibility that the operating user is the administrator of image forming apparatus 100, and therefore personal authentication and the like are not required. When the Wi-Fi easy setup mode is executed for the second time or later, control unit 111 executes personal authentication processing to identify the administrator of image forming apparatus 100. However, personal authentication and the like may be required when control unit 111 executes the Wi-Fi easy setup mode for the first time.

[0024] Next, the control unit 111 causes the display unit 131 to display a standby screen D2, drives the direct wireless communication unit 121, and waits for a connection via Wi-Fi Direct. Fig. 4 shows an example of the standby screen D2.

[0025] In the personal computer 81, when the control unit, which is made up of a CPU or the like, puts the personal computer 81 in a state waiting for input of a setup instruction, it causes the display unit 81d, which is equipped with an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, to display a setup screen D81 (FIG. 5). When the administrator touches the button 52 indicating "Wi-Fi Direct" while the setup screen D81 is displayed, the control unit receives an instruction for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode and sets the method for Wi-Fi easy setup of the image forming apparatus to Wi-Fi Direct (S21).

[0026] Then, the control unit displays a list screen D82 showing a list of image forming apparatuses connectable via "Wi-Fi Direct" on the display unit 81d (FIG. 6). At this time, when the administrator operates button 53 indicating image forming apparatus 100 (MFP001) from the list, the control unit receives an instruction to connect to image forming apparatus 100 via Wi-Fi Direct via the touch panel provided on the display unit 81d, and then transmits a Wi-Fi Direct connection request (including various information such as SSID and password required for connecting to image forming apparatus 100 via Wi-Fi Direct) to image forming apparatus 100 from a communication unit having a communication module provided in personal computer 81 (S22).

[0027] In the image forming apparatus 100, when the direct wireless communication unit 121 in an active state receives a Wi-Fi Direct connection request from the personal computer 81, the direct wireless communication unit 121 uses various information included in the connection request to start a connection and communication with the personal computer 81 via Wi-Fi Direct (S13). At this time, for example, the image forming apparatus 100 and the electronic terminal 8 are connected via Wi-Fi Direct for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode. The Wi-Fi Direct for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode is a connection that uses a different SSID (Service Set Identifier) ​​and password from those used for normal Wi-Fi Direct.

[0028] In this case, image forming apparatus 100 and personal computer 81 exchange the SSID and password in accordance with predetermined rules, and Wi-Fi Direct for Wi-Fi easy setup mode is started without the administrator having to enter the SSID and password. Alternatively, control unit 111 may cause display unit 131 to display the SSID and password of image forming apparatus 100 required for Wi-Fi Direct for Wi-Fi easy setup. In this case, when the administrator enters the SSID and password into personal computer 81, the control unit of personal computer 81 transmits the entered SSID and password to image forming apparatus 100 from the communication unit.

[0029] When Wi-Fi Direct communication for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode is started between the image forming apparatus 100 and the personal computer 81, the control unit of the personal computer 81 transmits, from the communication unit, the connection setting information (SSID and password) for the access point 9 stored in the storage unit (non-volatile memory or the like) of the personal computer 81 to the image forming apparatus 100 (S23). At this time, the control unit of the personal computer 81 also causes the display unit 81d to display a transmission screen D83, an example of which is shown in FIG.

[0030] When the direct wireless communication unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 receives the connection setting information from the personal computer 81, the control unit 111 stores the connection setting information in, for example, an internal memory (not shown) of the communication unit 12 (S14).

[0031] Note that once the internal memory of the communication unit 12 stores the connection setting information, even if the direct wireless communication unit 121 receives connection setting information from another electronic terminal 8 (for example, the tablet terminal 82) while the Wi-Fi easy setup mode is being executed, the control unit 111 does not store the connection setting information of the other electronic terminal 8 in the internal memory of the communication unit 12. Then, the control unit 111 causes the direct wireless communication unit 121 to transmit an error message to the tablet terminal 82 that sent the connection setting information.

[0032] Furthermore, if direct wireless communication unit 121 does not receive connection setting information from access point 9 after a predetermined time has elapsed since Wi-Fi Direct for Wi-Fi easy setup mode started, control unit 111 forcibly ends Wi-Fi Direct for Wi-Fi easy setup mode. In other words, Wi-Fi Direct between image forming apparatus 100 and personal computer 81 ends.

