electronic machines

Abstract

Obtain electronic equipment that prevents wireless communication from taking place on frequencies that do not comply with national or regional laws and regulations. [Solution] The wireless communication interface 3 performs wireless communication according to the wireless communication settings. The wireless frequency information acquisition unit 11 attempts to acquire wireless frequency information from access points within the wireless communication area of ​​the wireless communication interface 3 using a specific wireless communication protocol. If wireless frequency information is not acquired using a specific wireless communication protocol, the wireless frequency control unit 12 disables the specific wireless communication protocol in the wireless communication settings.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device.

Background Art

[0002] A certain wireless communication device includes a storage unit that stores destination information, identifies the legal frequency permitted by laws and regulations based on a country element included in wireless communication data with an access point, and when the usable frequency based on the destination information does not match the legal frequency, warns the user that the radio frequency is restricted, and sets the aforementioned usable frequency in the wireless communication unit (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An electronic device with an automatic radio frequency setting function according to IEEE 802.11d acquires a country code from surrounding access points capable of wireless communication, selects a use frequency in the 5GHz band based on the country code, and sets it in a wireless communication interface. However, when the country code cannot be acquired, the entire 5GHz band is in a passive state and wireless connection is available. Therefore, if the wireless setting of the access point is inappropriate, wireless communication may be performed at a frequency that does not comply with the laws and regulations of the country or region where the electronic device is located.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to obtain an electronic device that prevents wireless communication from being performed at a frequency that does not comply with the laws and regulations of a country or region.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The electronic device according to the present invention comprises a wireless communication interface that performs wireless communication according to wireless communication settings, a wireless frequency information acquisition unit that attempts to acquire radio frequency information from an access point within the wireless communication area of ​​the wireless communication interface using a specific wireless communication protocol, and a wireless frequency control unit that disables the specific wireless communication protocol in the wireless communication settings if the radio frequency information is not acquired using the specific wireless communication protocol. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, an electronic device is obtained that prevents wireless communication from being conducted at frequencies that do not comply with national or regional laws and regulations.

[0008] The above or other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become even more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the electronic device shown in Figure 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the figures.

[0011] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device shown in Figure 1 is an image forming apparatus (printer, scanner, multifunction device, etc.) and comprises a processing unit 1, a storage device 2, a wireless communication interface 3, a display device 4, an input device 5, an internal device 6, and the like.

[0012] The arithmetic processing unit 1 is equipped with a computer and operates as various processing units by executing programs on that computer. Specifically, the computer is equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and operates as a predetermined processing unit by loading programs stored in ROM or storage device 2 into RAM and executing them with the CPU. The arithmetic processing unit 1 may also be equipped with an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) that functions as a specific processing unit.

[0013] Storage device 2 is a non-volatile storage device such as flash memory, and stores programs and data necessary for the processing described later. Wireless communication setting data 2a and the like are stored in storage device 2.

[0014] The wireless communication interface 3 performs wireless communication according to the wireless communication settings in the wireless communication setting data 2a. Specifically, the wireless communication settings in the wireless communication setting data 2a are applied to the wireless communication interface 3, and the wireless communication interface 3 performs wireless communication according to the applied wireless communication settings.

[0015] Display device 4 is a device that displays various information to the user, such as a display panel such as a liquid crystal display. Input device 5 is a device that detects user operation, such as a keyboard or touch panel. Internal device 6 is a device that performs predetermined functions of the electronic device. For example, if the electronic device is an image forming apparatus, internal device 6 includes an image reading device that optically reads document images from documents, and a printing device that prints images onto print sheets.

[0016] In this configuration, the arithmetic processing unit 1 operates as the radio frequency information acquisition unit 11 and the radio frequency control unit 12, which are the processing units described above.

[0017] The radio frequency information acquisition unit 11 attempts to acquire radio frequency information from access points within the wireless communicable area of the wireless communication interface 3 using a specific wireless communication protocol. Here, the following four cases are possible.

[0018] Case #1: A case where radio frequency information is acquired from a plurality of access points using a specific wireless communication protocol, but the radio frequency information from the plurality of access points does not match each other

[0019] Case #2: A case where radio frequency information is not acquired using a specific wireless communication protocol

[0020] Case #3: A case where radio frequency information is acquired from a plurality of access points using a specific wireless communication protocol, and the radio frequency information from the plurality of access points matches each other

[0021] Case #4: A case where radio frequency information is acquired from only one access point using a specific wireless communication protocol

[0022] The radio frequency control unit 12 disables the specific wireless communication protocol in the wireless communication settings in the wireless communication setting data 2a, for (a) the case where radio frequency information is acquired from a plurality of access points using the specific wireless communication protocol but the radio frequency information from the plurality of access points does not match each other (Case #1), and (b) the case where radio frequency information is not acquired using the specific wireless communication protocol (Case #2).

[0023] In this embodiment, when the specific wireless communication protocol is disabled in the wireless communication settings, the radio frequency control unit 12 notifies the user that the specific wireless communication protocol has been disabled in the wireless communication settings. For example, the radio frequency control unit 12 displays a message on the display device 4 indicating that the specific wireless communication protocol has been disabled in the wireless communication settings.