[0033] After S14, the control unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 100 causes the display unit 131 to display a selection screen D3 showing a message for determining whether or not to change the Wi-Fi settings of the network communication unit 122 based on the connection setting information transmitted from the personal computer 81. FIG. 8 shows an example of the selection screen D3. Here, when the input receiving unit 13 receives an instruction to permit the change of the Wi-Fi settings via the touch panel based on the touch operation of the button 54 (S15; YES), the control unit 111 changes the Wi-Fi settings of the network communication unit 122 based on the connection setting information transmitted from the personal computer 81 (S16). The control unit 111 then ends the processing in the Wi-Fi easy setup mode (S17) and ends Wi-Fi Direct for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode with the electronic terminal 8 (S18).

[0034] On the other hand, when the input receiving unit 13 receives an instruction not to allow the change of the Wi-Fi settings via the touch panel based on the touch operation of the button 55 (S15; NO), the control unit 111 does not change the above Wi-Fi settings, terminates the processing in the Wi-Fi easy setup mode (S17), and terminates Wi-Fi Direct for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode with the electronic terminal 8 (S18).

[0035] While the image forming apparatus 100 and the personal computer 81 are in a Wi-Fi Direct connection for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode (processing S13 to S18 in FIG. 2), if the direct wireless communication unit 121 initiates a Wi-Fi Direct connection for the same Wi-Fi easy setup mode with an external device other than the personal computer 81 (for example, the smartphone 83), the control unit 111 causes the display unit 131 to display a message indicating that the smartphone 83, which is an external device other than the personal computer 81, has initiated a Wi-Fi Direct connection with the smartphone 83 itself.

[0036] If the image forming apparatus 100 and the electronic terminal 8 exchange the SSID and password according to predetermined rules and Wi-Fi Direct for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode can be started without the administrator having to enter the SSID and password, a third party other than the administrator may access the image forming apparatus 100 without permission using Wi-Fi Direct for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode. A malicious third party may be able to rewrite the Wi-Fi settings of the image forming apparatus 100 without permission.

[0037] To avoid such a situation, when the direct wireless communication unit 121 connects to multiple electronic terminals 8 while the Wi-Fi easy setup mode is being executed, the control unit 111 causes the display unit 131 to display that the multiple electronic terminals 8 are currently connected.

[0038] 9 shows an example of a warning screen D4 displayed on display unit 131 of image forming apparatus 100 at this time. Control unit 111 causes display unit 131 to display, together with the message, a selection screen for prompting the user to decide whether to continue execution of processing in the easy setup mode. When input acceptance unit 13 accepts an instruction to continue processing in the easy setup mode via the touch panel based on a touch operation of button 56, control unit 111 continues execution of processing in the Wi-Fi easy setup mode. When input acceptance unit 13 accepts an instruction to stop processing in the easy setup mode via the touch panel based on a touch operation of button 57, control unit 111 stops processing in the easy setup mode.

[0039] Furthermore, the direct wireless communication unit 121 of the image forming apparatus 100 causes the direct wireless communication unit 121 to transmit a message to the electronic terminal 8 currently connected via Wi-Fi Direct, indicating that multiple electronic terminals 8 are currently connected via Wi-Fi Direct. Fig. 10 shows an example of a warning screen D83 that the control unit of the personal computer 81 displays on the display unit 81d of the personal computer 81 at this time. In this way, when the number of Wi-Fi Direct communication partners increases to multiple during processing in the Wi-Fi easy setup mode, a message to that effect is displayed on the display unit 131 of the image forming apparatus 100 and a message is sent to the electronic terminal 8 of the communication partner, allowing the administrator to know of Wi-Fi Direct connections by third parties, thereby enhancing security.

[0040] After the control unit 111 of the image forming device 100 ends processing in the Wi-Fi easy setup mode (S17), and the direct wireless communication unit 121 of the image forming device 100 and the personal computer 81 end Wi-Fi Direct for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode (S18), the control unit 111 causes the network communication unit 122 to start Wi-Fi communication with the access point 9 (S19).

[0041] Note that, when the direct wireless communication unit 121 connects to the electronic terminal 8 via Wi-Fi Direct and starts processing in the Wi-Fi easy setup mode, if the direct wireless communication unit 121 is already connected to another electronic terminal via Wi-Fi Direct, the control unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 100 may interrupt the connection with the electronic terminal via Wi-Fi Direct, and then connect to the electronic terminal 8 via Wi-Fi Direct and start processing in the Wi-Fi easy setup mode. In this case, if the control unit 111 was connected to another electronic terminal via Wi-Fi Direct immediately before processing in the Wi-Fi easy setup mode, the control unit 111 may resume the connection with the other electronic terminal that was previously connected via Wi-Fi Direct when terminating Wi-Fi Direct for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode.

[0042] As described above, by using Wi-Fi Direct for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode to send the connection setting information required for the network settings of the image forming device 100 from the electronic terminal 8, and having the control unit 111 configure the network communication unit 122 using the sent connection setting information, the administrator of the image forming device 100 can easily connect to the access point 9 and configure the network settings.

[0043] Furthermore, if a third party other than the administrator connects to the image forming apparatus 100 via Wi-Fi Direct from another electronic terminal during a Wi-Fi Direct connection for the Wi-Fi easy setup mode, the control unit 111 of the image forming apparatus 100 displays a message on the display unit 131, and the direct wireless communication unit 121 also transmits the message to all electronic terminals currently connected via Wi-Fi Direct. This allows the administrator to immediately be notified of access from a third party, thereby enhancing security.

[0044] In other words, when the direct wireless communication unit connects to multiple electronic terminals while the easy setup mode is being executed, for example, when an electronic terminal operated by a third party other than the administrator connects to the image forming device via direct wireless communication, the control unit displays on the display unit of the image forming device that it is connected to multiple electronic terminals, and the direct wireless communication unit sends a message to the multiple electronic terminals indicating that the direct wireless communication unit is connected to the multiple electronic terminals, thereby allowing the administrator to immediately know that a third party's electronic terminal is connected to the image forming device via direct wireless communication, thereby enhancing security.

[0045] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. In addition, in the above embodiment, the configuration and processing shown in the above embodiment using Figures 1 to 10 are merely one embodiment of the present invention, and it is not intended that the present invention be limited to these configurations and processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1. Image forming system 100 Image forming device 11 Control unit 111 Control Unit 12 Communications Department 121 Direct Radio Communication Department 122 Network Communications Department 13 Input reception section 131 Display section 14 Image reading unit 15 Image forming unit 16 Memory section 8. Electronic Devices 81 Personal Computer 81d Display section 82 tablet devices 83 Smartphone 9 Access Points N Network

Claims

1. An image forming system including an image forming apparatus and an electronic terminal that communicates with the image forming apparatus using direct wireless communication, The electronic terminal a terminal-side communication unit that communicates with the image forming apparatus; a terminal-side control unit that causes the terminal-side communication unit to transmit connection setting information for an access point connected to a network to the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus, a direct wireless communication unit that performs the direct wireless communication with the electronic terminal; a network communication unit that connects to the access point; and a control unit that controls processing in an easy setup mode to set up the connection of the network communication unit based on connection setting information with the access point received by the direct wireless communication unit from the electronic terminal, thereby connecting the image forming device to the access point.

2. An image forming apparatus that is connected to an electronic terminal by direct wireless communication, a direct wireless communication unit that performs the direct wireless communication with the electronic terminal; a network communication unit that connects to an access point connected to a network; an image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls processing in an easy setup mode to set up the connection of the network communication unit based on connection setting information with the access point received by the direct wireless communication unit from the electronic terminal, and connects the image forming apparatus to the access point.

3. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the direct wireless communication unit connects to multiple electronic terminals while the easy setup mode is being executed, the control unit transmits a message from the direct wireless communication unit to the multiple electronic terminals indicating that the direct wireless communication unit is currently connected to the multiple electronic terminals.

4. The control unit After the direct wireless communication unit receives the connection setting information, displaying on the display unit a selection screen for prompting the user whether or not to execute connection setting of the network communication unit; 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the input receiving unit receives an instruction input for executing connection setting of the network communication unit, the input receiving unit performs connection setting of the network communication unit based on the connection setting information.

5. a display unit that displays a display screen; an input receiving unit that receives an instruction input from a user, 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the direct wireless communication unit is connected to a plurality of the electronic terminals during execution of the easy setup mode, the control unit causes the display unit to display that the direct wireless communication unit is connected to the plurality of the electronic terminals.

6. The control unit When the direct wireless communication unit is connected to a plurality of the electronic terminals during execution of the easy setup mode, a selection screen for whether to continue the easy setup mode or not is displayed on the display unit; When the input receiving unit receives an instruction to continue the easy setup mode, the control unit continues the execution of the easy setup mode and performs control to connect the image forming apparatus to the access point; 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the input receiving unit receives an instruction not to continue the easy setup mode, the control unit cancels the easy setup mode.

Images