[0024] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if a specific wireless communication protocol is disabled in the wireless communication settings, the wireless frequency control unit 12 sets a specific wireless frequency to the wireless communication interface 3.

[0025] Here, the specific wireless communication protocol mentioned above is IEEE802.11d. The radio frequency control unit 12 does not disable the specific wireless communication protocol in the wireless communication settings when (a) radio frequency information is obtained from multiple access points using the specific wireless communication protocol and the radio frequency information from multiple access points matches each other (Case #3), and (b) radio frequency information is obtained from only one access point using the specific wireless communication protocol (Case #4), but sets the frequency in the 5GHz band corresponding to the radio frequency information to the wireless communication interface 3. On the other hand, if the specific wireless communication protocol is disabled in the wireless communication settings, the radio frequency control unit 12 sets the frequency in the 2.4GHz band as the specific radio frequency to be used for wireless communication to the wireless communication interface 3.

[0026] Next, the operation of the electronic device described above will be explained. Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the electronic device shown in Figure 1.

[0027] The radio frequency information acquisition unit 11 first enables a specific radio communication protocol in the radio communication settings and uses the radio communication interface 3 to determine whether or not an access point can be detected using that radio communication protocol (step S1).

[0028] If an access point is detected, the radio frequency information acquisition unit 11 determines whether only one access point has been detected (step S2). If only one access point has been detected (case #4), it sets the radio frequency on the wireless communication interface 3 in accordance with the radio frequency information (country code) acquired from that access point (step S3).

[0029] On the other hand, if multiple access points are detected, the radio frequency information acquisition unit 11 determines whether the multiple radio frequency information (country codes) acquired from those access points match each other (step S4). If the acquired multiple radio frequency information (country codes) match each other (case #3), the radio frequency information acquisition unit 11 sets the radio frequency on the wireless communication interface 3 corresponding to the radio frequency information (country codes) acquired from those access points (step S3).

[0030] On the other hand, if no access point is detected (Case #2), or if multiple radio frequency information (country codes) is obtained from multiple access points but the radio frequency information from the multiple access points does not match (Case #1), the radio frequency information acquisition unit 11 forcibly disables a specific radio communication protocol in the radio communication settings of the radio communication setting data 2a (Step S5) and notifies the user of this (Step S6). Furthermore, after forcibly disabling the specific radio communication protocol, the radio frequency information acquisition unit 11 sets the specific radio frequency to the radio communication interface 3 (Step S7).

[0031] As described above, according to the above embodiment, the wireless communication interface 3 performs wireless communication according to the wireless communication settings. The wireless frequency information acquisition unit 11 attempts to acquire wireless frequency information from access points within the wireless communication area of ​​the wireless communication interface 3 using a specific wireless communication protocol. If wireless frequency information is not acquired using a specific wireless communication protocol, the wireless frequency control unit 12 disables the specific wireless communication protocol in the wireless communication settings.

[0032] This prevents wireless communication with access points using inappropriate radio frequency settings if radio frequency information cannot be properly obtained for a particular wireless communication protocol, thus preventing wireless communication on frequencies that do not comply with the laws and regulations of the country or region where the electronic device is installed.

[0033] Furthermore, various changes and modifications to the embodiments described above will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the subject matter and without diminishing the intended advantages. In other words, such changes and modifications are intended to be included in the claims. [Industrial applicability]

[0034] The present invention is applicable, for example, to electronic devices having wireless network functionality. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 3 Wireless communication interface 11. Radio frequency information acquisition unit 12 Radio frequency control unit

Claims

1. A wireless communication interface that performs wireless communication according to wireless communication settings, A radio frequency information acquisition unit that attempts to acquire radio frequency information from an access point within the radio communication area of ​​the radio communication interface using a specific radio communication protocol, If the radio frequency information is not acquired using the specified wireless communication protocol, the radio frequency control unit disables the specified wireless communication protocol in the wireless communication settings. An electronic device characterized by having the following features.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that the radio frequency control unit disables the specific wireless communication protocol in the wireless communication settings when radio frequency information is obtained from multiple access points using the specific wireless communication protocol, but the radio frequency information from the multiple access points does not match each other.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that the radio frequency control unit notifies the user that the specific wireless communication protocol has been disabled in the wireless communication settings when the specific wireless communication protocol has been disabled in the wireless communication settings.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that the radio frequency control unit sets a specific radio frequency to the radio communication interface when the specific radio communication protocol is disabled in the radio communication settings.

5. The specific wireless communication protocol is IEEE 802.11d. The radio frequency control unit, in the case where (a) radio frequency information is obtained from multiple access points using the specific wireless communication protocol and the radio frequency information from the multiple access points matches each other, and (b) radio frequency information is obtained from only one access point using the specific wireless communication protocol, does not disable the specific wireless communication protocol in the wireless communication settings, but sets the frequency in the 5GHz band corresponding to the radio frequency information to the wireless communication interface. The aforementioned specific radio frequency is a frequency in the 2.4 GHz band. The electronic device according to claim 4, characterized by the above.

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